By Les Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Vanessa Lim and Marvin Lowe/Red Sports
Ng Chun Long of ACS(I) goes over for what turns out to be the winning try in the 8-7 victory. (Photo 1 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
Old Police Academy, Monday, April 12, 2010 – Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) eked out a hard-fought 8-7 victory over St Andrew’s Secondary to wrestle back the B Division Rugby Championship title they lost last year.
A James Morgan (ACS(I) #8) penalty gave the Dover Road school a 3-0 lead nine minutes into the game as a usually fluid ACS(I) team struggled to find their rhythm against their first serious opposition in the championship.
A late hit by Khor Jia Jun (SA #8) elicited a collective “Aaaah!!” from the crowd and it was no surprise when referee Harry Mason pulled out the yellow to flash it at the Saints forward to leave the boys in blue and white with only 14 men on the field.
With the man advantage, ACS(I) threatened and came close to scoring their first try of the game. James Morgan had another penalty opportunity but this time he put the ball to the right of the posts.
The Saints #14 tried to run it out but soon got his team into all sorts of trouble as he fumbled the ball, allowing ACS(I) to recover it. However, ACS(I) could not press home the advantage just a metre from the try line and a penalty call against them ended that drive.
A long punt upfield by the Saints was dropped by the ACS(I) fullback Samuel Teo, giving the initiative back to the Saints from a good field position. A period of sustained St Andrew’s pressure soon followed and although they had a chance to kick a penalty, the Saints opted to kick it out to touch. From the ensuing play, the Saints had another penalty but their attacking momentum was doused by a timely Morgan tackle on the Saints ball carrier.
The ACS(I) supporters thought their team was off the hook but Saints came back again, and this time with a try. The referee called ACS(I) on a scrum infringement and from the free-kick, the Saints forward brought the ball forward before Bryan Chong (SA #5) outran the ACS(I) line to score the first try, the first points ACS(I) conceded in the entire championship.
Naresh (SA #11) kicked a successful conversion from wide out to give the Saints a 7-3 lead. This was a huge psychological lift for the defending champions, coming as it did just before the half-time whistle and with a man down.
Buoyed by their lead, the Saints had the first significant attack in the second half when a handling error by ACS(I) gave Saints hope of a second try but Khor Jia Jun (SA #8) fumbled.
A flowing ACS(I) move down the right ended with the ACS(I) winger falling into a crowd of Saints supporters. Some unpleasantness between the players and fans forced the referees to stop the game for a good few minutes as they had to move the supporters back a safe enough distance before they were happy enough to allow the game to go on.
ACS(I) finally got the winning try in the 49th minute. From a scrum in the Saints’ half, James Morgan (ACS #8) brought the ball left. He held off a tackler and passed it out to a teammate who offloaded to scrumhalf Ng Chun Lung who went over for an 8-7 ACS(I) lead.
The drama did not end there.
Both sets of supporters then held their collective breath when St Andrew’s had the perfect opportunity to grab the lead back with a penalty right in front of the goalposts. As a hush descended on the pitch, David Daniel (SA #11) ran up to take the kick but he scythed the ball way wide of the right post, leaving the Saints in agony. ACS(I) were let off the hook.
But the was still enough time for one final St Andrew’s assault. A series of drives saw the Saints get to within a metre of the try line but the ACS(I) line held. That would prove the closest the Saints would come to turning the game around and the final whistle called time on an absorbing contest between the two best B Division rugby school teams in Singapore.
ACS(I) head coach Adrian Chong was proud of his boys.
“I would say the boys played the best game of the whole season. They were very controlled. They did exactly what we planned for. We worked very hard at catching all the kicks and kicking it back and I think that made a difference. They were trying to exploit all the kicks at us. I think our back three did fantastically well today,” said coach Adrian.
“I feel for the first time in the whole season, they really played like a team that believed that they can win. It was real character to see them fight back and hold until the last play. So I think they showed champions credentials for doing that,” added coach Adrian.
Immediately after the final whistle, a scuffle broke out between the players, causing some supporters to rush onto the field. Cooler, mature and older heads from both the ACS(I) and St Andrew’s side pulled the two sides apart and it was all over as quickly as it started.
Shafiq Zulazmi, a National University of Singapore undergraduate and rugby player, saw the incident unfold and intervened.
“Upon seeing the punch by the Saints player, the ACS old boys rushed onto the field to prevent any further harm on the ACS boy and to prevent the melee from developing into a free for all,” said Shafiq.
“Such an act does not belong on the rugby field. Hooligan behaviour from the young lad. I think it raises the issue of whether schools are teaching their boys just about the many facets of sport – winning, losing, respecting your opponent – or just about winning, failing which one resorts to punching or other forms of thuggery. I was involved in school sports for six years from 1998 to 2003 and had never seen such scenes during that period,” said Shafiq.
