Hong Kong captain Olson-Thorne scripts dream milestone appearance, victory over China ‘in my top 3’
- Hong Kong enjoyed double success on the opening day of the Melrose Claymore tournament, with the men’s and women’s teams both beating China
- Hosts’ men face Japan on Saturday, with women tackling Thailand
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There was surely no better way home skipper Natasha Olson-Thorne could have scripted her 50th cap as she scored the winning try against China in the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens’ Melrose Claymore tournament on Friday evening.
The 31-year-old showed deft footwork on the wing to drop her defender midway through the second half at Hong Kong Stadium before powering on to the line.
Chong Ka-yan and Micayla Baltazar had earlier scored for Hong Kong to establish a 14-0 lead over their mainland Chinese counterparts, but it took a captain’s contribution to put them out of sight in a memorable 19-12 win.
“It’s such a special moment to be able to run out onto this pitch, especially celebrating my 50th cap, to hear the cheers from the crowd,” she said. “That will stay with me.”
Hong Kong’s bronze medal at the Asian Games last September can be considered an achievement, but they were humbled 33-0 by China in the semi-finals. That only emphasises the pride the city’s team can take from this reversal of fortunes in front of the home fans.
“[This win] is definitely on the top, it’s now in the top three,” Olson-Thorne said. “It’s right there with the Asian Games medal and last year playing the Sevens.”
Their opponents did not have all of their gold-winning Hangzhou squad but they had six of them and Andy Vilk, the Hong Kong head coach, was pleased to grind out a “tough win”.
“China have a fantastic programme, a lot of really good athletes, and also athletes that understand the game,” he said. “So whichever China team we come up against, we know it’s going to be a tough game, and I think that showed out there.”
The aim from here? “It’s all about building; we’re just trying to get better in everything we do,” Vilk said. “We try to focus on us, trying to improve the basics and the fundamentals of our game.”
The city’s men also beat China, although they had to battle back to prevail 19-17 thanks to two James Christie tries and one from Harry Sayers before Shan Changshun of China completed a hat-trick to give home fans a scare.
“It’s hard not to dream about scoring in front of the South Stand,” Sayers said after doing so. “Especially with my brother over in Hong Kong for the first time. I’m really happy my family got to see that.
“There’s no better place to score a try. You’ve got Dubai, Cape Town, all amazing places, but nothing tops here.”
With Hong Kong trailing initially, Christie gave his side some much-needed lift with his scores inside the final two minutes of the first half.
“I have come here since I was six or seven years old, and actually, in my mum’s tummy when she was pregnant,” the 27-year-old said. “In the South Stand, too.
“I have been here all my life, so it’s amazing, running out here. My mum is very proud.
“Every time we play, we have to cherish it, because it’s going to be our last time here. Hopefully, we have that [final] game on Sunday.”
Hong Kong’s men play Japan on Saturday, while Thailand await the women in a rematch of the Asian Games bronze medal match.
