Historic Rugby Rivalry Stars in Dettol Premiership Stadium Showdown 兩大聯賽宿敵於「滴露超級欖球聯賽大球場對抗賽」正面交鋒

Natixis HKFC and Societe Generale Valley’s men’s and women’s teams will contest the Dettol Premiership Stadium Showdown on Saturday, 30 October at the Hong Kong Stadium. It is Football Club’s first turn in the Dettol Hong Kong Premierships Game of the Week spotlight after Typhoon Lionrock washed out week 4 earlier this month. The Dettol Women’s Premiership match starts at 1630, with the Dettol Men’s Premiership tie at 1830.

Hong Kong’s historic rugby rivalry heats up HK Stadium

Valley and HKFC are fitting stars for the showdown, given their dominance of the men’s game for much of the HKRU’s six decades. Football Club has been a mainstay since before the turn of the last century, while Valley burst on to the scenes, and to the top of the league ladders - in the mid-1970s.

As the rivalry approaches 50 years, Club have the upper hand of late, demonstrated by a triple trio of league, grand championship and challenge trophies all won over Valley in 2019/20. While competition between two teams that train less than a drop kick’s distance apart is always intense, Saturday’s Stadium Showdown carries an extra frisson of excitement.

Under coach Jack Wiggins, HKFC lead the league and boast the Premiership’s deepest bench, stocked with Hong Kong internationals and England and Wales Sevens stars; even its second side, Dragons, lead the Premiership A competition with an unbeaten 4-0 record.

Things are progressing nicely for Wiggins, with three wins from four rounds played: “We’re fairly happy with where we are; although we’re disappointed to have lost a game in the first round, we bounced back well in our last game and are feeling good heading into Saturday.”

At the other end of the racetrack is the red and black machine of Valley, whose hard-nosed style and imposing forward play drove an HKRU record six straight grand championship titles from 2013-18. A new generation of stars is now emerging under the watchful eye of ex-Samoa international Mark Fatialofa, who fully understands the Club’s traditions - and expectations - after winning seven grand championships as a player for the horse. These lofty traditions have contrasted with a more pedestrian start to the season as the team enters Saturday’s showdown in fourth place at 2-2.

Club have one scalp to their credit already after winning the first game between the two on the opening weekend of the Premiership, 29-14. But it hasn’t been a cakewalk for the league leaders, who were made to work hard by IMPACTHK HKU Sandy Bay in a 16-14 win, before losing to DAC Kowloon at home. They rebounded with a convincing 52-10 win over emerging threats Kroll USRC Tigers, but enter the Stadium looking more vulnerable than they have in the past three seasons.

Wiggins is expecting a dogfight, saying, “We can’t take too much from game one given no one had played in a long while. Their new guys are embedded on and off the pitch now, so we expect them to be a lot better. We are also struggling with injuries to key players but can’t use that as an excuse. We have to be ready for Saturday.

“There’s obviously a bit more spice in a Valley week because of the history and tradition between the clubs, but we’ve tried to prepare as normally as we can. It’s a privilege to play at the Stadium but we can’t focus on those things, we have to maintain a ‘next game’ mentality.”

Wiggins knows that the commitment factor will be high all around: “We expect a very, very physical game. Generally this match is won or lost up front and they put real pressure on at the set piece and breakdown, so that’s been a focus for us this week,” added Wiggins.

After climbing to .500 with another in a series of gritty wins two weeks ago, the pressure will be on Valley where the absence of midfield general Peter Laverick has been keenly felt in recent weeks as the attack has not been as fluid as in seasons past. While HKFC boast four of the league’s top try scorers, (fullback Ben Smith leads the count on three from four games, while Ben Axten-Burrett and new arrivals Josh and Zac Hrstic are amongst 10 players overall with two to date), forward Dom Heggelin tops Valley’s scorers with a brace coming from a reserve role the past few weeks.

Something will have to give on Saturday and with both clubs boasting the largest membership bases in the game a large and festive crowd is expected on Halloween Eve to watch the action.

Wiggins is excited at what that opportunity means for the Premiership game, saying, “I’ve been here three years and we have not had any fifteens in the Stadium. I understand that playing fifteens there is rare, so it will be a special moment and I’m sure that both clubs will want to showcase Hong Kong rugby again after all that we have been through in the last 18 months,” he said.

