It’s a repeat of the 2018/19 Men’s Premiership Semi-Final with Herbert Smith Freehills HKU Sandy Bay travelling ince again to Sports Road to take on the league champions, Natixis HKFC.

Without doubt, HKFC were worthy repeat league champions, with nine wins from ten Premiership matches and will be a force to reckon with at home on Saturday 1st February.

Sandy Bay may have clocked in at fourth position on the ladder but are more than capable of stringing together a performance that could trouble and topple their fancied opponents.

Alex McQueen is back for the Bay [credit: HKRU\

Their two league encounters both ended in a four-tries-to-two outcome in favour of the ‘blue and whites’ but Sandy Bay were guilty of bombing chances that could have seen the outcome much closer.

Head Coach Brett Wilkinson and assistant coaches Marno Meyer and Will Webster will have done their homework over Chinese New Year, devising a game plan with the potential to produce a win and hammering it into the squad over the remaining training sessions.

They will surely be inspired by their astonishing 31-10 win against the same side at the same venue at the same stage of the previous season. The Bay travelled with the knowledge that they could win but to come away with a five tries to one (including a hattrick by Angus Cameron a penalty try to HKFC) was truly stunning. On that day, Football Club appeared to choke under the expectation of reaching the final after such a powerful regular season. HKFC Head Coach Jack Wiggins will also be using that painful defeat as motivation for himself and his squad.

Angus Cameron, literally on fire with a hattrick in last seasons semi-final [Credit: HKRU]

Bolstering the Bay on that day was a raucous travelling crowd that made it feel like a home game. Well oiled social teams combined with mini and youth players who’d come to support their coaches and clubmates made all the difference.

Big game players, Liam Slatem and Luke van der Smit, need to inspire the team [Credit; HKRU]

The winner will advance to the Grand Final on 8th February, against the winner of the other semi-final between Societe Generale Valley and Bloomberg Scottish. The loser will be done.

DUE TO CORONAVIRUS PRECAUTIONS, THE MATCH IS BEING PLAYED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS WITH NO ADMITTANCE TO GENERAL PUBLIC. DO NOT GO TO HKFC TO WATCH THE MATCH.

THE MATCH WILL BE SHOWN LIVE ON THE BIG SCREENS AT OUR SPONSOR BAR, RULA LIVE WITH 4:45PM KICK OFF.
DOORS OPEN AT 2PM WITH THE VALLEY/HK SCOTTISH SEMI FINAL SCREENING AT 2PM.
THE WOMENS SEMI FINAL BETWEEN HKFC AND VALLEY WILL SCREEN AT 6:30PM

COME DOWN AND SUPPORT THE BAY AT RULA LIVE. THE TEAM WILL JOIN IN RULA AFTER THE MATCH.

Big Del was fired up [credit: HKRU]