By Les Tan/Red Sports
Jay Koh of ACS(I) feels the full brunt of a tackle by Ahmad Ibrahim of St Andrew’s. (Photo 1 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Padang, Wednesday, April 22, 2009 – St Andrew’s Secondary put together a 3-try performance to beat defending champions Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) 17-10 to capture the B Division Rugby Championship title this afternoon at the Padang.
While some ACS supporters will take issue with the referee for his calls, the Saints forward pack was the dominating factor in the match and ACS(I) composure was missing on the day.
The Saints shocked the watching ACS supporters when they drove straight towards their opponents try line and scored through Jia Jun (#17) in the 3rd minute. Though the try was not converted, the early 5-0 lead was a psychological booster shot for the Saints.
Jia Jun then earned himself a yellow card from the referee for a dangerous tackle as ACS(I) came storming back. ACS(I) pressure paid off with a flowing move which ended with Nazryn (#12) going over near the corner flag to make it 5-5.
But ACS hopes came crashing back down to earth when Nicholas Yau (#7) scored an unconverted try in the 15th minute for a 10-5 Saints lead.
Yet again, ACS(I) came back with an answer from their backline when Marah Ishraf (#7) dove over for a try in the 23rd minute after a good penetrating run by Joshua Quek (#9).
The teams walked off 10-10 at half-time and the underdogs Saints knew they had a chance to cause an upset against an ACS team that had scored 101 tries and conceded only one before today.
The second half was all Saints. Chong Yao missed a chance to put three points on the board with a missed penalty kick in the 4th minute but ACS relief was short-lived when Ahmad Ibrahim scored a try in the 9th minute. This time, Chong Yao converted to give Saints a 17-10 lead.
ACS(I) were struggling and it took them 15 minutes before they finally got past the Saints’ 22m line in the second half. ACS(I) then elected to go for a penalty kick near the 22m line but James Morgan’s attempt was wide and that was the last the boys in blue and yellow would ever see the inside of the Saints 22.
From then on, the ACS composure on the field started falling apart slowly, with Nicholas Tan (#15) dropping the ball twice as he failed to catch the long upfield punts of the Saints backline.
Despite having a perfect 8-wins-0-losses record so far and outscoring their opponents by a combined 593 to 13, including a 35-0 thrashing of Raffles Institution in the semi-final, this was the one game that meant the most to ACS(I).
For Saints, the victory was sweet.
“We feel good! We’ve been waiting for this for a long time!” said captain Bryan Lim. “The highlight was when we scored the first try because it lifted our spirits.”
“The first try was important psychologically,” said Saints old boy Gue Kit Wan, 26, a school captain and ex-rugby player from the 1999 batch. “The Saints are strong in forwards while AC is strong in the backline. But AC mistakes and composure killed them. Saints confined the play to their forwards.”
“The hungrier team won,” said Crosby Ong, 48, an ACS supporter. “The game lacked fluidity with insignificant technical calls. The ref should have let the play go, especially when it James Morgan had a clear advantage in the second half and the ref called it back.”
“It was the human drive, the tiger in them,” said another Saints old boy, Yee Teck Peng, 76. “Both sides are even but the side that was hungrier won. The Saints forwards played extremely well.”
