HK women's rugby team win first-ever Melrose Claymores as men's team defends title

The Hong Kong women's rugby team achieved a historic milestone by winning the inaugural Melrose Claymores, decisively defeating their Asian rivals Kazakhstan with a score of 45-5 at the Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday.

As for the men's tournament title holder, the local team blew out China in the final bout by winning 38-5.

In the thrilling matches held at the Kai Tak Stadium, both Hong Kong women's and men's teams demonstrated their exceptional skill and teamwork. 

For the women's team, after narrowly finishing as runners-up to the Chinese women in last year's tournament, the team entered this year's final with determination and confidence. 

The local team opened the scoreline first, but the opponent Kazakhstan had one back right after that. 

However, one of the Kazakhstani players was sent off after an aggressive tackle. The Hong Kong team dominated the game until the whistle and secured their first-ever Melrose Claymores.

As for the men's rugby sevens team, they were the trailing side shortly after the game started but managed to turn things around before leading in the scoreline when entering the second half.

With two successful rapid offensive tries, the local team extended their lead to 24-5 and shut down the opponent's attacks by winning the game 38-5 to defend the Melrose Claymores title.

(Updated at 5.03pm)
(Staff reporter)