HKCC happy to settle for ugly win
Coach Andrew Hall does not like playing an entertaining game and losing - he prefers winning ugly. And that is what Leighton Asia HKCC dished out in yesterday's 35-17 victory over DeA Tigers at Aberdeen Sports Ground yesterday.
The win secures a semi-finals berth in the Grand Championship.
'Winning is what matters. I don't care that we did not play attractive rugby. This is Cup rugby and I'm just happy we won,' said Hall after his side emerged victorious by four tries to three to book a berth next Saturday against league champions Altus Kowloon, who had a bye yesterday.
Hall will be hoping for a huge improvement from his players by the time they take on Kowloon, and yesterday pinpointed a weak defence as one of the areas that players had to shore up.
Conceding three tries, the last two when the game was well in the bag, was frustrating and, according to Hall, proved his side lacked the killer instinct to hammer the last nail in the coffin.
'We showed glimpses of a lack of accuracy and losing concentration. But in the end, it didn't matter for we progressed and there was more good than bad, and I'm happy about that.
'Yet we need to improve hugely for we are clearly the underdogs against Kowloon,' Hall said.
The loss was bittersweet for DeA skipper Rowan Varty. Last year, his team went all the way to the final before losing to Valley, but this time it was a knockout in the first round.
'We are not happy with how we have gone this season. We have beaten every team this time, but at the same time also lost to all of them. It has been a very inconsistent and patchy performance,' Varty said.
He added: 'But if there is a silver-lining, then I suppose is that it gives me and the rest of the boys more time to prepare for the Hong Kong Sevens.' Varty, who captained Hong Kong in the past two tournaments at the Asian Sevens Series, and DeA fly-half Keith Robertson are two vital cogs in Hong Kong's sevens set-up and head coach Dai Rees must have heaved a sigh of relief that they both emerged unscathed from a tough season. But there are still a number of his charges who will still be in action next week, and two of them, HKCC flanker Simon Leung Ho-yam and winger Alex McQueen, both had outstanding games.
Leung scored the first of his side's four tries from a powerful forward's drive with powerful No8 Will Whetton adding the second.Ed Haynes added the extra points and HKCC led 18-10 at the break.
Winger Tom Nelson scored from a flowing move, making the most of a lovely floated pass from centre Mike Kingsbeer, as HKCC stretched the lead to 28-10 before DeA hit back through prop Fraser Smith, scoring his first try in more than two seasons.
Smith broke his leg in 2009 and this had been his first game since coming back. But hopes of a comeback was quelled by HKCC lock Charles French who sliced through to score.
In other matches, Newedge Club defeated Verizon HK Scottish 49-3 and Tradition Valley hammered SCAA- CWB 62-0.
