With all the international rugby on telly over the last weekend, it was easy to have missed the final match of the Asian 5 Nations tournament between Japan and Hong Kong.  Luckily, here in Hong Kong the Tokyo-match was at a favourable time-slot on Saturday (1pm) which was before the first ball was kicked in the England Sevens or even the two Super14 Semi-finals later on Saturday evening (Bulls vs. Crusaders/Stormers vs. Waratahs).

I found myself in Happy Valley on Saturday morning and popped into The Canny Man in Wanchai where I watched the Asian 5 Nations game.

Asian powerhouse Japan qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand with an emphatic 94-5 victory over Hong Kong in the HSBC Asian Five Nations Top Five competition in Tokyo on Saturday.

A slick Japanese outfit went on a 14-try rampage in their final game in the qualifying campaign to grab the solitary direct entry for the World Cup given to Asia.

I must say that I was really disappointed in the Hong Kong effort as they weren’t in the game at any time during the match.  I posted the final score on my FaceBook page and a friend who works for SA Rugby rightly asked: “Is rugby in Asia that bad that Japan could post such a big score?  Wasn’t Hong Kong 2nd on the log going into this game? “

Fair question and one that administrators in Asia should find an answer for. 

More heartache

There was more heartache for Hong Kong as Kazakhstan clinched the runner-up spot with a 32-25 win over South Korea in Incheon to claim the berth in the cross-continental play-off for RWC 2011 against Uruguay. Flanker Anton Rudoy scored a hat-trick as Kazakhstan scored four tries to secure the crucial bonus point that saw them edge ahead of Hong Kong in the standings.

Having posted half-century victories over all its opponents – South Korea (71-3), the Arabian Gulf (60-5) and Kazakhstan (101-7) – Japan continued in their merry fashion as they out-muscled Hong Kong at the breakdown, and pushed their opponents off their own ball in the scrums to stitch together another convincing victory.

“We have achieved our first goal this year which was to qualify for the World Cup,” said a pleased Japan coach John Kirwan. “The players have worked very hard and that was our best performance in the competition so far. But there is a long way to go.”

Japan will play in Pool A at the World Cup alongside hosts New Zealand, France, Tonga and Canada.

Always the joker

“It is an easy pool,”joked Kirwan. “But really, this is a fantastic opportunity for the players whose dream is to play at a World Cup. Hopefully we can show the Japanese style of rugby.”

Kirwan went on to thank the Japanese crowd for their support in fluent Japanese. 

                 Match captain Hitoshi Ono prepares to receive the impressive HSBC A5N trophy

Aston Villa won the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens for a record fifth time yesterday (Sunday, 16 May) with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Glasgow Rangers.

Villa raced into a three-goal lead and then held off a strong fightback from their Scottish opponents in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Hong Kong Football Club.

Two players with first team experience – striker Nathan Delfouneso and midfielder Marc Albrighton – made the difference for Villa.

Delfouneso put them ahead after just three minutes and Albrighton added a brace to stun a Rangers team who had entered the final without conceding a goal in the whole tournament.

But inspirational Rangers captain Andrew Shinnie – one of the stars of the weekend – netted a penalty on the stroke of half-time and added a stunning second soon after the break to set up a dramatic finale.

Delfouneso and midfielder Harry Forrester both hit the bar for Villa in a frantic last few minutes.

Rangers, for whom midfielder Shinnie finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with eight goals, had to settle for second best again after losing last year’s final to city rivals Celtic.

Villa academy manager Bryan Jones said his coaching staff had come up with a game plan and the players had executed it perfectly.

“We had seen Rangers play and we knew they were very strong in midfield, Shinnie is an excellent player, but we felt we could get at them down the wings and I think it paid off,” he said. “I thought our wide players were excellent, especially Marc out on the right.”

Jones said first team experience was not the only reason Albrighton and Delfouneso stood out during the weekend. “Marc and Nathan have also been to the Soccer Sevens before and that counts because seven-a-side is completely different. You can play in the Premiership and still struggle in this form of football.”

“They know how to play it and I think their experience told in the end. We think they’ve both got a great future in the game.

“Martin O’Neill [the Villa manager] takes tremendous interest in the academy players and if I don’t text him in the next five minutes to tell him the result I’ll be in trouble! He’s very keen.”

