MELROSE CLAYMORES COMPETITION - MATCH REPORTS

FINALS - DAY THREE

Men’s Final:  Hong Kong China 19-15 Japan

There was an incredible crowd reaction to the two teams coming out at Kai Tak Stadium in the late afternoon.

Japan kicked off and had the early ball and placed pressure on the defending champions which led to a yellow card for HKCR. Japan moved the ball wide from a scrum, but a poor pass allowed us to defend and force them into touch.

Liam Herbert created one half chance, but we couldn't capitalise on it, but did well to keep Japan out while we were down to six players. 

Excellent sets of defence from our men kept Japan out initially. Eventually, Japan scored in the final minute of the half, but missed the conversion to lead 5-0.

Our men showed some fantastic hands and interplay, which allowed  Matteo Avitabile into space and to score under the posts, which was successfully converted as we led at the break.

We caused Japan to spill the ball from the start. Great solo work by Rory Stewart Cox saw him power past defenders to score, and we had a 12-5 lead in the 8th minute.

We earned a penalty and kicked for touch, and from the ensuing lineout, worked the ball to Avitabile, who added his second try to lead 19-5.

However, a second yellow for our HKCR men meant we had to defend and protect the lead with 4 minutes left.

Japan scored quickly, exploiting the numerical advantage, but it was out wide, making for a tough conversion kick, which went wide. The guys worked extremely hard to keep the ball and showed great physical intensity. 

Japan again went wide and, despite desperate tackles, scored in the corner for a tough kick, which again was missed with 30 seconds left. From the restart, there was a knock-on, but the hooter had gone, and the game was done - as our men successfully defended and won the Melrose Claymores for a third time.

Try Scorers: Matteo Avitabile (7’, 10’), Rory Stewart Cox (8’)

Player & Coach Reaction

Men’s Head Coach Jevon Groves said, “To be consistent in Asia is something we strive for, and Japan and China offer us tough opposition when we play against them. We have 6 members in our squad this weekend who have 5 tournaments or less, so I am pleased with those guys, but I was really happy with the platform the senior players laid. With the Asian Games at the end of the year, we have the Asian Sevens legs in China and Sri Lanka, but the guys will have a well-earned rest now. We will rip into the pre-season and improve the conditioning and contact skills, and we will be in Europe before the Asian tournaments, so we will be ready for them. If all these guys stay fit, we have a very healthy wider squad to choose from.”

Matteo Avitabile:

“We had to dig deep at the end of that, and it was a huge team effort, but that is what sevens rugby is about, we had to stick in it for all 14 minutes, and that's what we did. We talked yesterday after the loss and talked about how important it was to get the win today. We play Japan often, but the game plan was about being dominant in the collision and playing our style of attack and being relentless on the kick-offs, and I feel we did that well today. You don't get many opportunities to play in front of a crowd like that. It is truly special, and we are thankful to everyone who came out to support us. They were the 8th man on the pitch today, and it meant a lot. We constantly strive to be the best team in Asia, and it was important for us to make a statement. Now we have great preparations for the Asian Games, and we have a huge squad, a lot of depth and great staff behind us.”

Rory Stewart Cox

In his 3rd cap, which includes two Melrose Claymore tournaments, Rory Stewart Cox was POTM in the final. He said, “I am delighted, especially with Japan getting one over us yesterday. For us to bounce back was good but we made it difficult with two yellow cards but delighted with the boys and proud to represent Hong Kong China.”

With such a big crowd, what were the guys trying to say before the game? 
“The firing up takes care of itself and it was more about managing the nerves and making sure we were ready. We worked so hard for this and to put on a performance in front of a huge crowd means you don't need much to inspire you.”

How much work goes into the analysis? 
“We do a bit and Japan yesterday had a game plan that worked against us as they really boxed us in which made it tricky. We looked at that last night and this morning and tweaked some things and I think we had success with those changes.”

Where was the game won today? 
“It could have gone either way but the tenacity and the fight and turning the ball over and trusting our game play and going phase by phase. We were a bit loose with some offloads yesterday and we tightened that up.”

