13 October 2009
Match report courtesy of www.singaporerugby.com
Hong Kong held on to beat Singapore 22-17 in a friendly at So Kan Poh Stadium last Saturday.
Hong Kong’s larger pack of forwards started the game with great attacking momentum. Singapore’s defense line was broken in the 7th minute from a quick penalty tap by Hong Kong’s scrum half, Fiona Foxon who scored the first try for Hong Kong.
Singapore was punished again by Hong Kong in the 15th min. Hong Kong took the advantage of another quick penalty tap that caught Singapore’s slow defensive line off guard and their out-center, Becky Underwood, was rewarded with a try.
Singapore was plagued with injury problems early in the game. In the 18th minute, Singapore’s No. 8, Ang Wei Yi suffered a shoulder injury and was replaced by Annabel Woo. Singapore’s scrum half, Aslinda Abdullah was replaced by Tan Hui Juan, also due to injury. Singapore tried to regroup their attack pattern and their persistence paid off in the 29th minute. Full back, Angelina Liu, who earned her 1st cap in the national 15s team, scored a try for Singapore.
10 minutes before half time, Hong Kong’s out-center, Underwood, scored her second try from an interception. With that, Hong Kong led 17-5 at half time.
In the second half, Singapore turned over a ball in their own 22m. Singapore’s winger, Amanda Teo made a superb run but the ball was held up at the try line by Hong Kong’s winger who made an equally impressive run in defense to deny her Singaporean counterpart. Hong Kong’s out-center, Underwood scored her hat-trick from an inside pass after a string of missed tackles which brought the score to 22-5.
Singapore’s flanker, Karen Yeoh scored a try off a ruck and the score was 22-10. That try seemed to inspire Singapore to pick up their attacking pace in the game. They could have scored a few tries but was stopped by Hong Kong’s solid defense, until the end of the game when Singapore was awarded a penalty try.
The final score was 22-17 to Hong Kong at full time.
This match was an exciting appetizer of the upcoming IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup Asian Qualifiers that will be held in Singapore in November 2009. This match may have been a friendly but it was an important preparation match for both teams, as they looking to book their place in the World Cup in England in 2010, along with Japan and Kazakhstan. The first round of the Asian Qualifiers will see Singapore face-off against Japan, while Hong Kong will play Kazakhstan.
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