Hong Kong men’s and women’s Premiership week two preview – coaches aim to bounce back after opening-day losses
- HK Scottish and Kowloon seek their first wins in men’s campaign after ‘scrappy’ start to season
- Women’s contenders HKFC and Causeway Bay ‘buzzing’ to be back but need points on the board after painful defeats
Previewing round two, which promises sharper performances both in terms of rugby and hygiene, coaches explained how preparations are going ahead of bounce-back season and outline the importance of their upcoming games for team momentum and player mindset.
In the men’s league, Bloomberg Hong Kong Scottish will open the weekend fixtures against a hungry DAC Kowloon. Both teams are seeking to get their first four points on the board having been pipped last week.
“We struggled in the set piece and line-out and that had a knock-on effect. We gave up simple penalties, too. Credit to Sandy Bay for scoring some good tries ... but it’s up to us to be a lot better this week. Kowloon look good and it was a bit unlucky that the result did not go their way [last week]. They have good firepower all over the board. We respect the way they are playing,” added Hammond, who will be encouraged in the coming weeks as two new props from Australia and New Zealand will be available the following week.