[xtypo_dropcap]N[/xtypo_dropcap]ewedge Club retained second position on the ladder after a convincing victory at home over their much improved challengers the Amadeus Causeway Bay Rams in the G4S Domestic League on Saturday night Oct 23, 32-10.
In a fiery encounter that saw referee Dewi Rowlands issue six yellow cards, the Rams, while competitive were unable to cross the line more than once to the two tries that Hong Kong Football Club’s 1st XV Newedge Club managed.
It took 7 minutes for Causeway Bay to score the first of the match, but Club’s dominance in the scrums saw them take the lead into the halftime break.
The vital first score of the second half went to Newedge two minutes in. A costly off-side penalty against Rams gave Newedge a chance to score and they converted for 3 points. Club moved to 19 against Rams 7.
Minutes later Rams responded with a conversion when Newedge were penalised for holding the ball. It would turn out to be their final score for the night with Newedge taking the premiership points at home.
Rowlands, the referee, spoke with The Epoch Times after the match and said that the two teams had a “big rivalry” coming into the match that was reflected in aggressive play on and off the ball.
“Causeway Bay are really an up and coming side this season,” Rowlands said. “As it stood before last night, it was second in the division versus third. So it was always going to be a closely fought game. Both sides started off very positively, wanting to play hard rugby; with some good scores from both sides.
“There was a lot riding on the game and I suppose with both competing for spaces on the league [standings] – and of course with Club not wanting to lose on their home ground.
“I started to get some reports from behind me that there was some niggle behind play,” said Dewi who has been a referee in Hong Kong for the past seven years with four at the Division 1 level.
“There were six yellow cards. Three each. So it’s even. The first ones were for repeated infringements at the tackle ruck … this is something that we give out all the time. Then two apiece afterwards were for foul play. Some of them were for calls I received from the AR [assistant referees], others I saw myself that were just late tackles and stuff like that.
“In games like this where it’s very physical, players get emotional. Sometimes you get a bit [of fighting].
“As it happens, the tackle and ruck were OK. That’s of course where I focus – I can only referee what’s in front of me and what the players decide to do is entirely up to them,” explained Rowlands who played schoolboy rugby in Wales and wanted to give something back to the game. When it became apparent that he was “no longer big enough or tough enough to play rugby” he decided to pick up the whistle.
After halftime the Rams weren’t really in the match. The forwards from HKFC were dominating despite their backline not being quite up to scratch. Conversely, the backline of Causeway Bay were a bit better, but their forwards were not, they were fairly ineffectual.
“Club were definitely very physical up front. Actually, I think even some of the Causeway Bay guys were pretty physical as well. So, I suppose different styles of play for each side,” said Dewi who calls refereeing his hobby.
“[There are] definitely some talented backs from Causeway Bay. But again some of the tries by Football Club were also beautiful. One intercept and one at the end there was beautifully timed to seal off the game.
“Certainly an interesting game for me to referee,” he said. “I’m pretty happy in the way that it was an evenly contested game.”
Other Results
In other matches in Week 4, the previously undefeated DeA Tigers slipped from their lofty perch to fourth in the Friday night game against Tradition Valley Red. Touted as the Friday Night Thriller by the league, it was anything but that as Valley’s 1st XV demolished their opponents, 62-3.
Valley Black (their 2nd XV) went down to Altus Kowloon who continue to impress each week, 15-45.
Leighton Asia HKCC was too good for Newedge Dragons (HKFC’s 2nd XV) in the closest mach of the week, 32-24.
There are no matches for this weekend in the domestic league. There is a bye while Australia and New Zealand take centre stage at Hong Kong Stadium in the Bledisloe Cup on Saturday night Oct 30.
