And the winner is…
Bacchus has been crowned Redsip HKTag Challenge Cup Winners 2018 after a tightly-fought final against Kingfish. The two teams had previously met in round 13, when Kingfish narrowly took the win 2–1, but wine-lovers Bacchus had the Gods on their side and came back in the Cup Final to steal an impressive 5 – 4 victory.
“True grit and determination”
Andrew Tasker, Bacchus Team Captain, said “Everyone in the team played fantastic today and showed some true grit and determination after having been 4-2 down in the final. Big shout out to our ladies who played the full tournament with no subs! Also to our sponsors Impact Prowear for the awesome vests and Black Kite Brewery for keeping us properly hydrated. We are looking forward to defending the cup next year!”
The top teams in Group B – HKTag stalwarts Tag Buffaloos and newly formed Kam Shan Monkeys – both played exceptional tag to make the Cup semi-finals, but Group A proved to have the stronger teams on the day, as both Kingfish and Bacchus progressed to the Final. In the Plate final, Hashtags beat Wayfoong 11 – 3, and Wan Chai Warriors took top spot in the Bowl league, beating Habitual Barbarians 8 – 4 in a heated final round.
“An overwhelming success”
The HKTag Challenge 2018 attracted more than 140 players from all over Hong Kong and represented a huge cross-section of nationalities, in the biggest event yet. Together with the HKRL Mens and Womens Nines, the tournament kicked off the HKRL and HKTag season in style. The celebrations continued into the evening with the official after party, hosted by sponsors, Wanchai Stadium.
Neville Metcalfe, Chairman HKRL and HKTag, said,
“I couldn’t be more thrilled with the turnout this year – our biggest HKRL Nines and HKTag Challenge tournament yet. The best part for me is that for, the first time ever, we were able to put on a hugely successful women’s rugby league game, won by Hong Kong North.
Tag rugby is an ideal entry point for rugby league – for both men and women – and this year’s Redsip HKTag Challenge demonstrates just how far we have come in achieving our mission to develop a diverse and supporting sporting community.
I want to congratulate the Redsip HKTag Challenge winners – Bacchus – and express a huge thanks to the HKTag volunteers, our sponsors, the referees and of course all the players for helping make this event an overwhelming success!”
The next event in the HKTag calendar is the Hong Kong Battle of Origin. This domestic tournament, taking place on Saturday 7 July, sees residents of Kowloon and the New Territories compete against Hong Kong Islanders in a NRL-style north vs. south competition.