Valley cap 40th season in style as men’s and women’s firsts win Grand Championship titles
Double-winning men beat HKCC 21-5 in Grand Final, while unbeaten Valley Black Ladies edge Gai Wu 12-10
Societe Generale Valley capped their 40th anniversary season in style after claiming both the men’s and women’s HKRU Premiership Grand Championship titles on Saturday at King’s Park.
The men’s team proved their strength in depth once again with a comprehensive 21-5 victory over league runners-up Leighton Asia HKCC, scoring 16 points in the second half to tuck the game away.
Valley Black Ladies were made to work much harder after a magnificent team performance from opponents CPM Gai Wu Falcons, who were denied 12-10 in the last minute of their Grand Final.
Our forwards were dominant and when it got tight we muscled up
“Fortieth anniversaries don’t come around very often, but to cap it like this was special,” said Valley director of rugby Dean Herewini. “We had really good progression at the club from last season.”
In a torrid first half for the men, HKCC dominated the early stages but failed to capitalise on possession and territory. Their only points came from a 70th minute try from towering centre Conor Hartley.
Valley’s Leon Wei Hon-sum opened the scoring on half-time and Valley powered on after the break racking up 13 unanswered points. Ben Rimene converted a try by flanker Toby Fenn, who dived over the line amid heavy traffic in the 47th minute, and kicked three penalties in the second half.
HKCC’s hopes of a comeback were dashed when matt Lamming was sin-binned.
Rimene slotted the ensuing penalty, his third of the night, to bring the final score to 21-5 and return the Grand Championship trophy to Happy Valley for a fourth straight season.
