Sun 23 Sept, 2012

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Well it was the turn of the U16s today and we entered two teams in the 10s competition.

The 2nd team, consisting mostly of boys having their first ever game of rugby found matches a little different to training. Unfortunately we lost all our pool games  and ended up in the shield final, where we lost to Causeway Bay. The lads played well at times but really learnt how important it is to make your tackles count. We missed far too many.
The first team won three of their four pool games and ended up in the plate final, where unfortunately we lost to DeA 17 – 7. The boys played particularly well in attack and we scored a few length of the pitch tries.
Overall the U16s are going to have the basis of a good team for the 15-a-side league but success will depend on how quickly the new boys pick up the game and so I am sure Gunny and Tank will have them doing plenty of tackle practice in the next few weeks.
Next week it is the turn of the U14s and the U14 10-a-side competition is being held at Kings Park from 10.30 to 13.00hrs.
I am off to UK for a couple of weeks and whilst I will endeavour to keep up with results the weekly newsletter may be delayed. I would have asked Robbie to do it on my behalf but he is off to sunny Scotland with two of our ex-Breakthrough boys who now work for the Union, Chi-ho and Billy. They are going to visit the Scottish Rugby Union and learn about the scheme they operate, which is similar to Breakthrough, using rugby to help young offenders and kids at risk. The two boys trip has kindly been sponsored by the Saint Andrews Society. I will get the lads to write me something about the trip for a newsletter, when they get back.
Don’t eat too many mooncakes.

Sun 16 Sept, 2012​


The rugby season has finally started but let me first of all tell you about a few events this summer.

We held a very successful summer course and have recruited about 20 new boys to Breakthrough through this course. These were lads who attended the course over the summer and decided they wanted to stay on and play this season, plus a small group of boys who have recently been released from Tuen Mun Boys Home. We also sent 16 boys from rugby on an outward bound course, which 36 kids from all the Breakthrough activities attended. Eight days of outward bound activities in Sai Kung really test the children and I know they get a lot out of it in terms of self confidence, teamwork, commitment and perseverance. All attributes they tend to lack, which results in them joining us in the first place. In addition we have played in a couple of touch tournaments with support from our main sponsors, Standard Chartered Bank.
Attached are a picture of some of the boys at the summer course and also the rugby lads at the outward bound graduation ceremony, where it was nice to see their families coming along to support them.                                                   

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   Anyway the club have continued to train throughout the summer and today saw the U19s back in action at the U19 ten-a-side competition. The U19s have lost  a number of key players this year, as they have left school  and moved on, so this year is going to be a rebuilding year. So I was very pleased when we won our three pool games against Causeway Bay, Twisters and TSW Eagles putting us in the final against Discovery Bay. We narrowly lost the final, but the way we played and in particular the way we tackled gives us much to look forward to and it looks as though we will again  be competitive at the U19 level.
On the subject of boys moving on a number have joined the Police Rugby Club but those from Tin Siu Wai have further swelled the numbers of those playing for Tin Siu Wai Pandas. They have moved up to the second division this year and for a pre-season game went up to play the PLA last weekend and they played in front of a crowd of 6,000 people, which they tell me was quite an experience.

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Next week we have the U16 tens at we have entered two teams, one in Division 2 and one in Division 3. We have a lot of new boys at this level and will be hoping to give as many as possible a run out and a taste of competitive rugby. The two U16 competitions will run all afternoon at the Police Club and next door at Tai Hang Tung, starting at about 12.30pm.
I hope to see some of you at the matches.







Wed 17 Oct, 2012


Well I am back from the UK and pleased to tell you that all has gone smoothly in my absence thanks to Robbie, Gunny (our head coach) and Tank (our no 2 coach).
On 31 September we took part in the U14 ten-a-side competition and got through to the Cup final, where I am told we lost in a thriller by a conversion after both sides scored 3 or 4 tries each. We have a lot of new boys in the team, so obviously this was a fantastic result.
On 7/10 the U16s and the U19s started the 15-a-side league games and we had a mixed day. The U16s,another team with a lot of new boys playing their first game, lost by two tries to nil against the combined Lions/Eagles team. However the U19s got off to a winning start by 31-14 against Aberdeen, which is a good result as they are usually a well drilled team.
On 14/10 the U14s started their 15-a-side season and we got off to a winning start by 34-17 against the Warriors, which again sounds like an exciting game.
This Sunday 21/10, sees two games at the Police Club. The U16s are playing Causeway Bay at 1pm and at 2.15pm the U19s are playing East Kowloon.
Looking further ahead we have some great rugby for you on 28/10. The Philippine U14 and U16 teams are in town for games against a HK select team on Saturday and are having a second game against a combined Lions/Police team on the Sunday. The U14s are on at 11.45am and the U16s follow at 1pm. It would be great if you could make it down to support any of the games.