Jones said Villa, winners of the trophy four times between 2002 and 2008, felt they owed it to the organisers to bring their strongest possible squad.

“We’ve been coming here for eight or nine years now and we’re so well looked after that we almost feel duty bound to bring one or two ‘name’ players to help bring in the fans. It’s our payback to the organisers,” he said.

Albrighton admitted Rangers had made Villa fight all the way. “It was a great team performance,” he said. “We made hard work of it but we got there in the end.

“Rangers beat us in the semi-finals last year so we knew they were a good side. After we went 3-0 up we got a little bit complacent but we saw it out and it was brilliant to get the victory.”

Earlier, Villa were superb in beating Ajax 3-1 in the quarter-finals, Albrighton scoring twice in-between a fantastic strike from Delfouneso. Forrester was the star of their 3-0 semi-final victory over West Ham United, netting the first two goals before Delfouneso tapped in the third after brilliant approach work from Albrighton.

Rangers had exacted revenge against Celtic for last year’s final defeat, winning their quarter-final clash 2-0 with a pair of Shinnie goals. Shinnie was also the architect of their 3-0 win over Sunderland in the semi-finals, earning and converting a penalty and slamming in a free-kick to give his team a two-goal half-time lead, then setting up Rory Loy for the third.

Soccer Sevens debutants Ajax gained some consolation for their quarter-final defeat by Villa when they beat Celtic 2-0 in the second-tier Shield final – Nathaniel Will and Vlatko Lazic getting the goals.

Aston Villa captain Ciaran Clark (holding trophy) leads the celebrations (Pic:Create Images/Soccer Sevens)

Masters Competition

In the Masters Cup final, KFC Tokyo – a team of expatriate amateur players mainly based in the Japanese capital – secured a surprise 2-1 win over the Andy Cole Jura All Stars.

Manchester United great Cole put his team ahead with a lethal shot early in the game – his sixth goal of the weekend – but KFC Tokyo pulled level within a minute with a brilliant long-range strike from Malaysian midfielder Punanseveran.

French striker David Serene scored the winner with a superb solo effort and the All Stars finished with six men after ex-Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair was shown the red card by Premier League referee Martin Atkinson for two bookable offences.

“We’re very happy, we’ve been coming to the Soccer Sevens for a long time so it’s nice to finally win a trophy,” said KFC Tokyo captain Kirk Neureiter. “We lost in the Plate final four years ago so to win the Cup this time, especially against a team containing so many great players, is just a fantastic feeling.”

See at the Soccer Sevens in 2011!

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Thousands of rugby fans witnessed some of the finest silverware on offer in the game when the South African Rugby Union’s Champions Tour made its first five stops in and around Cape Town during the past four days.

Pride of place on the impressive customised truck is reserved for current Springbok Sevens captain Mzwandile Stick, shown in full flight.

The Tour started on Friday morning at the University of the Western Cape(UWC), where schoolchildren from primary schools in the area were the first to set foot on SARU’s 15-metre trailer filled with every trophy won by South African teams during an incredible 2009, as well as the Rugby World Cup. UWC students and staffed also flocked to the truck, taking time out from their studies to see trophies such as the Webb Ellis Cup, the Vodacom Tri-Nations trophy and the very popular Absa Currie Cup, amongst others.

The weekend’s activities concluded with Stormers players, including Springbok wing Bryan Habana, joining the Champion Tour at Canal Walk. “You, the fans, stand central to all the successes we’ve achieved on the rugby fields of the world during the last few years. Without you, this Tour would not have been possible and it’s great to be able to give back in this way,”said Habana.

The Champion Tour also called in at one of the oldest Test venues in the world – Newlands. Kids and their parents camping on the hallowed turf as part of a sleepover organized by Club Newlands walked over to see the trophies.

Saturday was spent at the very impressive new Cape Town Stadium, one of the host stadiums for the FIFA Soccer World Cup. Thousands of supporters who attended the friendly match between Boland and the Vodacom Stormers crossed the truck – which proved a very popular attraction during an history day with the first rugby match in the new stadium in Green Point.

On Sunday the Champion Tour went to two very popular Cape Town shopping spots – first up was Kenilworth Centre after which it wound its way to Canal Walk, where Habana was among the Vodacom Stormers signing autographs.

The Champions Tour now enters the Boland and Griquas regions, with stops planned in Paarl, Stellenbosch, Robertson, Worcester and Wellington before it heads up the West Coast.

