chairman’s words
We have had a strong start to the season in general as a Rugby section New highlights this year include an addition of a new Women’s team as well as strong numbers featuring in our Men’s Community teams
A number of new faces involved with our Management teams, including our first full time Head of Women’s Rugby, Bella Milo who drives the rugby section alongside Head of Men’s Rugby Gus Leger
Our Men’s Premiership shot off the blocks earlier in the season banking the first two games as wins, however finished the last two on the wrong end of the scoreboard They will be hunting for an important win this weekend against the USRC Tigers.
Our Women’s Premiership continue to maintain their dominant force in the leagues. Starting the season with 4 wins in a row, the team managed to defeat their rivals HKFC in a tightly contested fixture last weekend
Our Community teams have also grown depth in numbers and have shown improvement across the board with new faces and old faces returning.
Best of luck to all teams as we host USRC Tigers and Shenzhen Pirates for Club Day.
Tom Hall
13:30 Societe GeneraleValley RFC Mens Prem v USRC Tigers
15:20 Societe Generale Valley RFC Knights v Shenzhen Pirates
16:40 Societe Generale Valley RFC Reds v USRC Tigers
18:15 Societe Generale Valley RFC Womens Prem v USRC Tigers
M PREM
CHRIS SAWHNEY
CHARLES WARREN
HENKO BURGER
SHUWAN AU (VC)
K WONG (VC)
JOYCE TSE
YOANNA LEUNG
ISABEL LUI
W PREM
v USRC Tigers 6:15pm
LAVENIA NAUGA-GREY
TANYA DHAR
HEREWINI (C)
ROSIE INGLIS
CHING MAN TSANG
KATRINA ROSZYNSKI
JAYME NUKU
KAREN SO
9. CTING LI
BELLA MILO
ZOE SMITH
CRYSTAL MAYES
HASTING LEIATAUA (VC)
ANGEL CHEUNG
HARUKA UEMATSU 16 ANDREA LEUNG
LILY TSANG 18. RIVA BRILL 19. SABRINA CHUNG
OLIVIA COADY 21. CHLOE CHAN 22. ABIGAL CHAN 23. TIFFANY FU
We say a fond see you soon to Sheldon, Krsytal and the family as they look to move back to New Zealand.
Having been with the club for a 10 year period Sheldon and Krystal have contributed immensely to our Rugby, Netball and wider club rugby programs.
Krys has been a significant part of our Valley Netball section and was part of the team that won the Hong Kong Netball Association Premiership last year
Sheldon played for both the Knights and the Premiership team and went on to win 4 Grand Championships for the Knights and 5 Grand Championships for the Premiership
He ran our youth programs as the Head of Youth Sports and has also worked heavily as a coach with our Valley Fort rugby programs
No doubt their family contribution to our Club has been massivethank you both and see you soon!
Broz
bella milo
HEAD OF WOMENS RUGBY & PREMIERSHIP HEAD COACH
Our women’s section continues to grow, with 3 teams featuring this year. What is the key to success?
The top 3 keys to this success are:
a. Players need to enjoy your coaching and team environment
b Being organized
c Time! Take time to learn who your players are from 1 - 60+.
How are you enjoying your new role at Valley?
Loving it To be able to spend quality time on planning, analysis and delivery is time that I would have not had juggling 2 jobs
What are you most looking forward to this season?
Seeing all our players grow and enjoy playing rugby!
Having 60+ players turn up week to week has been rewarding but also challenging at the same time so to be able to challenge our top side as well as push and develop our Reds & Gold team is something I can look back on and reflect on and ask “Did the players grow and did they enjoy it”.
You have just completed a 4 out of 4 game win streak – how do you feel about this?
Yeah pretty happy & proud of how we have come together nicely We have a great bunch of players who are getting out there and playing with there mates.
Which players to look out for this season?
Rosie Inglis, Manman Tsang, Jayme Nuku, Crystal Mayes, Hasting Leiataua, Abigail Chan and Haruka Uematsu
These players alongside a few others have really stamped there mark in the last 4 weeks.
If you were not coaching rugby – which other sport would you coach and why?
NFL because you can specialize and individualize alongside working with a wider group.
This is your second season with us at the club. Have you settled in well?
Yes, I’ve settled in much better this season My wife Whetuu and our son Ingram arrived in July, and having them here with me has made all the difference. Family is very important to me.
This season has also been smoother because I had the benefit of a full pre-season to prepare Last year, I joined mid-way through the season, so I’m especially grateful to our manager, Doug Fluker, and coaches Sam Hocking, Franke Werahiko, and Scotty Davidson for their support.
They ensured we had well-structured sessions starting back in early August A special thanks also goes to Roger “Baseline” Ng, our Strength and Conditioning player/trainer, for his valuable contributions to our preparation
HEAD OF MENS RUGBY & PREMIERSHIP HEAD COACH
This is the 50th season the club has fielded a Men’s team. What does this milestone mean to you and the team?
This milestone is incredibly meaningful to the Premier team and the entire club. Reaching 50 seasons represents consistency, commitment, and the passion of the Valley community, including its founding members.