The situation is similar but in the reverse in the Dettol Women’s Premiership game with Societe Generale Valley once again setting the standard for the rest of the league after finishing the opening round of matches with a perfect 4-0 record. They have a healthy +67 margin (99 points for to 32 against across the four games), but it was not built at the expense of Natixis HKFC Ice, who pushed the defending champions to the limit in the opening game of the Premiership before losing 12-11.

That result gave HKFC added motivation according to coach Chris Garvey: “That +1 point loss to Valley gave us belief on the season and the results that followed only built on that. It gave us the belief that we could be bigger this season, and we are excited at what is yet to come.”

Backed by that confidence HKFC then gave notice to the rest of the league that it was poised to disrupt matters further. They have gotten off to a promising start at 2-2 in third place with 12 points, two behind Tigers and five adrift of Valley – the two sides they have lost to this season.

Valley will bring its full strength to the stadium with a team full of current and former internationals from Hong Kong, Samoa and New Zealand, although both teams are without key cogs from the Hong Kong Sevens training squad as they start preparations for the upcoming Asian championships.

“I expect a really good encounter,” said Garvey, a former coach of the Hong Kong Women’s XV.

“No one will shirk from the physical clash I’m sure. I expect the contact area will be big, and think it will be difficult for both teams to get much separation from each other. The team with the better whole squad performance will get the win, I expect. For us it’s about managing the ball, if we can increase our time in possession, 5%, 10%, we’re a different team. We have a great scrum, but I prefer not to use it as much as we have been.

“The Stadium will definitely add a unique factor. It’s not something we are focusing on but we are addressing it in training, you know for the girls that may not have played there before so they do not get overwhelmed.

After emerging so positively from the first tie with Valley Garvey is not concerned that a second loss would bring the reverse result saying, “No, we are a stronger team now. If it goes completely wrong that is okay also, we will learn more from that than a win, although I don’t want to test that theory.”

Garvey, (whose wife Adrienne is an ex-Hong Kong captain who still plays for Valley, where Garvey also used to coach), was well placed to talk about the importance of the rivalry between the teams.

“There’s a healthy rivalry there, some of the girls work together outside of rugby or play together in the Hong Kong programmes, sevens and fifteens, so I expect there will be a lot riding on it out there and some good banter and personal victories to be won in that respect.

“But it’s about more than that, this is an incredible opportunity for us to showcase how far the women’s game has come on Hong Kong’s biggest stage; both sides are reaching out to the youth and schools communities in particular to promote the game. We are expecting a big occasion, there is a great buzz around going into the stadium again, it’s been too long,” said Garvey.

Over 1,000 tickets have been sold ahead of the Dettol Premiership Stadium Showdown. Gates open to the public at 1500 with mini and youth rugby matches preceding the main events; admission is $50.

Information and photo source : Elite Step Asia Ltd. / Hong Kong Rugby Union

[2021年10月29日，香港]: Natixis 香港足球會（港會）和法國興業銀行華利欖球會（華利）的男子隊和女子隊將於本週六（10月30日）在香港大球場進行「滴露超級欖球聯賽大球場對抗賽」。這是港會繼早前因颱風「獅子山」襲港而取消的第四輪賽事後的首場聯賽焦點賽事。滴露女子超級聯賽定於下午四時半舉行，而滴露男子超級聯賽則於下午六時40分展開。

本地欖球界宿敵將為香港大球場升溫

在香港欖球總會的60多年歷史中，華利和港會一直在男子聯賽中佔據領導地位，他們絕對是最適合上演「大球場對抗賽」的兩支球隊。港會從一開始便是聯賽的中流砥柱，而華利則在1970年代中期嶄露頭角，並一步登上了聯賽榜首。這兩支勁旅較勁了接近50年，港會最近佔了上風，在2019/20賽季中，相繼擊敗華利，勇奪聯賽、季後總決賽和超聯挑戰盃這三項錦標。

在主帥韋堅斯（Jack Wiggins ）的帶領下，加上眾多港隊球員和英格蘭以及威爾士七人欖球賽的明星球員坐陣，港會暫列超級聯賽第一位。今個賽季的進展也很順利，在四輪比賽中，他們取得三場勝利。

