Boots and all | Life gets in the way of a first league crown for HK Scottish

One wrong turn and life can be so different. And if, as many believe is true, rugby is a metaphor for life, then one wrong call can result in a completely different ending.

Bloomberg Hong Kong Scottish can rightly feel aggrieved after last Saturday’s crunch game against Societe Generale Valley. Leading 12-10 in the first half, centre Lex Kaleca was shown a red card for an illegal tackle on his opposite number, Matt Rosslee.

That decision was rescinded after officials took another look at the video and realised a mistake had been made.

All credit to them for that, yet this will in no way salve the pain for Scottish who went on to lose the game 42-12.

Valley produced one of their best performances this season, but head coach Jack Isaac also admitted the red card was a turning point.

Scottish head coach Craig Hammond paid tribute to Valley’s clinical performance when he said “we were beaten by the better team on the night”. But he also added that at 12-10, his players were well in the game.

We will never know what would have happened if Kaleca had stayed on the pitch, but his departure obviously had a deflationary affect.