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Hong Kong Football club take on Scottish in rugby Premiership round four – ‘Go big or go home’
- Football Club look to put last week’s defeat behind them but face a hungry Scottish – ‘We have to stop that momentum’
- HKFC Ice as confident as ever ahead of difficult match-up with Gai Wu – ‘We have the best backline in the league’
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After suffering their first loss of the season last week, reigning champions Natixis Hong Kong Football Club will be desperate to get their title defence campaign back on track against KPMG Hong Kong Scottish in round four of the men’s rugby Premiership on Saturday – providing the weather allows.
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Coach Jack Wiggins’ side were shocked by in-form DAC Kowloon 26-17 last week, dropping to third. But they have the home advantage against Scottish, who are still searching for a win after narrowly falling to ImpactHK Sandy Bay 20-19 the same round.
While Football Club are – on paper – favoured to dominate, the domestic leagues have already thrown several curveballs since starting last month. What is more, last-minute overseas acquisitions are finishing up their respective quarantines as fans are likely to see full-strength squads for the first time.
New Scottish coach Peter Jericevich knows breaking their losing skid against Football Club is no easy feat, but he hopes reinforcements will help fill the various voids – particularly the clearly struggling forward pack. Incoming Australian tight-head prop Max Nelson is already settling into the squad, while fellow countryman hooker Nick Hyde and New Zealand flanker Vinnie O’Connell could feature despite quarantine D-Day cutting it close.
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“We are delighted to have 23 players and a full front row after a challenging open to the season. We are going to manage them all properly. They have to come to grips with the conditions we play in and the extreme humidity, but that’s part of the challenge,” Jericevich said.
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