By Zachary Foo/Red Sports

Mohammad-Mikha Khaleel Haat [ACS(I) #8] advancing the ball. His imposing frame allowed him to bully his way past the RI defenders to score four tries in the game. (Photo 1 © Zachary Foo/Red Sports)

PESEB, Monday, August 18, 2014 — Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) [ACS(I)] booked a place in the final with a 67–0 win over Raffles Institution (RI) in the National C Division Rugby (Cup) Championship. Mohammad Mikha Khaleel Haat [ACS(I) #8)] led the way with four tries, while Josh Quan [ACS(I) #11] added a hat-trick of tries.

Both teams were evenly matched after the kickoff. ACS(I) had the first possession to advance the ball, but a fumble at the halfway line gifted the ball to RI. RI looked to seize the momentum and looked to find a way to score the first try. However, the game was temporarily suspended due to the risk of lightning.

After the restart, ACS(I) looked to be the team that benefited from the break. They were more lively on offence and they were more aggressive when driving the ball with their forward pack. The breakthrough came when Josh Quan [ACS(I) #11] broke away from the RI defence on the left wing. He raced down the touchline to score the first try for ACS(I). Matthew Robinson [ACS(I) #9] scored the conversion to give them a 7–0 lead.

From that point on, the floodgates opened for ACS(I). Mohammad Mikha Khaleel Haat [ACS(I) #8] and Jaian Kurup [ACS(I) #14] combined for four tries to give ACS(I) a comfortable 29–0 lead at the half. RI tried to create space when they had possession of the ball, but found themselves running into a brick wall, that is the ACS(I) defence.

Krellstein Thomas [ACS(I) #6] opened the scoring in the second half with a superb solo effort. Unfortunately, he injured himself in the process of scoring the try and had to be helped off the pitch. The big lead only served to fuel ACS(I)’s drive and they continued to pound against the RI defence without any mercy.

Josh Quan [ACS(I) #11] completed his hat-trick of tries in the period with two excellent displays of speed. He scored his first try of the half by picking the up the ball near his own try-line and beat the whole RI defence down the length of the pitch. He scored the second by knifing his way through the RI defence after picking up the ball out of a scrum.

Shane Patrick Duggan [ACS(I) #28], Kongpote Chamapun [ACS(I) #22] and Mohammad-Mikha Khaleel Haat [ACS(I) #8] put the icing on ACS(I)’s win with one try apiece in the second half. ACS(I) eventually took the 67–0 win, and they will face the victor of the St. Andrew’s Secondary – ACS (Barker Road) semi-final that will be played on Thursday at PESEB.

ACS(I) captain, Ian Teh (#13), said, “We were a bit shaky at the start. After the tries came in, we became more confident. It has been a great season so far for us as we have done well in most of the games. I think ACS(Barker Road) will meet us in the final as they are a team that have progressively gotten stronger throughout the season. We hope that we will be able to win the final convincingly.”

Scoring by Quarter
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) vs Raffles Institution
1st Half: 29–0
2nd Half: 38–0 (67–0)

Try Scorers
ACS(I)
Mohammad-Mikha Khaleel Haat (#8) – 4 tries
Josh Quan (#11) – 3 tries
Jaian Kurup (#14) – 1 try
Krellstein Thomas (#6) – 1 try
Shane Patrick Duggan (#28) – 1 try
Kongpote Chamapun (#22) – 1 try
Matthew Robinson (#9) – 6 conversions

ACS(I) Roster
Neo Yuan Tong (#1), Benjamin Lim (#2), Isaac Tan (#3), Jared Chow (#4), Sim Soon Xiang (#5), Krellstein Thomas (#6), Douglas Ang (#7), Mohammad-Mikha Khaleel Haat (#8), Matthew Robinson (#9), Nicholas Ethan Wong (#10), Josh Quan (#11), Tristan Yeow (#12), Ian Teh (#13), Jaian Kurup (#14), Benjamin Poey (#15), Janan Yap (#16), Bryan Ang (#17), Isaac Heng (#18), Joel Ting (#19), Lucas Teng (#21), Kongpote Chamapun (#22), Lam Wei Xuan (#25), Elroy Irwan Jahjoo Loo (#26), Adian-Scott Veroff Ee Chew (#27), Shane Patrick Duggan (#28), Reuben Pang (#31), Reuben Sivadas Ruixian (#32), Sean Tan (#36)

RI Roster
Isaac Yew (#6)

We were unable to obtain the complete roster for Raffles Institution. If you recognise any of the players, please post them in the comments below and we’ll update the post. Thanks.

National C Division Rugby Championship — Fixtures and Results

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