In 2006, in a game between ACS(I) and St Joseph’s Institution, an ACS(I) rugger bit an SJI opponent. The ACS(I) player was subsequently banned from the rest of the championship.
The win gives ACS(I) their 10th B Division title while St Andrew’s have 18 B titles to their name since the championship started in 1971.
Since 1997, the B Division championship has been won by either ACS(I) or St Andrew’s.
N.B. A partial story was first posted Monday, April 12, 2010 and now re-posted with full story and photos.
Naresh of St Andrew’s in a desperate attempt to stop Ng Chun Long of ACS(I) … (Photo 2 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
… Chun Long’s forward momentum is too great … (Photo 3 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
… and he goes over for the winning try. (Photo 4 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
Chun Long’s teammate rushes in to celebrate while the St Andrew’s supporters in the background are dismayed. (Photo 5 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
An ACS(I) player get dumped into the Saints’ spectator section. The unpleasant scenes that ensued forced the referees to stop the game for a few minutes to force the crowd to move further back. (Photo 6 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
A Saints player tackles an ACS(I) opponent. (Photo 7 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)
Go to next page for more photos
i have seen a group on Facebook stating that saints should have won. reading the wall posts on that group made me see that the saints did not deserve it. Your School Mates blatantly said that their friends hitting the referee and call him bias. if that is the case, file a case on the referee and see how it turns out. everything a school does no matter where it happens will be reflected everywhere. each student has his or her own responsibility not to tarnish their school’s reputation
The Saints were truely hooligans and cowards who could not compete well on the field but resulted in despicable methods of attacking the innocents.
What LOOSERS can the Saints be. Only insaint people would do such a thing.
u cant spell dude. its LOSERS. not LOOSERS. wow. ur english fail. wait. everything about you fails.
ACS just keep your mouth shut. If you got whacked, then too bad. Who ask you guys to have faces of retards. Thats why you guys were too tempting for some of the SA boys to hit right in the face. Seriously. ACS retards are nothing.
true its too bad that acsi got whacked but ultimately sa you guys lost.suck it up. acsi ppl may hv the face of retards but they sure can play btr rugby than the saints..get some sportsmanship…its over, you guys lost so too bad for you
Clearing up matters:
ACS (Br) not (I) was the one in the case involving the Bedok Town player in ICU.
As much as I know, it was a single person to a single hit to the AC player after the match, not a group of SA guys ganging up, but assuming it is, it was probably provoked too.
AC post exaggerated, SA post needs some cleanup. So lets just wait and see what comes up next.
Trivia: Leonard Wee was from SAJC.
Leonard Wee is a Secondary 3 from Acs and has never been in SAJC. Get ur facts right
btw, Leornard Wee was from St. Andrew’s Junior School.
Ah, my apologies, SAJS.
Sec four though.
acsi boy pls do not bayhow make ur own accusations. it was a player being provoked. we all noe from the straits times that ur side has unsportsmanship conduct which has landed a bedok town secondary rugger in ICU. so pls do not use YOUR OWN accusations and not disgrace ur sch and urself with such shallow and immature comments. and i WAS there at the bus stop when the incident took place. Ur acsi boy was hurling degrading insults at a SA boy. although he ignored it, another acsi boy shoved the 1st boy INTO THE SA BOY WHO SHOWED SELF-CONTROL. thinkin he wanted to start another fight, the punch was in self defence. if you wre to show the incident to the high court, we all know who’s in the right. and i havent even started on the clearly bias referee being a rugger myself.
it’s ACS(Barker Road) that’s in the news…
think before you talk, bring shame to ur school
hey its obviously ACS(Barker Road) >.> can we just exercise self control and stop fighting with ACSI?
u loser!!!! hahahaha get your facts right…it wasnt acsi who beat up that bedok secondary rugger!!! hahaha dumb saint
I was at the bus stop when the incident happened, a tall chinese man with black hair dyed blonde, a green t shirt and blue jeans punched a passing ACS boy in the face, knocking him over. This man then proceeded to spit on the boy. A second boy, who quickly helped the first up, was subsequently slapped twice, and when he asked who the man was, and what right he had to hit them, he was punched in the nose, with the man declaring he was from SA. However, before you claim i am biased, i noticed that some of the SA boys helped the two ACS boys back to the academy. I do no know which bus stop you were at, but this is what i saw
Well,the game’s over now. Comment all you want on the behavior of both side,at the end of the day,what will you change? Its a Rugby game,thats what you get,its been like this for years already.Not saying that it can’t change,but i think this is what that makes it ‘Rugby’.All in all,both teams played to their best and that’s what really matters.=D
acsi pple pls dun come anyhow comment. there was a proven provocation of players right after the match. it was the acsi supporters who went in right after the match that sparked off the mob. if u refer back to the straits times,acsi rugby players are known for their unsportsman conduct for punching a bedok town player who is in ICU. so pls dun anyhow make your OWN ASSUMPTIONS and comment abt the opponents. it just shows how shallow you really are.
why dont you check your facts right and see that its acs barker not independent. narrow minded much?