South Africa won the 2009 Hong Kong Cricket Sixes title in the most dramatic fashion at Kowloon Cricket Club on Sunday evening as Farhaan Behardien smashed a six off the final delivery of the tournament to down a gallant Hong Kong . 

Set a total of 98 runs to win the title for a third time, the South Africans left it late to claim the trophy – and the first prize of US$55,000 – when Behardien thumped Mark Wright’s final ball into the stands to the delight of his team mates. 

The defeat was a cruel blow for a Hong Kong side that had impressed throughout the competition and who went into the final having won all six of their previous matches, including two against South Africa. 

Cheered on by the majority of the crowd at Kowloon Cricket Club, the home side were put into bat for the first time in the entire competition after the South Africans won the toss.  Hong Kong made a disappointing start to the final, however, losing captain Najeeb Amar with the first ball of the game and then creeping tentatively through the opening overs. 

Star man Irfan Ahmad was next to go when he holed out to Rory Kleinveldt off the bowling of David Jacobs for just seven runs – his lowest score of the tournament – in the second over with 17 on the scoreboard.  Nerves looked to have taken hold of a Hong Kong team that was opening the batting for the first time in the competition.

The pressure to set a substantial total was threatening to take its toll, but Munir Dar steadied the ship for the home side alongside wicketkeeper Hussain Butt, with Dar eventually retiring with an unbeaten 31 runs.  Butt scored 24 before being caught by Behardien off the bowling of Coetzee while Tanwir Afzal claimed 20, only to be run out, but by the end of their innings Hong Kong had set a respectable target of 98 runs for South Africa to win. 

The South Africans started confidently enough, claiming 21 runs off the first over from Dar, but a spectacular spell from Tanwir Afzal put the result back in the balance.  The 21-year-old picked up the wicket of Loots Bosman with his first ball and, two balls later, Kleinveldt was heading back to the pavilion after being bowled. By the end of the over, Jacobs had joined Afzal’s casualty list, leaving South Africa on 32 for 3.

However, the South Africans steadied the ship until the final over, when Mark Wright claimed the wicket of David Wiese to set up a grandstand finish. 

Seven runs from the next four balls left South Africa needing six off the final ball to win the title, and Behardien duly obliged, dispatching Wright’s half volleyed delivery over the boundary.  There was some consolation for Hong Kong ’s Irfan Ahmad, who won the Ben Hollioake Trophy – which is awarded to the competition’s leading player – as a result of his performances throughout the weekend.

Earlier in the day, New Zealand handed Australia a comprehensive defeat to win the Plate competition, winning by five wickets when they successfully chased down a total of 69 runs to pick up US$13,000 in prize money.

Alvin Sallay’s article in Monday’s South China Morning Post (Pic: Oliver Tsang)

Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong 1 November 2009

South Africa won their third Hong Kong Sixes Tournament this afternoon when they beat a spirited Hong Kong side.  The Cup Final at the Kowloon Cricket Club came close to last year’s thriller-in-Kowloon when England beat Australia.  This time around, the South Africans required 6 runs off the last ball to win their third tournament after clinching it in 1995 and 2006.

(More news and pictures to follow)

I live in an apartment complex owned by Cheung Kong Holdings.  As such, I cannot subscribe to NowTV nor any PCCW products because Cheung Kong is in direct competition with Richard Li’s PCCW.  However, I still have an excellent broadband service so much of my (international) television viewing happens online.

Thankfully, I have a connection (I am from Cape Town after all… we have connections!) who allows me to stream some DSTV channels direct to my laptop.  Thanks to an interface, I can view these channels directly on my flat-screen TV.

I visited my favourite watering hole in WanChai the other day and the staff there were asking why they don’t see me these days.  Well, now you know.  I now have access to SuperSport’s excellent channels, while the missus loves watching the BBC Lifestyle & Travel channels again.  The kids are stoked at having their Nickelodeon back!

So, see ya! I have to go and watch the Currie Cup and Champions Trophy Cricket in the comfort of my lounge!  I even have my very own (Jake White) “fetcher” !

Cheers.

Glasgow Celtic won the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens for the first time on Sunday (May 31) with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over arch rivals Rangers. 

Glasgow Celtic display the trophy after winning the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens at Hong Kong Football Club on Sunday, May 31.

