By Rachel Yip/Red Sports

Arvin of Montfort tries to barrel his way through the Damai line. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)

 

CCAB, Tuesday, July 24, 2012 – On the field against Damai Secondary, Arvin Mok Kok Ming stood head and shoulders above his teammates.

The Montfort C Division rugby captain is the only Secondary Two player on the team, the rest being Secondary Ones, and his experience clearly showed. The opposing Damai coach, at several points in the game, barked orders for his players to mark Arvin, clearly noticing that he was Montfort’s main player.

It was not difficult to see why. Against Damai, Arvin assisted teammate Chinnarat Chua in scoring their team’s first try. Arvin then scored a try himself in the second half and also converted both the tries to give his team 14 points.

It was not enough, though, as Montfort lost 14-64 to Damai to finish off their National C Division Rugby Championship campaign with two losses in Group C. However, it was a marked improvement from their previous game against Jurong, which they lost 0-77.

Arvin only started playing rugby a year ago, when he was 13 years old.

“When I was in Secondary One, I wanted to play soccer, but Montfort did not have soccer. So, I joined rugby for fun. I did not expect to go for competitions,” recollected Arvin.

“It was fun. It was a way to spend my energy and something to focus on besides my studies.”

Now, rugby is no longer just a sport that Arvin plays for leisure. He is an admirer of New Zealand rugby player Rich McCaw. But more importantly, he is wholly invested in his rugby team.

“What excites me about rugby is the teamwork. When the team wins, it feels good,” said Arvin with a smile.

One such win that was most memorable to Arvin was the day that Montfort played Overseas Family School.

“That day, three of our best players were out. We expected to get thrashed but we not only beat them but thrashed them,” said Arvin.

There was no such win today, but Arvin saw the positives in light of his team’s departure from the competition.

“It was good for the Secondary Ones to gain experience and hopefully we can win something next year and be plate champions,” said Arvin.

Montfort Lineup
Muhamed Zairi B Jumadi (#1), Matthew Benjamin De (#2), Lim Zhen Yi Roy (#3), Mohammad Ryan Tan (#4), Zahid B Mohamad Noor Azrin (#5), Haikal B Khalid (#6), Arvin Mok Kok Ming (#8), Chinnarat Chua (#9), Isaac Andrew (#11), Gerald Goh (#13), Mohd Shah Azari (#14), Tan Jun Han (#15), Vivek Ram Mahendra Kennedy (#17), Haneef Arshad Ahamed (#18), Qays Martin Johari (#20), Noer Zat B Abdullah Saini (#21), Hkabil B Azmi (#23), Christian Gino Magbanua Alvarez (#24), Gopal Sathees (#25), Yap Woon Yeow Joshua (#26)

National C Division Rugby Championship — full fixtures and results

More photos in gallery next page