Cathay tops Delaneys at ISCI 10s

JAKARTA (JP): Two Hong Kong rugby teams, Cathay Pacific and Delaneys, met in a rematch of last year's ISCI 10s final, on Saturday, with Cathay Pacific outperforming their rivals to win 19-7.

Capping a day of hot rugby, both in form and temperature, International Sports Club of Indonesia's (ISCI) sports convener, Bernd Radski, presented Cathay with the champions cup Saturday evening. The Jakarta RFC came away with the round-robin tournament's plate for first-round losers.

Local favorites ISCI bowed out in the quarterfinals to Delaneys after straying from their game plan of spinning the ball wide to their fast backs. ISCI insisted on running the ball back into the pack and kicking into the box, a strategy the bigger Delaneys side used to their advantage.

"We did everything we said we wouldn't do," explained dejected outside center Iwan Williams.

The Jakarta RFC saved the locals' face in the plate final against the Celtic Warriors, another local team. Down 12-0 at half time, Jakarta RFC used the second eight minutes to put 14 points on the board and win the hard-fought bout. The Jakarta forwards dominated the game, pushing, scrapping and bullying their way to the try line three times.

The surprise of the tournament was the strength of the East Kalimantan and Christmas Island rugby teams, with both sides making it into the cup competition.