Story contributed by reader Paul Kung

Yio Chu Kang Stadium, Tuesday, June 17, 2008 – As predicted, it was indeed a night of rugby to savour at Yio Chu Kang Stadium as the MasterCard Under-20 league semi-finals saw favourites Blacks RFC and the Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) qualify for this Saturday's 5 pm final at Yio Chu Kang Stadium.

It was a tense first semi-final, with Blacks holding off Bucks 15-9 to proceed to the final. There was certainly no love lost with hard hitting tackles coming from both sides. Bucks were looking to unleash their back line led by Charlie Lambert from the get go, and the Black back line were determined to deny them at all costs. Blacks looked like a virtual St Andrew's Old Boys team, led by flyhalf James Bywater, Teo Boon Rong, and Erwyn Lam. It was a bone-crunching tackle by Erwyn Lam – brother of noted ex-international Clarence Lam – off a kick and chase which led to Blacks’ first try and a 7-0 lead.

The Bucks came back to make it 6-7 with two well-taken penalties. The physical nature of the game saw subs being rotated liberally, which did not seem to affect Blacks as they raced to a 12-6 lead going into the half-time break.

The Bucks were far from done, and continued to run all over the field, breaking the line only to be denied by a very dogged Blacks defense. Another well taken Bucks conversion saw them needing only a converted try to clinch the game. With 10 minutes to go, Bucks attacked relentlessly but were let down by a combination of good defending and poor decision making. In the end, Blacks held on for a deserved 15-9 win and a place in the final.

After that exciting encounter, many were expecting another one with SCC facing the Wanderers who were clad in pink. Unfortunately for the Wanderers, after just three minutes, SCC broke through off a kick and chase, and that opened the flood gates. Led by Blandon Tan, Tim Teo, Harresh Krishnan and Matt Cheong, SCC racked up 38 unanswered points leading to the half-time break. Quick movement off line breaks saw most of the tries coming from there, and it looked to be a long night for the Wanderers.

The 2nd half though, was all Wanderers, with Prop Leonard leading the way and SCC failing to score any points in the 30 minutes. Lack of focus, fitness and injuries could have contributed to the lackluster 2nd half, with SCC’s Roy Goh kicking away two golden scoring opportunities. At the stroke of full-time, the Wanderers scored, putting an end to a great 2nd half performance by them even though they lost 5-38.

So there you have it. A rematch, as predicted, of the 2007 National Division 1 final which SCC won. SCC are without key old hands from that final, whilst Blacks have a core from that final determined to gain some revenge. Blacks are certainly favoured for the final, with a team which has played together for six years. But, as always, do not count out the famed SCC pride and tradition. Both teams have not won this tournament (or its past inception) and so it will be a final to relish.

See you guys on Saturday!