Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by REDintern Sasha Christian
Ngiam Kang Xiang (#25), top scorer of the game, finished with four tries. (Photo 1 © REDintern Sasha Christian)
PESEB, Friday, July 19, 2013 – St. Andrew’s Secondary recorded their largest victory of the season with an 86–0 win over Jurong Secondary to remain undefeated in the National C Division Rugby Championship.
There was no stopping St. Andrew’s from the kick off as they turned in a dominating performance, limiting play to Jurong’s half in the first 30 minutes. The second half saw Jurong show some resistance as they halted their opponents’ momentum, but St. Andrew’s managed to score the needed points to invoke the mercy rule before regulation time.
Ngiam Kang Xiang (#25) made four tries to finish as the top scorer while teammate Emanuel Chen (#22) added another three. Last year’s runners-up now lie first in the league table after winning all three of their matches.
Despite the victory, captain Tyan Chuah (#23) felt his side could do better.
“Our performance was okay, definitely not fantastic,” analyzed the 13-year-old. “We need to improve on our communication. I think Jurong gave us a challenge. Their forwards were aggressive during the rucks and that was quite a challenge.”
It took St. Andrew’s under five minutes to get their first try with Choo Jian Hao (#16) powering his way through the Jurong defence for the first points of the game. Kang Xiang followed that up with speedy breakaway from the backline to score right between the post. The 14-year-old was a handful for the Jurong defence as his speed and agility was hard to keep up with throughout the match.
The points continued to flow freely for the rugby powerhouse as they landed seven more tries before the half ended.
Jurong, despite facing a huge deficit, managed to hold St. Andrew’s back in the second half. Their forwards maintain a spell of possession and kept the favourites at bay. However, they were unable find the breakthrough to score any points of their own.
St. Andrew’s soon found their footing and managed to score five more tries to end the match comfortably at 86–0.
“This was a good win for our guys,” appraised St. Andrew’s coach Nick Dance. “In general, I think we have a strong chance to win it (the championship) this year, but there will be some tough battles ahead and I’m looking forward to them.”
Final Score
St. Andrew’s 86 Jurong 0
Try Scorers
Ngiam Kang Xiang (#25) — 4 tries
Emanuel Chen (#22) — 3 tries
St. Andrew’s lineup
Bryan Liau (#3), Ahmad Zafran (#6), Ng Bao Yuan (#20), Bryan Chan (#7), Jared Kowen Lim (#10), Emanuel Chen (#22), Choo Jian Hao (#16), Drew James Stephenson (#2), Webster Matthew James (#19), Jerome Loh (#29), Ngiam Kang Xiang (#25), Samuel Lee (#18), Tyan Chuah (#23), Jackie Chan (#30), Ezekiel Koh (#24), Jelinek Dyan Kirk (#21), Mathias Lim (#9)
Jurong’s lineup
Fatariz Ilham (#16), Muhammad Shazrin (#27), Syabil Nor Izzat (#18), Muhamad Dine Azrie (#19), Muhammad Nazirul (#21), Shafen (#15), T Vishal Virmalan (#30), Lee Choon Hui (#5), Xu Guoxi (#2), Muhiddin B Jumat (#12), Chan Jun Xiang (#24), Teo Qi Yue (#11), Justin Chua (#20), Melvyn Ngiam (#25), Ryan Tan (#9), Muhammad Irfan (#1)
2013 National C Division Rugby Championship – fixtures and results
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