Saints Lineup
Forwards
Props: Ashidiq n Daniel Tan
Hooker: Benedict Tan
Locks: Wang Ren n Mohan Singh
Flanks: Ahmad Ibrahim n Nicholas Yau
8 man: Jia Jun
Backs
Half back: Peeranin
Fly half: Tang Hon En
In centre: Bryan Lim
Out centre: Hendricks Tan
Winger: Taufiq(#14) n Chong Yao(#11)
Full Back: Jonathan Loo
ACS Lineup
Chiew Jun Leong (#1)
Jay Koh (#2)
Amos Tan (#3)
Daniel Chong (#4)
Leon Song (#5)
Kenneth Ang (#6)
James Morgan (#7)
Saul Joseph Ong (#8)
Joshua Quek (#9)
Marah Ishraf (#10)
Md Nazryn B Md Jaffar (#12)
Daryn Sit (#13)
Joey Wee (#14)
Mattias Chia (#11)
Nochlas Tan (#15)
Low Zhende (#19)
Abel Khoo (#16)
Qamarul Bin Arifin (#28)
Julian Chang
Mark Wong (#18)
Leonard Wee
Gideon Chan
Calvin Ying
Jaira Koh
Tan Yuan Ming
lee Jen Wei
Ng Chun Lung
Nazryn of ACS(I) tries to run past a tackle by Taufiq of St Andrew’s. (Photo 2 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Nazryn of ACS(I) goes over for a try to even up the score at 5-5. (Photo 3 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
James Morgan of ACS(I) attempts but fails to convert the first try. (Photo 4 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Chong Yao of St Andrew’s looks to pass the ball while Mattias Chia of ACS(I) bears down on him. (Photo 5 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Hargaven and Wang Ren of St Andrew’s try to bring Nicholas Tan of ACS(I) down. (Photo 6 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
James Morgan of ACS(I) tackles Jia Jun. Jia Jun scored the first try for Saints. (Photo 7 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Hendricks Tan of St Andrew’s chases Marah Ishraf of ACS(I) but can’t catch him as Marah eventually goes over the try line to make it 10-10 in the first half. (Photo 8 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Mara of ACS(I) scoring ACS(I)’s 2nd try. (Photo 9 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
A Saints player protects the ball as he pushes past Mattias Chia of ACS(I). (Photo 10 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
It takes 3 ACS(I) players to bring down a Saints player. (Photo 11 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
A Saints player gets trapped as players from both sides fight for the ball. (Photo 12 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Both team’s player reaching high to try and catch the ball. (Photo 13 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Ahmad Ibrahim of St Andrew’s tugs at Saul Ong of ACS(I). (Photo 14 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Joshua Quek of ACS(I) tries to stop a Saints player from getting to the ball. (Photo 15 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Ahmad Ibrahim of St Andrew’s goes over for the winning try in the 2nd half. (Photo 16 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Saints supporters cheering on their school. (Photo 17 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
The Saints breaks out in celebration at the final whistle. (Photo 18 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
WE ARE NO 1!!! screams the Saints. (Photo 19 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
A Saint player overwhelmed with emotions hugs his Rugby teacher. (Photo 20 © Marvin Lowe /Red Sports)
A Saints player shouts to the heavens. (Photo 21 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
A Saints player hugs a team mate with tears of joy streaming down. (Photo 22 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
Every Saints player stretching out their hands to touch the holy grail. (Photo 23 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
The Saints singing their school song with pride and gusto. (Photo 24 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
ACJC A’div FTW!!!!!!!:)
SAINTS U ARE ALWAYS THE BEST IN THE FIELD!
RIGHT AC TRYING TO KEEP THEIR STUDENTS IN CHECK? and SA BEING BULLYS? ACS OLD BOY WHAT A THING TO SAY.
how many ACS players have been sent off in the finals the past 5 years? have you been bullying and filming them recently? or has the stomping stopped? or has the biting stopped. YOU GUYS ARE THE LAST PEOPLE THAT SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT KEEPING THEIR STUDENTS IN CHECK.
holy crap, i want to come here HOPING that this acsian be gracious about their lost, instead they come here and make comments that i know their school will not be proud with. all in all, the saints forwards dominated you. everyone saw, you had the better backs, everyone saw.
come on, be gracious behave like men. it’s how BOTH schools would want their boys to behave. ( EVEN THE PEOPLE FROM IT’S ALUMNI )
excellent job Saints! It was your day! “O when the Saints go marching in…”..and can we have ONE more for the road!
AM I BLIND OR DID I JUST READ ACSI IS LIKENED TO ALL BLACKS. PLEASE DON’T DEGRADE THE ALL BLACKS IN ANYWAY.
