Our Hong Kong China Men and Women won the 2025 edition of the Melrose Claymores, which was just the second iteration of the tournament and the first to be played at the new and exciting Kai Tak Stadium. The final was played in front of a raucous crowd of home support as the crowd played their part in creating an incredible atmosphere.
The hometown heroes got the job done with both the women and men going through the weekend undefeated.
Women’s Head Coach Andy Vilk said “It's been amazing for the squad and the girls selected to play here - and with this crowd, it's been a real privilege for us. We can see how much media interest there is and we spent the week visiting schools and colleges and this is what it's about - it’s a great chance for us to connect with a wider rugby community in Hong Kong.”
Hong Kong China Women Claim First Melrose Claymore Title
Hong Kong China Women’s co-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne, who ran out for her 56th tournament this weekend, had said before the weekend that she hoped they would perform as they had been training so hard for this weekend, and perform they did.
Friday night saw the Women beat Kazakhstan 29-14 with a brace of tries to co-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne and the ever-smiling Chong Ka Yan before the on-fire Sabay Lynam added a final try to end the match. Chong Ka Yan also took away the HSBC Player of the Match Award.
Of the impact of the Sevens in Hong Kong and having the Melrose Claymores be part of it, Jess Ho had said during the weekend, “It’s really been special to see so many young kids and so many young local girls out here and it’s important to have empowerment. Local support is so important and to have Hong Kong people behind us is massive as it will make the sport grow.”
Our women beat Thailand 47-0 on Saturday in a dominant display to book their place in the final, and Player of the Match Sabay Lynam scored twice, while there was also a brace of tries for Steph Chan and Rosanna Wright, and co-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne added her third of the weekend.
Lynam said: “It's amazing and it's such a good experience as it is the first Hong Kong Sevens for a lot of us and it is mine too. It is such a thrilling feeling hearing this crowd shouting our names and supporting us and seeing the Hong Kong flags out there too.”
In the final on Sunday in wet and cold conditions, the Hong Kong China women really rose to the occasion and the support, with an emphatic 45-5 win over Kazakhstan to win their first Melrose Claymores. Kazakhstan had beaten Thailand earlier in the day to earn their place in the final.
Sabay Lynam scored first to lead 7-0 but Kazakhstan struck right back to make it 7-5. From then on it was all the home team as the Kazkah Nomads were handed a red card for a high hit and Hong Kong China scored tries through Chong Ka Yan and Lynam got her second to lead 19-5 by the half.
The second half started with the fans leading the Mexican wave around the stadium. Natasha Olson-thorne responded with an excellent try, cutting through the Kazakhstan defence before further scores from Jess Eden, Rosanna Wright, and Nam Kam Ka Man for the side to score 7 tries in total.
Co-captain Chloe Chan was voted Player of the Match and said; “It's really special as we have grown together really well as a team and grown as this tournament went on - I think we played really well in that final and it was really a team effort.”
At the end of the game, after she had put in a massive shift, there were hints of a goose step on the wing but Chan said, “I think that was pure tiredness (laughing). I tried to fight until the end and support the girls but everyone gave maximum effort. I want to thank the fans for the support we had here this weekend. A lot of us had families and friends in the crowd which made this extra special and the crowd was super loud.”
Her Co-captain Olson-Thorne added: “I'm so proud as we had a plan for what we wanted to do but to play like that was amazing in front of this great crowd. It's so great to show the fans what we can do and how well we can play and give them something to aspire to and to be able to enjoy this environment."
Men Retain Melrose Claymore at Kai Tak Stadium
The men were defending champions of the Melrose Claymores and faced a threatening Japanese and physical Chinese side this weekend.
Hong Kong China Men’s 7s Captain James Christie said how proud he was of captaining the team for the first time at Kai Tak Stadium. “It's hugely exciting and we had this opportunity to make things right from recent tournaments. It is a huge honour to captain the side in front of what was a packed stadium. Thanks to the crowd – it’s really hard to describe how much it means and the voices from the crowd really were like having an 8th player on the field with us.”
The Men’s team had two debutantes in the selected squad and 5 players who played their first Hong Kong Sevens tournament.
They beat China 31-7 on Friday thanks to a Max Denmark hat trick as well as tries from Harry Sayers and debutante James Kee who scored in his first Hong Kong China 7s appearance on Friday.
On Saturday, our men secured their place in the Melrose Claymores final by beating a young Japanese side 43-21 with Alessandro Nardoni the Player Of the Match.
Max Denmark, who was again on the score sheet, said: “Playing in Hong Kong is always special and in a new stadium, it's the same environment and it's replicated what we had really well at Kai Tak Stadium."
Rory Cox who made his debut for the team this weekend also scored his first try in the win over Japan: “I am over the moon with the win and scoring a try - it was absolutely bouncing in this stadium. Growing up I have been in those stands and the South Stand and it's awesome to make my debut here."
The men faced China in the final on Sunday and put in an assured and confident performance as they won 38-5 with six different try scorers. It had been the Chinese who scored first but tries from Matteo Avitabile and James Kee (his second of the weekend in his debut tournament) meant the men led 14-5 at the break.
Harry Sayers benefited from an excellent kick-through, and Alessandro Nardoni scored from his own hard work and punt off the deck to lead 24-5. Rory Cox showed some class with an inside step to score his second of the weekend and Max Denmark ran in the 6th try for a convincing win to secure the title.
Harry Sayers said after the final, “It's incredible and it's hard to believe the Kaiser Chiefs are on after our win as well which I didn't think would ever happen in my life. What is great, is that we won those games and that final relying on the entire squad and everyone was finishing exceptionally well. Hopefully, this is the start of a new journey for us growing as a team and getting to where we want to be on the world stage.”
He said of his celebration (heart shape with the arms), “It was just a shout-out and love to Hong Kong as the support has been incredible and they have made it an incredible weekend for all of us. I am so happy with our weekend and to retain the Melrose Claymore title.”
Hong Kong China Men’s Head Coach Jevon Groves said after the team had completed a lap of honour, “It was a good reaction to the disappointment of the Challenger Series and to do so in front of a terrific home crowd. We spoke all week of tapping into memories of our own experiences and first memories of the Hong Kong Sevens. We wanted to perform well for ourselves but also to show that we are back and to put in performances that we can be proud of.”
Of what it means, he said, “The impact of playing and winning is trying to inspire the next generation of boys and girls aspiring to play for Hong Kong China. It was great to see some new faces in the squad stand up and play really well in the Melrose Claymores and I am proud of the new guys stepping in in what is hopefully a great start for their journey with us.
Credit to the senior players too for supporting them and also getting on the scoresheet. This has been based on hard work, putting in the tackles and putting each other into space. We have a chance now to break off and play some tournaments in Europe and look at some younger players which will bode well for competitions coming up.”
Results
Friday 28 March
- HKCR 28-14 Kazakhstan Women
- HKCR 31-7 China Men
Saturday, 29 March
- HKCR 47-0 Thailand Women
- HKCR 43-21 Japan Men
Sunday 30 March
- Kazakhstan 31-0 Thailand Women
- Japan 7-19 China Men
- Women’s Final Hong Kong China 45-5 Kazakhstan
- Men’s Final Hong Kong China 38-5 China
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