Isaac says Valley not motivated by revenge ... but HKCC better watch out

Is it a grudge match and will there be a whiff of revenge in the air at King’s Park on Saturday evening when Societe Generale Valley face off against Leighton Asia HKCC for the Grand Championship silverware?

Not so, according to Valley’s head coach Jack Isaac – the former Australia sevens captain and one-time Biarritz coach – who believes in letting bygones be bygones.

“I don’t think so. We’ve moved on a bit from that. A final is not about revenge, it’s just about winning,” Isaac said when asked if Valley would be doubly motivated to win because of what happened the last time the two sides met.

For those of you returning from Mars, HKCC’s 12-7 win over Valley in their final HKRFU Premiership regular-season encounter was clouded in controversy, with accusations that the Aberdeen club had bent the rules with 10 minutes left by going for a no-push scrum (legal in itself) as they claimed all their front-rowers were injured.

Well and good, if not for the fact that one of their front-rowers was on the bench for the HKCC second stringers in a later game. He even came on for one scrum.

The end result was a lot of unhappy people, leading to HKCC taking matters into hand and standing down their team management and the player concerned for one match.

All water under the bridge, you might think. Isaac the diplomat might not want to dwell on the row but it is hard to think that this will not be in the back of every player’s mind on Saturday.

Valley have lost all three of their games against HKCC this season – 12-9, 3-0 and that last one. With just one score being the difference in each match, it is clear how close between the two.

My money is on Valley because I believe the bitter memory of their last encounter will give them that fighting feeling. It is fine to brush aside talk of payback, but revenge is always a strong motivator.

Isaac might prefer to play it straight, but the mood elsewhere in the Valley camp was perhaps better summed up by hooker Dayne Jans, a former Western Province Currie Cup player, who on social media said he hoped Ben Rimene (fly-half and kicker) would kick the ball out on the full at the start so a scrum would be called for immediately.

The message, then, is clear. Valley are keen to get going and exert their dominance from the outset. And what better way to do that than remind HKCC of their frailty up front where the battle will be won or lost. The tight five which dominates will give their side the upper hand as both teams have great sets of backs.

Last time out Valley were chasing a bonus-point victory and needed to score at least four tries. With Saturday’s Grand Final being knockout rugby, there is no need to go for the corner line-out and any penalty will be gratefully accepted.

HKCC will be aiming for the double, a result which Valley thwarted last season. If the hunger to accomplish this goal is greater than Valley’s thirst to redress a perceived wrong, then perhaps I’ll eat some humble pie over the weekend. But I seriously doubt it.