A second-half strike from Paul McGowan was enough to secure the trophy in front of a near-capacity crowd at Hong Kong Football Club. 

“It was a fantastic spectacle and both teams played the game to win,” said Celtic manager Willie McStay. “There were plenty of incidents and both teams had their chances, so it was a great game for the fans.

“It’s my third year here – we lost in the semi-finals two years ago, lost in the final last year and now we’ve won it, so I’m absolutely delighted.  We have a great record against Rangers at youth and reserve level and it’s always sweet to beat them.”

McGowan struck shortly after half-time following brilliant approach work from flying winger Niall McGinn. 

Rangers – missing captain Andrew Shinnie through suspension after he picked up two yellow cards earlier in the day – fought back but Archie Campbell missed a simple chance to equalise in the final minute after a goalmouth scramble.

McStay was full of praise for the Soccer Sevens as a development tool for young players.  “Players have to think, keep the ball, show good movement and be patient. It’s a lot of the same things they have to do in 11-a-side but here there’s no room for error.

“I think it’s a fantastic format and a great experience for these young players. Some of them have never been outside Britain, never mind Europe.” 

Celtic’s road to the final began with a 3-1 quarter-final victory over Hong Kong side Citizen, with captain Ryan Conroy and Mark Millar (2) on target. Then a Conroy penalty secured a 1-0 win over the Australian U18s national team in a hard-fought semi-final.

Rangers beat West Ham United 2-1 in a thrilling quarter-final that was settled by Steven Lennon’s golden goal winner in extra time.  They then knocked out holders Aston Villa with an outstanding 3-1 semi-final victory. Goals from Shinnie, Rory Loy and Lennon put Rangers in command before Villa’s Marc Albrighton replied, but the holders were unable to mount a comeback.

In the Masters competition, Golden Rainbow, a team comprising former Hong Kong league professionals, won the Cup with a 2-1 victory over charity side Football For Life. 

Lee Fuk Wing put Golden Rainbow ahead in the first half but former France international Didier Six scored a late equaliser with a diving header.

That sent the game into four-a-side sudden-death extra time and Yeung Kin Keung’s spectacular volley won it for Golden Rainbow with just seconds remaining. 

Golden Rainbow had earlier beaten the IP Global All Stars 1-0 with an extra time golden goal from Lau Chi Yuen.  The Cup success delighted Golden Rainbow coach Simon Wong. “It’s great to see this team of local players and friends enjoying the tournament and playing in such a great atmosphere,” he said.

“We’ve played in this tournament for many years and we know that when it comes to four against four, you have to use your goalkeeper as an outfield player so you can keep possession.” 

Defeat in the semi-final came as a shock to the IP Global All Stars – who included former England internationals Des Walker, Rob Lee and Chris Powell and ex-Scotland striker Gordon Durie in their line-up – as they had not conceded a goal in the tournament until that point.

“We probably did enough to win the game, so we’re disappointed,” said captain Walker. “We’re all ex-professionals and we came here to win.

“But it’s a fantastic tournament, it’s really well organised and they look after the players. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and Hong Kong is a great city.”

(Sunday morning, 03:20 after the Super 14 Final)

Jislaaik! What a game!  After the Chiefs stunned the Loftus faithful with a quick Leila Masaga try… and in the process making the Kiwis at Delaneys (WanChai) scream with delight,  what a turn-around by the South Africans!

It’s always interesting to wait and see how (and when) the South Africans in the bar make themselves known!  As the game progressed, the Saffas became more and more vocal and by the end of a fantastic Super 14, I knew exactly who the South Africans were!

The Super 14 is now over so our attention turn firmly to the next game for the British & Irish Lions: a mid-week jaunt against the Golden Lions.

WED.03 June —- vs. Golden Lions (Jhb) TV: SA 19:10 HK 01:10 (04 June)

We will probably not get a crowd turning out for this game so we turn our attention to the weekend outing: British & Irish Lions vs. Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday Saturday 6 June (9pm HK time)

If you’re a Saffa and want to watch the game at Delaney (WanChai) mail me on mike(at)howzit-hongkong(dot)com and let’s watch it together.  Hopefully we’ll have a solid list for the Springboks’ first Test against the Lions on June 20.

Bulle Bo!

“Maak die Bulle ammal Bokke!” or so the song goes! (Pic: Anesh Debiky – Gallo Images)