Shock upset as Sandy Bay down HKFC while Scottish beat Valley in semi-finals
- The first round of the play-offs for the men’s rugby premiership produce two upsets
- Next week Sandy Bay will face HK Scottish in the Grand Championship final
Herbert Smith Freehills HKU Sandy Bay’s remarkable turnaround continues.
The squad, who sat in last place for weeks to start the season without a win, now find themselves heading into the Grand Championship game after beating Hong Kong Football Club 31-10 in the play-off semi-finals on Saturday.
The team, who moved from the Hong Kong Cricket Club to start the season, have now won six straight games, a league record, and shocked the local rugby scene by downing league champions HKFC in convincing fashion.
Sandy Bay coach Brett Wilkinson said his team “fronted up physically” in grinding out the victory.
“I’m incredibly proud of all the players. They really laid a marker down right from the beginning. It is finals rugby now and we have given ourselves a chance and earned another week of rugby. We have Scottish in the final so nothing is guaranteed. We have to carry on from today, regroup and train really hard.”
Wilkinson said the team’s first season under a new name has most definitely been a roller-coaster ride of emotions, which saw the squad in the basement of the standings for a fair portion of the season.
