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The Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers pulled off a stunning comeback to defeat Bloomberg HK Scottish in the Old Mutual International Men’s Premiership on Saturday, scoring two tries in the final three minutes to steal a 31-28 victory.
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SocieteGenerale Valley defeated Natixis HKFC 41-31, while Kowloon edged Herbert Smith Freehills 44-27 in tonight’s other Premiership ties.
After trailing by 11 points in the 78th minute, No 8 Josh Hrstich found the line to ensure a tense finish, before loose forward Joe Ellyatt put the Tigers ahead in the final minute.
“We were pretty flat in the first half, gave them 28 points and we were just forcing it too much,” Tigers coach Sam Hocking said.
“At the end of the day, we came out in the second half and didn’t make any mistakes. We just simplified the way we played, we kept hold of the ball a bit more and we played very similarly to how they played in the first half.
“We played down in their territory, waited for them to make a mistake and we lived off that.”
Both sides were slow to start but it was the hosts who managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over, with fly half Gregor McNeishslotting three penalties to give his side a 9-0 lead.
McNeish was in on the act again soon after, finding Jarrod Mongston with a kick, with the winger driving over the line with the help of some teammates.
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Tigers’ fly half Robbie Keith finally got his side on the board, splitting the sticks from a close-range penalty to make it 16-3.
Diminutive winger MakKwai-chung brought the scores closer when found the line, with Keith converting from the sideline to bring it back to 16-10.
With both teams starting to warm up, it was Scottish who really put the foot down as the first half progressed.
Full back Ben Tyler crossed first, before the hosts brought the crowd to their feet with a sensational team try.
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After McNeish again got the ball rolling with a high kick, winger Conor Hartley and centre Sam Vaevae got their hands on the ball to send scrum-half Mark Coebergh over for a sensational five-pointer.
McNeish’s extras made it 28-10 and the home side went to the break with all the momentum.
“We knew they were going to come back into that game but probably not in that style,” Scottish coach Craig Hammond said.
“We gave a couple of penalties away in that last 15 minutes, we played a lot of footy down our end which in the first half we didn’t, we played in the right areas.
“Some of our attack structure in that first half is probably some of the best we have played, so it’s disappointing to have a second half like that.”
The scoring ground to a halt as the second half got underway, with both sides defending grimly at times.
It was the Tigers who looked the more likely throughout the third quarter of the match, but they were unable to capitalise on their chances and the score remained 28-10 until the 67 minute mark.
A Josh Walden try broke the deadlock for the Tigers, bringing them within 11 points and sparking one of the best comebacks in recent memory.
“At the moment we are peaking and troughing, we just need to put that 80-minute performance in and I think we’ll be in good shape,” Hocking said.
“We have got a really good squad this year and the boys are buying into what we’re trying to do and staying tight.”
In the Old Mutual International Championship, University Wizards ran out 19-12 winners against RB-SRK Tin Shui Wai RFC to extend to three weeks their hold on the Old Mutual International Championship Challenge Cup. Next week the Wizards defend the Cup against Disciplined Services.