韋堅斯說：「我們對目前為止的表現都相當滿意；雖然頭四場賽事輸掉一場而有感失望，但我們在上一場比賽的狀態回勇，對今個星期六的比賽也充滿信心。」

另一邊廂，身穿紅黑戰衣的華利以頑強的風格和強壯的體格見稱，令他們在2013 – 18年間創下欖總的紀錄，連續奪得六次總冠軍頭銜。前薩摩亞國腳費迪奧盧發（Mark Fatialofa）以球員的身份助華利贏得七次總冠軍後，完全了解球會的傳統和期望，現今在他的領導下，新一代球員也逐漸嶄露頭角。那些彪炳的戰績與本賽季的開局形成鮮明對比，因為球隊暫以兩勝兩敗、排名第四的成績迎接週六的「大球場對抗賽」。

港會曾在9月首場超級聯賽的比賽中擊敗華利，但韋堅斯不以為意地說：「因為大家都有很長時間沒有出賽，我們不能以第一場比賽作為標準。華利的新球員現已有幾場比賽的經驗，我相信他們會表現得更好。而我們也在為重要球員受傷患影響而苦惱，但這並不能作為藉口。我們必須為星期六的賽事準備就緒。」

「鑒於兩支球隊之間的歷史和傳統，華利必然會全力一戰，我們也盡量以平常心準備。能夠在大球場比賽是一個榮幸，但我們不能就此分心，我們必須保持這只是另一場比賽的心態。這將是一場耐力戰。」

雖然如此，但韋堅斯仍然興奮能夠在大球場作賽，他說：「我任教了三年，但還未曾在大球場上看過十五人欖球賽，這是一個難能可貴的時刻。在經歷了過去18個月的一切後，我相信兩支球隊都希望再次展現香港的欖球實力。」

在滴露女子超級聯賽中，兩隊的形勢恰好相反。華利在首四輪賽事大獲全勝，為餘下的賽事定下了標準。這包括在本賽季的首場比賽中以12:11險勝「大球場對抗賽」的對手Natixis 香港足球會Ice ，這個結果令人眼前一亮。

港會教練加飛（Chris Garvey）卻認為那場比賽給她們增添了額外的動力。他說：「敗給華利的那一分讓我們對這個賽季和隨之而來的賽果充滿信心。我相信本賽季球員們會變得更強大，而我們也對一切將會發生的事情感到興奮。」

在賽季開始時已充滿信心的港會已向聯賽的球隊下了戰帖，她們誓要扳回局勢。現時港會以兩勝兩敗，共12分的成績在聯賽榜中排名第三位，只落後Kroll 三軍會猛虎欖球會女子隊（猛虎）兩分，以及落後榜首的華利五分，這是至今唯一兩支令港會敗陣的球隊。

雖然兩隊都缺乏現正為「亞洲欖球錦標賽」備戰的七欖港隊成員出戰，但華利將帶著一支由香港、薩摩亞和紐西蘭國腳組成的陣容全力進軍大球場。

前香港女子十五人欖球代表隊教練加飛表示：「這將會是一場可看性極高的比賽，所有球員都會積極正面地出擊。我認為兩隊球員之間會鬥個難分難解，今場的勝利真的取決於整支球隊的表現。」加飛在任教港會前，也曾是華利的主帥，而他的太太加艾恩（Adrienne Garvey）是前港隊隊長，現在仍效力於華利，所以加飛絕對適合為港會和華利之間的利害關係作出評論。

加飛補充說：「兩隊之間是一個良性競爭，有些球員在欖球以外一起工作，或一起參與香港的欖球計劃，所以我相信她們之間的比賽是建立於友誼之上。

但對兩隊來說，這也是向大家展示女子欖球實力的好機會。兩隊的球員除了在球會層面上推廣欖球，她們同樣在球會外，特別是青年和學校社區內推廣。我們期待在大球場上再一次大展拳腳！」

兩個球會在欖球界都擁有最多的會員基礎，加上在活動前預售了超過1,000張門票，在萬聖節前夕，大球場將迎接一群期待歡聚已久的觀眾。當日大球場將由下午三時起開放予持票人士，而在兩場超級聯賽開始前，小型欖球表演賽將為場內氣氛預熱！入場門票僅售港幣50元，11歲或以下小童更可免費入場。

資料及相片來源 : Elite Step Asia Ltd. / 香港欖球總會