HONG KONG—On Saturday March 11, Valley had cause for double happiness, by winning (again) the Men’s and Women’s Premier Championship finals played at Kings Park.
Valley Black Ladies beat their long-time rivals Gai Wu Falcons, 15-7. The final pitted two teams with contrasting styles of play. Would the physicality of Valley be undone by the speed and pace of Gai Wu? No. Valley were simply better; they defended well, and had to defend for much of the game, but took their chances each time they were in the opposition 22. Gai Wu had plenty of pace, put in a gutsy performance, but could not convert territory, possession, nor the poor discipline of Valley, who coughed-up an incredible number of penalties.
A last minute penalty try flattered the scoreline and disguised the fact that Valley were never threatened throughout the match. Valley took the lead in the first-half with a barreling try by flanker Olivia Coady, converted by Zoe Smith, who later added a penalty goal. After 20 minutes Valley led 10-0.
For the next 50 minutes of play, which included a Valley sin-binning, Gai Wu had match momentum, but found no way through the Valley brickwall defence. It wasn’t until the 70th minute, when Valley made a rare foray into the Gai Wu, 22, recycled the ball quickly and Milo battered her way across the line, to extend Valleys lead to 15-0.