With Asian Games coming up, what are the next steps for the group? 
We have a break now and we will all reset and recharge for the long season. We started preseason in June last year. We will be back at things in May or June in what will be a gruelling preseason and the group we have here might be the same as for the Asian Games. So to get the result and confidence and we talk about momentum

Women’s Final Thailand 14-17 Denmark

Denmark were wearing white for the first time, with Thailand in their traditional yellow.  The Thais kicked off and retained the ball to apply early pressure like they did in their earlier matchup on Sunday.

Denmark this time held them at bay and kept it right, trying to use their physical advantage but also fanned out in defense which stunted the Thai attacks for the most part. The Danes took the lead with #12 Olivia Nyenstad scored after 2 minutes for a 7-0 lead.

A restart error meant the Thais had the ball on the halfway line, and despite showing some good hands, the Danish defence was resolute. Jirawan Chutrakun tried to find holes with her voice and power, but she was shut down.

The Thais eventually scored to tie it up at the hooter 7-7, as some great individual play from #13 Pornnapha Nartsopha split the defence.

Thailand seemed to lack urgency in the second half, and the Danish defence patiently waited for the mistakes, and #6 Freja Halbech scored the second Denmark try to lead with 4 minutes left.

The Thais shifted the ball east to west and back again but made no ground. A third try for Denmark from #2 Sofie Giessing made it 17-7 with less than 2 minutes in the final. 

Finally some urgency and individual skill from the Thai captain #10 Narathip Maneesai saw her edge around two players and she ran some distance to score under the posts and reduce the lead to 17-14. There was enough for one more play but the ball went dead from the restart and Denmark, in their first appearance in the Melrose Claymores, lifted the title to become the third different winner in three years in the women’s competition.

Player Reaction

Denmark Women's Captain - Julie Glessing said, “It's such a new environment for all of us to play in front of such a big crowd. These experiences are a massive opportunity for us to grow and learn. Not just this tournament, but we had three training scrimmages with other national teams while we have been in Hong Kong. The Euros feel like a small tournament after this. We have so many memories already.”

DAY TWO

Hong Kong China Women 14-24 Thailand

The quick and powerful Jirawan Chutrakun from Thailand looked to have opened the scoring in the opening minutes, but it was ruled out. Chong Ka Yan then prevented a try with a tackle on the edge, but Chutrakun did cross over for the opening score after three minutes in the right corner, narrowly missing the conversion to lead 5-0.

The Thais had Hong Kong China pegged back in our their half, and when the girls did attack, unfortunately, the ball was spilt. Chong Ka Yan prevented a second try by Chutrakun but again the try was ruled out as the Thai attacking winger tried to place the ball, but still had her knees on the ground.

Julia Mibuy Mba Oyana was given the space and ball within her 22m to run it a full 70m and dot down under the posts in the 7th minute. The try was converted to give a lead 7-5 with just enough time for the restart, but the Thais knocked the ball on to end the half.

Thailand kicked off and regained the ball to place us under pressure. Hong Kong China's rush defence caused Thailand problems, but they retained the ball well and found space through the middle with captain Narathip Maneesai scoring to lead 12-7 with 5 minutes to go.

The Thais were straight back into attack from the restart, and the Thai captain scored again within a minute to extend the lead to 17-7.

There were probing runs from Hong Kong China, but handling errors prevented them being converted into points. Thailand, meanwhile, were more composed with the ball in hand and added a final try to Rattanaporn Wittayaronnayut, to extend the lead to 24-7 with a minute remaining.

Hong Kong China looked to narrow the deficit as the points differential could count. Haruka Uematsu managed to score on her debut at the Cathay HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, but with the missed conversion, it ended up as a 12-24 loss.

Try Scorers: Julia Mibuy MBA OYANA (7’) & Haruka UEMATSU (14’)

Player Reaction

Shanna Forrest: Said that the main messaging for the team ahead of the game had been around what they could control, but that it did not pan out as they wanted. “Even though it was not the result we wanted, Thailand put up a great fight, and now we will have to wait and see what happens.

