By Les Tan/Red Sports
Lim Hongxi (ACSI #15) tackles Mohammad Putra Wafaa (#5). (Photo 1 © Danny Toh/ACSI)
Yio Chu Kang Stadium, Tuesday, August 23, 2016 — Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) defeated defending champions St. Andrew’s Secondary 22-17 in the final of the National C Division Rugby Championship.
The win allowed ACS(I) to complete a grand slam of A, B, and C Division titles for the first time since 2011, and their eighth since 1997. ACS (Primary) and ACS (Junior) also won the under-13 and under-11 championships respectively to make it a banner year for ACS rugby.
ACS(I) finished the C Division season undefeated in six games. When the two sides last met in Round 1, ACS(I) had won the encounter 34-12.
Barely one minute into the final, Timothy Tan (#7) got the scoring going for ACS(I) with a try in the right corner. ACS(I) could not convert but the early try seemed to indicate that the pre-match predictions of a big win would come true.
But Saints threw these pre-match expectations out the window for the next 15 minutes. Sustained pressure from the boys in blue and white saw them camp in the ACS(I) half.
They got close to the try line but were repelled when captain Matthew Lim (#10) of ACS(I) relieved the pressure with a long kick. As Lim gave chase, the Saints full back slipped, and the ACS(I) crowd roared, sensing an opportunity. However, Saints recovered the ball to put the pressure back on.
Mika’il Yue bin Istiandra (#23), a hulking presence throughout the whole game until he went off with an injury late in the second half, broke through the ACS(I) line but was cut down, and his offloaded pass was wasted.
The Saints pressure finally told when the speedy fullback Mohamad Irfan (#15) broke through on the right, forcing Ryan Tan (ACSI #37) into a desperate high tackle. Referee Low Feng Hua consulted his linesman, flashed a yellow card to Tan, and gave a penalty try. Saints converted to go ahead 7-5.
Despite having one man less, the momentum then swung ACS(I)’s way. Sustained ACS(I) pressure paid off in the 27th minute when Bryan Beng (#8) went over for a try.
Said Beng about his try, “We played many phases, making the Saints defence panic a little. We had enough men, they bought the dummy, and I managed to jump over and dive in.”
Sean Ng (#13) missed the conversion, leaving ACS(I) with a 10-7 lead at half time.
The second half started just like the first, with an early ACS(I) try two minutes after the restart, this time through Matthew Lim (#11). The captain picked up the ball and from the half way line, he blazed down the left near the touch line and evaded a desperate Saints tackle to comfortably put the ball down near the posts. The try was converted this time by Alexander Hunter (#35), and ACS(I) now led 17-7.
Saints then wasted a chance to reduce the deficit in the 8th minute when they missed a penalty from the 22m line from a position just left of the posts.
Apart from another Matthew Lim (ACSI #10) foray, it was mostly Saints. A threatening attack in the 13th minute fizzled out after a missed pass just 5m from the try line.
Then Muhammad Danish Fitri (#6) cut through the ACS(I) defence, generating a roar from the Saints crowd, but he found himself cut down. However, this yielded a penalty right in front of the posts and Nick Nijhof (SA #10) scored to reduce the deficit to seven points (10-17).
However, Saints could not build on their momentum, and lost a man to a yellow card when Irfan (#15) high tackled Lim Hongxi (ACSI #15) who was running at speed down the right flank.
ACS(I) used their one-man advantage to good effect, with Tuang Xiang Yu (#16) almost scoring a try when his attempt was held up. However, Timothy Tan (#7) eventually got his second, and ACS(I)’s fourth try of the afternoon when he dove in after a scrum. The conversion was again missed, but ACS(I) now had a comfortable 22-10 lead.
Saints had another late surge, and they slow balled over for a try by their vice-captain, James Batt (#4). Nijhof (#10) converted, but it was the last play of the game, and ACS(I) finished 22-17 winners.
Said vice-captain Batt, “Me and the boys were playing to our max. Unfortunately, just a few mistakes, and ACS(I) went through. Our captain asked us to restart, like that (early ACS(I) try) didn’t really happen. We warmed up. We came back. When it was reaching the late period, when most of us were tired, we couldn’t get around the pitch that fast. The pitch was hard. I can tell in this game, we played incredible for most of us. We were united to the end. We put our bodies on the line.”
Adrian Chong, head coach of ACS(I), said, “Winning a grand slam is always difficult but we will take the win even though we should have done better. I think we didn’t take our chances as well as we should. The finals will always bring the kind of pressure even without the grand slam. Saints capitalised on some of the mistakes that were a little bit uncharacteristic of us, unfortunately. The second half, we started better, after scoring an early try in the second half, that settled them down.”
Said ACS(I) captain, Matthew Lim, “We are very glad that we are able to win in front of a home crowd. It’s really been an honour representing the school. We were doing well in the first few minutes but after that we lost our cool, and then we went a bit off. In the second half, we turned on again and started working hard again. We were expecting more or less this standard where everyone will play a hard and good game and we really want to thank Saints for the good opposition.”
ACS (Barker Road) beat Raffles Institution 23-19 to finish third.
St. Andrew’s Roster
Kevin Tay (#1), Clemen Liau (#2), Joshua Ong (#3), James Haaris Batt (#4), Mohammad Putra Wafaa (#5), Muhammad Danish Fitri bin Mohamad Siraj (#6), Dylan Tay (#7), Marcus Chan (#8), Blythe Chong (#9), Nijhof Nick Hendricus Wilhelmus Naran (#10), Matthew Ng (#11), Ryan Distor Joseph (#12), Zachary Adam Gares (#13), Lucius Yau (#14), Mohamad Irfan bin Mohamad Nassir (#15), Brandon Tan (#16), Triumfo Lucky Anthony Castilla (#17), Asher Rainer Teow (#18), Asger Malda Airic Jan Buswilan (#19), Joeden Chan (#20), Jelinek Aiden Jean-Luc (#21), Ng Sen Xu (#22), Mika’il Yue bin Istiandra (#23), Jabez Lim (#24), Gabriel Chew (#25), Jadon Eng (#26), Barry Wong (#27), Ezekiel Lee (#28)
ACS(I) Roster
Samuel Andrew O’Hehir (#1), Muhd Aiman bin Mohd Azhar (#2), Muhammad Kiane Rashidale (#4), Noah Tan (#5), Timothy Tan (#7), Bryan Beng (#8), Ethan Soo (#9), Matthew Lim (#10), Edgar Tan (#11), Dan Yuet Sean (#12), Sean Ng (#13), Joshua Cheong (#14), Lim Hongxi (#15), Tuang Xiang Yu (#16), Aloysius Ong (#17), Javier Lim (#18), Lee Kok Hou (#19), Wee Kai (#20), Ezra Teo (#21), Sean Low (#22), Tan Guan Hong (#24), Ethan Lim (#28), Lucas Chu (#30), Emmanuel Yeo (#31), Ernesto Huang (#34), Hunter Alexander Hodgson (#35), Ryan Tzuriel Tan (#37), Kenji Chng (#39)
National C Division Rugby Championship – fixtures and results
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