Nan Fung/Sewit Men’s Premiership: ‘dreadful’ Hong Kong Football Club lift their game to win opener

Defending champions recover from slow start to beat USRC Tigers, with captain Josh Hrstich admitting ‘we’ve got to sharpen up’

Sandy Bay make statement with victory over Valley RFC and Kowloon earn surprise win against HK Scottish

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Football Club (white and blue stripes) and USRC Tigers contest a line-out at King’s Park on Saturday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 8:30am, 2 Oct 2022

Hong Kong Football Club got the defence of their Nan Fung/Sewit Men’s Premiership title off to a winning start on Saturday, with a solid 30-7 victory over USRC Tigers.

Two tries each for skipper Josh Hrstich and replacement hooker Matthew Dobbyn helped the Happy Valley side turn a four-point deficit at half-time into a comfortable win.

In the day’s other games, Sandy Bay made a strong statement of their intent for the season, with a 47-29 defeat of Valley RFC, while a patched-up Kowloon side grabbed a surprise 11-5 win over HK Scottish.

As defending champions, there is a certain amount of expectation surrounding Football Club, but for the first 40 minutes on Saturday they looked second best.

Josh Hrstich scores a try for Football Club as they improved in the second half to beat Tigers. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The combination of some silly mistakes – not least Jared Wendt knocking the ball on after crossing the try line – and a dominant Tigers pack meant Hrstich’s side had just a Niall Rowark penalty to show for their efforts as half-time approached.