Scramble for second goes down to the wire in HKRU Premiership

The battle for runners-up spot in the 2015-16 HKRU Premiership will be settled Saturday on the last match day of the league season when third-ranked Natixis HKFC host second-placed Leighton Asia HKCC.

By the end of the day the Grand Championship play-offs picture will be set. The top two teams in the league – champions Societe Generale Valley and the winners of the Sports Road showdown – will enjoy a first-round bye while the remaining Premiership sides must compete in a knockout competition to determine the other two semi-finalists.

HKCC enter the match in sole command of second place on 41 points trailed by HKFC with 37. HKFC require a bonus-point win with four tries or more; they must also prevent the Cricketers from securing a bonus point of their own.

Should the teams be level after the match, second place will be determined by point-difference. As they stand, HKCC are on +40 and HKFC +23. As an indication of Valley’s superiority this season, their point-difference is +212.

HKCC will welcome the return of talismanic captain Ben Roberts from a second injury lay-off this season. The Welsh hooker will pack down alongside props Jack Nielson and James Cooper in the front row, while locks Paul Dwyer and Jack Delaforce complete the tight five with Adrian Griffiths, Matt Lamming and Marcus Slade at number eight rounding out the pack.

With Tom Marshall at scrum-half, Alex McQueen at outside centre and Rowan Varty and Jamie Robinson on the wings, HKCC boast 10 Hong Kong internationals in their starting 15 this weekend – a fact about which HKFC coach Phil Bailey is all too aware.

“They have the form, they have the players and it will be a tough match for us,” he said. “They’re strong in the scrum and at the line-out, and they show disciplined quality in all of their set pieces. They stick to their game for the 80 minutes.