"We didn't maintain our goals, and one of our main takeaways from the game against Denmark was to protect the ball, and we didn't do that as well as we wanted. We had a few issues in our attack in both games, and that impacted the results. Going into tomorrow, we have to be optimistic and keep the same messaging.”

Aside from the results, she said that the weekend had been really fun and emotional. “Being able to play in front of this crowd and even the smallest of runs out here is met with such loud cheers, it is such a great motivator as a player. It is so noisy out there, but we love it. It's amazing, and we appreciate that it could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We need to believe in ourselves, and we will keep doing that as a team.”

Hong Kong China Men 7-14 Japan

Japan kicked off and got the ball back from the restart with Toma Shiwachi scoring in the opening 30 seconds under the posts, to give Japan a 7-0 lead.

Hong Kong China dealt better with the restart and earned a penalty to get out of their 22m. Co-captain James Christie worked hard and scored the equalising try, and with the conversion slotted, made it 7-7 in the 3rd minute.

Japan put a good ball in behind Hong Kong China, but the boys defended well and cleared their lines. There was a scrum for Hong Kong China in front of our own posts with less than 30 second and again we were forced to kick clear for the half time whistle to be blown.

In the second half, Japan scored first, finding space on the right edge, to lead 14-7. Both teams again created one or two chances, but it was a tight game.

Hong Kong China had a great scoring opportunity with a 4 vs 2 overlap, but Japan poached the loose ball and ran 80m to nearly score, barring an outstanding Mike Coverdale tackle. The boys tried several times to run it out from our 22m but could not find a way past a resolute defence, and Japan held on to win by a 7 point margin.

Try Scorers: James Christie

DAY ONE

Hong Kong China Women 14-14 Denmark 

Our women kicked off after a noisy reception from the Kai Tak crowd under the closed roof and regathered the ball, but had it turned over after a few phases of attacking play.

We then stole a lineout and looked to unleash the pace of Chong Ka Yan and Julia Mibuy Mba Oyana, but the Danish defence held. The Danes then had their chances to attack with the ball in hand and were met by staunch Hong Kong China defence.

There was a 5th-minute TMO check on a potential high hit from the team in red, but no foul play took place. When Hong Kong China had the ball, the girls looked to create chances, but small handling errors meant there was a lack of continuity. The vocal crowd urged the team on.  

Denmark applied pressure, and the girls had to defend our try line at the hooter, but Denmark scored from the back of a 5 metre scrum and converted the try to lead 7-0 at the break.

The second period started scrappily for both teams. Hong Kong China at times struggled to find cohesion and Denmark worked the ball well to the left and extended the lead 14-0 with just 4 minutes left.

A Danish player was yellow-carded from the restart, but the girls couldn't make the most of the half-chances that were created. With the clock running down, we had to score twice, and the scoring machine, Chong Ka Yan, scored with 2 minutes remaining, and it was successfully converted.

The Hong Kong China scramble defence stopped a third try from the Danes, and after winning a penalty after the hooter,  Chong Ka Yan made another burst and scored under the posts in front of the South Stand. The second conversion meant it was a draw at full-time.

Try Scorers: Chong Ka Yan (10’ & 15’)

Player Reaction

Haruka Uematsu: is making her Hong Kong Sevens debut this weekend, although didn’t take to the field in today’s first match of the tournament. After the match she said she had never been in front of this many fans before. “I enjoyed the crowd a lot. I thought I was going to be much more nervous, as I can be anxious, but I was fine out there. My teammates helped me get through this, and in the tunnel, we were all encouraging each other.”

She said that she was really enjoying the moments and taking the whole experience in. “I have been really enjoying this a lot. I'm the youngest in the team, and this is my dream. I have family and friends in the crowd, so this means so much.”

