The party is over for the Herbert Smith Freehills HKU Sandy Men's Premiership team. The reigning Grand Championship winners bowed out of the race to defend their title from last season with a 21-6 loss at HKFC to the league winners HKFC.

Photo credit:HKRU

The Bay certainly had their fair share of opportunities with the ball in the HKFC red zone but could not puncture the stern defensive line. For much of the game, they looked the better team but hats off to HKFC who defended like their lives depended on it and came away with points nearly every time they exerted sustained pressure.

Photo credit: HKRU

In the end, Sandy Bay completed the season with four league wins (USRC Tigers (2), Kowloon and HK Scottish) and six losses which was never enough to take into a knockout match. A third placing in the Premiership Challenge Trophy and fourth place in the Premiership League seem like a fair reflection on the season but, at the same, time will leave them feeling like they could have achieved much more.

Photo credit: HKRU

At times the team has dazzled and produced periods of play that could see them match any team in the Premiership. A raft of new players had joined the squad and head coach Brett Wilkinson and his team had done a decent job of settling them in but in contrast, a good degree of leadership experience had been lost a handful of grizzled veterans.

Photo credit: HKRU

Sandy Bay clubmates and supporters can feel proud that this team gave their everything yesterday at Sports Road. They fell short against a polished, efficient and committed, although unexciting, team that were highly motivated to take all tree titles this season.

Up the Bay!

Read a full story from from HKRugby.com

Excerpt...

For Club, the treble is now the mantra as they look to add Grand Champions to their resume of Premiership Challenge Trophy and Premiership title winners. Feared for its offensive prowess, HKFC toppled Valley with an impressive defensive effort in the Premiership decider, and once again earned victory from the outside in against Sandy Bay.

Both sides obviously remembered last year’s 31-10 upset at Sports Road, adding spice to an occasion already destined to provide fireworks. The match largely lived up to its billing as both outfits threw everything at each other for an exciting 80 minutes.

Last year, Sandy Bay blitzed Club with 19 points in the first 40, and they looked to do the same this time around. Initially it looked as if their bid to bury Club early would work with their first opportunity coming 90 seconds in after the visitors drove deep behind the fierce running of Luke van der Smit, Ben Davey and Mark Prior.

On this occasion, Prior was felled and the ball dislodged by a textbook tackle from Club flanker Hugh McCormick-Houton with the line begging. That pattern of intense effort and available, yet untapped, opportunity would continue for Sandy Bay, who could only muster three points in the first half.

Despite Sandy Bay’s max pressure game and the increasing wave of attacks, Club never looked ruffled as they managed to contain Sandy Bay’s big ball carrying forwards behind an impressive team-wide defensive effort.

While Club had little of the attack in the first half, they did have Glyn Hughes. The fly half made the most of the hosts’ scant forays early on to give Club a 6-0 lead from two penalties in the first quarter. And while Club’s attack may have been dormant for most of the proceedings, it was not in hibernation as they ultimately proved with tries in either half.

Playmaking fullback Nate De Thierry was involved in both, setting up the first after a well-weighted chip for wing Max Denmark. The Hong Kong sevens star was exciting in his limited opportunities with the ball today and on this occasion did well to recover from an awkward bounce to make positive short ground and bring the attack to a metre short of the line. Scrumhalf Jamie Lauder recycled the ball after Denmark was tackled for the first try with ten minutes left in the half.

Sandy Bay finished with another impressive passage of play, dominating the late stages of the half to set-up a scoring opportunity on Club’s 22 metres late. They opted for the penalty and Jack Metters made this one count, after missing an earlier chance, to close the gap to 13-3.

Sandy Bay was even more impressive after the break as they raised their intensity to another level. Sadly for the defending grand champions, the effort - while unimpeachable - was undermined by a lack of execution.

Sandy Bay could only show three further points after another massive period of attack that generated numerous try-line chances and chewed up most of the third quarter. The points came from winger Iwan Phillips, who closed the gap to a converted try at 13-6 to keep Sandy Bay in with a chance entering the final quarter.

With the game teetering in the balance, Club’s attack exploded into life once again as centre Ben Axten-Burrett created and finished a break against the run of play. He linked up smartly with De Thierry down the left hand side and the talented Hong Kong fullback’s footwork and vision on the touchline was impeccable as he ushered the ball back to Axten-Burrett for the try in the corner as Club pushed the lead back to multiple scores with 14 minutes left.

Sandy Bay never stopped punching at the line, taking play into Club territory twice more but again failed to convert chances into points, and a final Hughes penalty closed the curtains, 21-6.

Sandy Bay coach Brett Wilkinson commended his player’s efforts today and across the season: “I’m proud of all of the players for their efforts today and throughout the season. It was a tough game that reflects the season we’ve had. The story of our season is in those missed opportunities.

“Early in the second half, we created a lot of opportunities and had a chance to swing it our way, but we couldn’t convert and that has been the story of our season. But we reached a semi final for a second straight year, which was a target and shows that our consistency has improved a bit.

“The effort can’t be faulted but the results didn't go our way today, that’s sport,” he added.

Photo credit: HKRU