Story contributed by reader Amos Siow
The Singapore Management University made history when they captured the inaugural Tri-Universities Championship on a countback to edge out the National University of Singapore (NUS). In a tournament that promised to be closely matched, the ending was dramatic. On Saturday, March 1, 2008, NUS beat the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) 17-7 but had to settle for second place as they lost to SMU on a count-back on points scored and conceded after both teams were tied at 10 points in the table.
In the first half, NUS got off to a flying start, making numerous line breaks through their centre Muhd A’srie, but poor finishing let them down and repeatedly gave NTU a bit of respite and opportunity to clear their lines to keep the score at a deadlock. NUS always look like the more dangerous side, throwing caution to the wind and showing clear signs of going for the bonus point given for scoring four tries in a game. When awarded penalties, the team opted for line outs, scrums and quick-taps, rather than putting points on the board.
The open play was full of flair and that entertained the crowd, keeping every one on their toes. However, the adventurous play didn’t pay off as poor finishing and solid defending from NTU kept the half-time score at 5-0, courtesy of NUS prop Kenny Chan diving over the line to score a close range try, just before half-time.
After the break, NUS continued to dominate the game and were finally rewarded with a well-worked try from skipper and winger Shafiq Zulazmi. Valmiki C Nair’s conversion was wide and kept the score at 10-0. Shortly after the restart, NUS were back in control quickly and a clever kick in open play from Valmiki C Nair put NTU’s winger Emery Ong under all sorts of pressure. With the NUS backline closing down the space quickly, Emery ‘punched’ the ball out of touch just before the try-line, leaving the referee with no choice, but to award a penalty and sin-binned Ong for the professional foul.
Instead of taking the points, NUS opted for the scrum and were duly rewarded with a try from Kenny Chan, who dived over the line for a try under the post to record his second of the match. The prop was evidently pleased with his contribution and ran up to the half way line in his celebration and took a gentleman’s bow to the crowd as they cheered and applauded him. NUS’s kicker Valmiki made the extra point count and brought the score to 17-0.
In need of one more try or 4 more points to secure the championship, the defending champions looked like they had this in the bag. However, NTU had other ideas and began their quest to spoil the party.
From the restart, the Boon Lay Warriors began to play with a bit more spirit and intensity as they stood up to the challenge and slowly muscled their way and put NUS on the back foot. With good retention of the ball and forward play, the Boon Lay Warriors finally managed to put points on the board when centre Kevin Ang battled his way through to score a try. The conversion was good and it brought the game to an interesting scoreline of 17-7 (Note: NUS needed to beat NTU by a margin of 20 points or beat NTU by scoring four tries or more to win the overall championship).
With Emery Ong returning from the sin-bin, ill-discipline by NTU saw two of their forwards taking their place in the sin-bin, leaving NTU to battle the closing minutes with just 13 men.
With outstanding performances by NTU's Yik Thai Hoe and Daniel Thiam, the Boon Lay Warriors held the fort, until a break by Thomas Zhang of NUS from his own 22-metre line, sparked off a brilliant counter-attack. The break saw the ball move through NUS backline, putting their winger into ample of space. With only the NTU winger Emery Ong to beat, the NUS winger was taken down by Ong, saving NTU from conceding another try and brought the game to a close after the move broke down from a knock-on by NUS. With this insufficient win, NUS handed SMU its first ever 15-a-side title in this inaugural rugby championship.
NUS vs NTU
Scoreline: 17-7
NUS
Tries: Kenny Chan (2), Shafiq Zulazmi (1)
Conversion: Valmiki C Nair (1)
NTU
Tries: Kevin Ang (1)
Conversion: Jelvin Soh (1)
Top try scorer of the Tri-Universities Championship:
Shafiq Zulazmi (NUS), Jonathan Chen (NUS) & Daniel Marc Chow (SMU)
All 3 players put up a great performance throughout the tournament and were a huge driving force for the respective teams. The trio were tied for the award with 3 tries each.
Top Points Scorer of the Tournament:
Amos Siow (SMU)
Contributed a try and took most of the kicks for his team, chalking up 28 points for SMU this tournament.
Player of the Tournament:
Daniel Thiam (NTU)
One of the most experienced and capped player of the tournament. Although his side ended the tournament winless, his contribution to the team in both attack and defense was remarkable.
Leave A Comment