She added of the Danish team, whom they had played in a hit out in preparation over the week, “I think they have improved a lot over the short amount of time we have seen them. We didn't start our best, but our captain, Chloe (Chan), told us to stay in there and trust ourselves and do what we are good at.”

Hong Kong China Men 36-14 China 

Following an hour of live music which entertained the vocal crowd, Hong Kong China came out and kicked off their Melrose Claymores title defence against China, who are coached by former All Black 7s Sam Dickson. 

Liam Herbert opened the scoring in the 2nd minute to lead 5-0, but China struck back and scored under the posts a minute later and took the lead with the conversion 7-5.  

The Chinese secured the ball from the restart, but the Hong Kong China defence earned us a penalty. Herbert created the space, and his pass allowed Bryn Phillips to dart between two defenders, and he scored the second try, this time converted, to retake the lead 12-5 in the final minute of the first period.

A Chinese player deliberately knocked the ball after the hooter and was yellow-carded. As the crowd was eagerly chanting ‘Hong Kong’, Matteo Avitabile scored off a set move, and the boys led 19-7 at the break.

In the second period, a great weaving run by Rory Stewart Cox saw him beat several defenders, before dotting down in front of the South Stand to lead 26-7 in the opening two minutes.

China scored in response under the posts after some good offloads and narrowed the deficit to 14-26.

A crucial steal and turnover on defence from our men stopped the Chinese scoring again, and they then turned defence into attack as Matt Rickard scored the 5th try for a 31-14 lead, in his first Hong Kong Sevens appearance.

Liam Herbert added a 6th and final try at the end of the game to record a 36-14 victory.

Try Scorers: Liam Herbert (2’ and 14’), Bryn Philips (6’), Matteo Avitabile (8’), Rory Stewart Cox (10’), Matt Rickard (12’)

Player Reaction

Julien Bourron: “We never know what to expect from the Chinese side as the team changes every time we face them. Our focus was on ourselves, and we had good experienced players create chances out there. My role was to distribute, and the guys did all the hard work out there.”

It is his first Hong Kong Sevens, and he is part of the younger crop coming through. “We have about six experienced guys and six younger lads this weekend. It's a good blend between the two, and guys in the group like Liam Herbert, who does a great job at gelling us all together.”

With six tries scored, and a few in front of friends and family in the South Stand, the boys were humble in the celebrations. “I scored at the National Games in front of that stand, and there is no better feeling for sure. I am one of the many guys who were out there as a mini player when I was younger. And watching the guys growing up and the heroes I have, and to have some of them as my teammates now is such a special and surreal feeling. This is a whole other level out there at Kai Tak, and it's only Friday.”

Liam Herbert: “In the team, I am like the middle man between the younger guys and the older, experienced players. I bridge that gap, and we have a lot of the younger guys in the squad this weekend, and they don't want to show it, but it's natural to be nervous, and we help each other calm down to focus on the job. And also to use the crowd who get behind our back, and to really play for each other.”

Of the game and the result, he said, “I was happy with our attack in that game, but we can still clean up our defence a bit. We knew, like with Japan, it was going to be about their offload game. We will look at the reviews and adjust for tomorrow. Our attack looks like it will take care of itself, but overall, I am happy.”

When asked about the humble celebrations, he said, “Yeah, maybe some of the colourful characters who do that are not here this weekend, but I think the celebrations will come, the guys were maybe a bit nervous too. We just wanted to get the job done, and the celebrations can come if we win it all on Sunday.”

Rory Stewart Cox: It wasn't his first Hong Kong Sevens, but it was his first try in front of the fabled South Stand, and Rory said, “I was worried someone was behind me when I scored there, but I am happy to have scored on that end. As a group, even the younger guys, I felt like we were composed and energised.”

Of the prep for Japan tomorrow, he said, “Yeah, I had to do this for the first time last year, and I found it quite tough to come down from the highs of playing out there in this stadium and with that crowd. I am a bit calmer and more confident in myself this time around. We will head back to the hotel, decompress and try to switch off. 

My dad, mom and brother were in the crowd, as well as other family and friends, so this is really special.”

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