By Adrian Tan/Red Sports
An ACS (I) player is all wrapped up by his opponent. (Photo 1 © Adrian Tan/Red Sports)
Republic Polytechnic, Thursday, July 7, 2011 — St Andrew’s Secondary beat Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) 15-0 in the preliminary round of the National School C Division Rugby Championship.
This was the second consecutive win for the Saints in Group A while ACS (I) now have a 1-1 win-loss record. The top four in Group A will qualify for the semi-finals.
In a match that featured two potential semi-finalists and possibly even finalists, it was a match to to steal a psychological edge over a rival should they meet again in the later stages of the competition.
Played in the blazing hot sun on the unforgiving synthetic pitch of Republic Polytechnic, it was Saints who quickly settled into their rhythm and laid siege to the ACS (I) defensive third of the field. They took the lead when they successfully converted a penalty in the 10th minute of play.
ACS (I) tried hard to reply, but bad handling errors as well as numerous controversial calls by the referee saw them hand the initiative firmly back to Saints. Saints pushed and probed and further increased their lead when they scored from open play after numerous phases. The try was duly converted and the Saints walked off leading 10-0 at half time.
In the second half, it was ACS (I) who came out with fire in their belly, no doubt having been read the the riot act by their head coach, Adrian Chong. From a lethargic display in the first half, they were quicker on and off the ball and were soon knocking on the Saint’s try line. Saints defended lion-heartedly, refusing to let the ACS (I) forwards through.
From a ruck 2m out, Saints stole the ball despite a very strong suspicion of “hands in the ruck” that was not spotted by the referee, and marched the ball into the ACS (I) half to relieve the pressure.
From then on, it was Saints who dominated play in the remainder of the second half. They had the luxury of missing a penalty before their hard work reaped further dividends. This time, one of their backs went over the line after neat inter-passing from their players. The conversion hit the right upright, and bounced harmlessly out of play.
Saints then saw the match out, with the young men in blue and white letting out a cry of joy at the final whistle. It was a good game of rugby played in gentlemanly spirit between two powerhouses of Singapore Schools rugby. Final score: 15-0 to Saints.
National C Division Rugby Championship — full fixtures and results
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Great report, was there to watch the match. Fair assessment on the writer’s part, Saints were the better team on the day but the ref did neither side any favors. Hopefully they’ll meet in the later stages, looking forward to a thriller!
I was there to watch the game, I am not from ACS or Saints, happened to be there for some indoor sports. There were many offsides that the referee did not see coming from the ACS side…. the article above is so bias…. it’s the better team that won.
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Referee did not have the best game and missed offences from both sides. He was also unsighted when Saints had two legitimate shouts for tries in the second half. He called for a Saints scrum on the ACS 5-metre line each time.
saints photo no..6-9……jersey no:10 name is syiraz,he is my son……am so proud of him…thanks for the photos