Lol, seems that its inevitable that the arguments will start after every article about the rugby final. This is the sport which i love the most, coz since p6 my pri sch form teacher (a former rugger), had been telling me that all ruggers are gentlemen, they may try to kill each other on the field, but they will still be friends off the field. I really feel sad as some of the black sheep have been disgracing it. How i wish you all can discuss more about the game. Uncle Les has put in a lot of effort to share the stories with us and i believe that he does not like to see ppl trying to kill each other on his website… P.S. In any moral situation, please refer to the golden rule: Do unto others what you want others to do unto you. Cheers, ^^
as well as photo 16.
photo 14, saints player is Ahmad. 🙂
guys relax. Werent the olden days worse, when people get beaten up just for bringing an opponents flag into their territory. ACS case really funny. If i were the ACS C rugby boys i woulda just punched one of them or stared them down at least.
anywayyyy. ACS deserved to win but kudos to SA. ACS complacent going in today i think. Not rushing up to tackle at penalties and not counter-rucking properly. Saints did their part to keep the ball in the air even though that really led to rugby game that was boring. From the fist AC try it was obvious AC was more talented and had the capacity to perform. Disappointing mistakes from key players let them down. Saints played as usual using their fatties to hit up the ball. suprisingly it worked today and good job to the props and no 8 for driving through tackles.
Overall, the standard of the game dropped by a lot from last years final to this years final. Last year there was constant ball in hand and more open play. Today felt like NFL type of rugby with stoppages everywhere.
Anyway, give the guys a break. It was sweltering out there today. Really burning. maybe that affected the performance.
I think saints themselves were suprised to win cos when i looked into their players’ eyes in the 1st half, they looked scared. But the Ac players looked uninterested: socks down, hands on their hips and walking with their heads down.
haha wonder who is going to have the determination and motivation to win next year.
p.s. can i ask: how many of the sec 4 players this year are playing next year too in sec 5?
Saints Arrogance: In the aftermath of the final whistle, one of the Saints B div players was overheard boasting that they could beat ACS(I)’s A div team as well. I think that is hilarious. Good day.
opps error for ”taught” in line 6 should be ”taunt”
ACS(I) is likened to the All Blacks…even though choking on one important match does not take away the fact that ACS is still the best team…it just makes us stronger as we continue to strive beyond the rest,…for The Best Is Yet To Be.
Heads up ACS(I). We move on. Well done lads.
Aiya both teams put up a good fight till the end
every team had their own error’s i wont say saints are perfect or Acs[I] is perfect as well but it all goes down to their training,if u put in all your heart in your team,you know u put in 110% for the cup but even if Sa lost or even Acs[I] lost both teams know they gave all their very best in their passion for rugby 🙂 and as for the students ”who” taught each other i got nothing to say as it doesnt concerns the top 2 schools rugby schools in singapore (:
Hey AC Rugby, so sorry about today. I saw how much it meant to you guys, I think it meant more to some of us than our own medals. It was supposed to be a great last match playing together, but it just wasn’t meant to be… I know you guys didn’t have a fair match, so don’t beat yourselves up too much over this… It was supposed to be a great sporting year, we’ve been having a lot of luck recently, but it won’t be the same without rugby.
But there’s one last chance at honour and glory, don’t pass it up… You guys know what to do…
after all,saint have already won the cup.face it
even if u say acs i did not play well only for today.but its the consistency tat one has to keep up with.
Photo 24. Saints have a School Song not a School Anthem. =)
mayb if some ppl say tat its luck tat made sa win, den y didn’t the score margin be small? 7 points is big….if it’s 2 points or 3.. i would also say it’s a bit of luck
yeah, its already over like what saints said….we alr kissed the police cup and the b div season has ended..
ACS(I) made the mistakes on the field , that’s their problem , not ours. We Saints try to minimise the mistakes that we made on the field and hence we are able to get the game going well. And please , what’s the point of digging up what the saints students did when everything is already over? I believed that the school will handle the problems with regards to this younf immature young saints.
ok “none”, how do you know acs I is the better team? who are you to judge who is the better team to be honest. Do you judge teams based on scores under different conditions, fields, places? If so , how do you find a level to match them because i think all this team is better team is better stuff is getting quite boring already, your basically just reieterating what a lot of people said. Are you there at trainings to watch both teams train, do you know each person personally? otherwise i just can’t seem to find a way to guess how you know acs I is better. Even if it was proven that this 2 teams met at the C div’s last year and sas lost. What makes you think that sas hasn’t grown stronger over the past 1 year they have been training? strong enough to equal or better acs I?