This year, we’ve established our core values for the season, both on and off the pitch While maintaining these values for one season is an achievement, doing so for 50 years speaks volumes about the strength and reputation of this organization across Rugby, Netball, and Hockey
If you weren’t coaching rugby, which other sport would you coach and why?
I’ve been fortunate to play two other sports at an international and professional level 15 years with New Zealand Softball and with the California Angels in baseball These experiences, combined with over a decade of teaching, have shaped my passion for mentoring athletes
I enjoy helping young athletes transition from school to semi-professional or professional sports, as well as supporting professionals preparing for the next stage of their lives after sports
It’s a special moment that deserves celebration and appreciation.
We had a strong start to the season but fell short towards the end, how are we planning to bounce back?
Our first two games against Kowloon and Tiger were very positive, and we gained a lot of valuable insights However, HKFC demonstrated why they’re still the team to beat. While we had opportunities to score, we lacked the precision and execution required
Against Sandy Bay, we faced their usual intensity, and it was a challenging match at So Kon Po Field. While our set piece showed improvement, we needed to be more clinical in finishing our opportunities in their half
Sometimes, success comes from making small adjustments to how we approach things, rather than completely changing what we do We have a strong squad at Happy Valley Field 6, and we believe we’re capable of competing at the highest level. Now, it’s up to us to deliver results.
We’ve had a few new faces in the team this year Gus. Tell us about the impact they’ve had.
Toby Salmon (UK) – Lock
Toby has been an outstanding addition to the club His physicality and extensive professional experience from France have been immediate assets. He’s a versatile athlete, capable of playing like a midfield back when needed Off the pitch, Toby is transitioning into the finance sector as he prepares for life after rugby
Dhynzel Pritchard (New Zealand) – Midfield
Dhynzel, a former schoolboy star from St. Peter’s College in Auckland, is a well-rounded athlete He brings an educated left foot for kicking options, is a powerful ball carrier, an accurate distributor, and a solid defender He’s also focused on completing his nursing degree, with just one semester remaining after this season.
Paul Eti Slater (Samoa) – Midfield
Eti joined us after representing Samoa’s 7s squad at the Paris Olympics His global experience and rugby knowledge have been invaluable. His focused approach to training and insightful advice inspire the group to continually improve Eti is currently working in the fitness sector with BFT, and we’re grateful to Ken Ecarnacion for helping him settle in He’s a fantastic addition to the Valley family
Keagan Glade (South Africa) – Tighthead Prop
Keagan has adapted exceptionally well and made a strong impact in the front row His professionalism, both on and off the field, is commendable. Beyond playing, Keagan coaches younger grades in the Valley Fort program and is looking to stay long-term. He’s already secured employment in the finance sector, which he’s keen to develop further Any connections to help him on this journey would be greatly appreciated
Chad Solomon (South Africa) – Hooker/Loose Forward
Chad brings a wealth of experience and has seamlessly integrated into the team He’s highly competitive in training and provides excellent support to his fellow hookers and loose forwards. With experience from the Western Province, Stormers, and Southern Kings programs, Chad offers invaluable insights The hooker position will be highly competitive this season, and it will be exciting to see how it plays out heading into the new year
Dhynzel
Keagan
Eti
Gold is the new Red and Black
This season our women’s section have grown to add their 3rd team for the first time since our Women’s Rugby inception in the early 1990's. Our women’s section has grown from strength to strength initially starting off as a team taking part in the then 7's league, to progressing to 10's and then eventually 15's in the early 2000's
Since 2008 the Valley Blacks Premiership team went on to win a record breaking undefeated 54 league games in a row across a number of seasons. Their second 15's team was formed in 2013 and named the Valley Reds and last year the Valley Reds won the HKCR Championship Division for the first time. As numbers continue to grow, this year we have formed the Valley Gold’s - captained by Zein Williams Zein has been involved with Valley since the early 2000's and has been through all the ranks
The team is coached by Taryn Lo, who had this to say “As a Valley player and now coach of Valley Gold, I'm glad to see Valley women's rugby growing. Valley is a competitive rugby club, adding a third team allow us to discover and develop new players to play up in the future I'm honoured to be the person to share and teach what I have learned from Valley to Gold players”
MENS LEAGUE TABLES
mens premiership
Thank you to the following companies who support our players via the Premiership Player Sponsorship scheme
Compound Wealth - Rory Young
Form Athletic - Laurence May
BFT - Chris Lai
BFT - Alistair Stacey
Biltong Chief - Tom Concu
Nav Limited - Nyasha Tarusenga
Chaaat - Huw Alexander
If you are interested in sponsoring a player, please contact samanthascott@valleyrfccom
WOMENS LEAGUE TABLES
If you are interested in sponsoring a player, please contact samanthascott@valleyrfccom
thank you to our club sponsors
Societe Generale Valley RFC would like to acknowledge and express sincere thanks and gratitude to our sponsors and partners.
Thank you to our Title Sponsor Societe Generale, and our primary sponsors Typhoon Consulting, Charter Junks HK, T8 First Response, Bonaqua, Tai Koo Place Swire Properties, Links Moving, and ONLY Beverages
www.valleyrfc.com