Hong Kong men’s rugby Premiership season returns with a bang as Hong Kong Football Club begin title defence

After more than nine months without local rugby, the Saxo Men’s Hong Kong Premiership finally got under way at King’s Park on a sweltering Saturday with teams shaking off the cobwebs and testing out new recruits.

Reigning champions Natixis Hong Kong Football Club started their league title defence with a solid 33-13 win over a rejuvenated Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers. Jack Wiggins’ men battled through a feisty first half as both teams tried to grab the game by the horns.

“Most of the rust is gone – there’s still going to be a little bit out there but hey how good is it to be playing again? You look across the world, no-one’s playing rugby and here we are blessed to be up and running. It’s an amazing testament to how we’ve dealt with everything,” Wiggins said, adding that he was impressed by the much-improved Tigers.

Ultimately, it was Football Club’s experienced forward scrum who dictated the tempo for the victory. Both teams were culpable of giving away careless penalties – perhaps an indication that teams are still adjusting to new regulations – but it was more a case of ironing creases before the season is in full swing.

Early penalties from respective fly-halves Glyn Hughes and Josh Henderson ensured both sides kept up with tight margins in the first half. However, it was a similar story to last year as a relentless Football Club pulled away thanks to a try from Benjamin Axten-Burrett and Tigers conceding a couple of penalty tries.

“Getting the first [game] out the way is important. There was lot of pressure on us this week. It wasn’t pretty but I think once again we proved that we stick in the fight. We know we have the squad to finish games. Bit disappointing in the end not to get the bonus point, but it’s a win and that takes us nicely into next week,” Wiggins added.