The word Barker And Independent, And Similarities?
Saints had terrible sportsmanship. Lose then lose ah. Whack people for what.
If what acs said about a SA supporter beating up some ACS dudes is true; a police report of assault should be made.
Anyway, some Saints were bad losers. Some of their players behaved like gangsters beating up an ACS player after the final whistle. Rugby do not need hooligans. These players are a disgrace to Saint Andrew and Rugby. If you you do not know how to hold your head up as a gentleman in defeat, Rugby is clearly not a game for you. I hope Saint Andrew School authority, who is also the National School Rugby Convener clamp down on such thuggish behavior.
and acs were gracious winner? rugby don’t need people who rub the win in the opponent’s faces either. isn’t this a much better example of sportsmanship and being a gentlemen?
rugby clearly isn’t a game for you either.
We’ll win it back again.
what kind of sportsmanship does acs have?
taunting players after they have won?
disgraceful.
and siant players beating up acs players aft they lost?? haha ROFL…so contradictive
I gotta say yes we,were unruly as saints but,also would like to say that even Acs students supporters are almost the same,and i don’t want to put this student issue forward as it doesn’t concern the match,but what i would like to comment is the referee stupid decisions he made which was really one sided(not to be rude) and he didn’t give a fair judgment in this and this is really unsporting behavior
dude if that’s your definition of pride, i feel sorry for ACSI(: get some real pride and talk to us please. Don’t try to pick on us just cause your results are good, at least we have balls(:
so tell me guys,what did the big chimney say to the small chimney
What the .. ? And you can still say crap no half day? Please. We played this game for the pride and glory of our school. Not for your pathetic half day. Might as well you don’t come to school?
Agree with you.. fancy calling himself a saint
Damn saints have no sportsmanship, pick on ACS boys cause they lost… I don’t recall this happening when ACS lost last year.
the “hooligans” didn’t rub the win in the faces of the “educated” last year.
I agree with the comment posted by acs. One comment I heard from one Saint was:”See what? I come here to ‘keh siao’ only”. However, the ACS boys aren’t exactly role models. Several times I heard many ugly words being thrown at the Saints rugby team.
All in all, both teams played very well, but due to an unpopular ruling by the referee, the Saints lost. I think that I can speak for many of my peers when I say that this ruling requires some
form of explanation.
which ruling? all i know was, shouldn’t he blow the final whistle at least after Saints attempted that final try, and not juz seconds before Saints nearly scored that try?
*the guy who got whacked was no. 7 Leonard Wee
some of the saints supporter’s reaction was totally disgraceful, unsportsmanlike and shameful. Not to mention against the law. A scuffle broke out after the match where several SA guys ganged up on a ACS player and whacked him, eventually leaving him with a bloodied face. I was completely shocked at the lack of sportsmanship and then at one of the bus stops, a SA supporter whacked some ACS dude right in the face for no reason, leaving him sprawling on the floor…..Unacceptable behavior and extremely disgraceful
eh get ur facts right
acsi pple pls dun come anyhow comment. there was a proven provocation of players right after the match. it was the acsi supporters who went in right after the match that sparked off the mob. if u refer back to the straits times,acsi rugby players are known for their unsportsman conduct for punching a bedok town player who is in ICU. so pls dun anyhow make your OWN ASSUMPTIONS and comment abt the opponents. it just shows how shallow you really are.
Exactly what happened: After the final whistle SA player number 3 pushed leonard wee (number 7) to the ground and started punching his face which led to him getting a broken nose and concussion. Former acs coaches from the tent rushed in to grab the SA player, the SA centre took of his shirt jumped up and punched the ex-coach on the head after which the mob kinda blurred things up.
after the match that was exactly what happened? what were you doing then? flying just above them?
It was Barker not Independent. Dun anyhow comment.
it was said by a bystander that an ACS rugger hurled insults directing at a Saint rugger’s parent first.
we lost, but we lost with pride and honour. 🙂
i shall not comment on the opponent.
Crap..no half day
LOL at the end the saints punched an acsi player just because they lost.. dun be sore losers