National B Div Rugby: Raffles upset ACS(I) 13-12 in semis

By Gladys Wee

Republic Polytechnic, Monday, March 26, 2012 — Raffles Institution upset Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) 13-12 to earn themselves a place in the final of the National B Division Rugby Championship.

When the two teams met in the preliminary round, ACS(I) had won 25-0. ACS(I) went on to finish top of the group with a 6-win, 1-draw, 0-loss record while Raffles secured the last semi-final spot after finishing fourth with a 4-3 win-loss record.

In 2011, Raffles did not make it into the final four for the national championship but went on to win the Plate. For ACS(I), this is the first time since 1996 they have not featured in a B Division final.

Raffles will play St Andrew’s Secondary in the final after the Saints beat ACS (Barker Road) 22-0 in the other semi-final played on Tuesday, March 27th.

Raffles drew first blood with Park Chang Kyu (RI #13) scoring an early penalty but the 3-0 lead was short-lived with ACS(I) replying with a try minutes later. A conversion by Ngen Ge Liang gave the defending champions a 7-3 lead.

With both teams fighting for school pride, they were relentless on both defence and attack for the next 10 minutes until ACS(I) scored a second try. This time, the try was not converted and ACS(I) took a 12-3 lead into the half-time break.

In the second half, Raffles were awarded a penalty after an ACS(I) player was sent off for foul play. Raffles successful converted the penalty to shrink the deficit to six points at 6-12.

Minutes later, Raffles were awarded another penalty near the try line which they declined in the hope of scoring a try. The gamble did not pay off when ACS(I) took control minutes later and brought the ball all the way back to the Raffles try line. ACS(I) edged closer for their third try, but their attempts were thwarted by Raffles.

Raffles again pushed their way to the ACS(I) try line and this time Kyle Chong (RI #9) scored a try for his team to trail only by one at 11-12.

With all of “Raffles Pride” on his shoulders, Chang Kyu stepped up to make a successful conversion to give RI a spot in the final with a 13-12 win.

“This is our last season playing together and through all the tough trainings and many injuries, we persevered and our determination till the last whistle eventually won us the game,” said Chong Chung Chi of Raffles.

Added his teammate, Marcel Low: “We came into this game as underdogs, but we knew what was at stake and pushed till the very end even though we were down.”

The final is scheduled for Thursday, April 5th, 5pm, at Republic Polytechnic.

National B Division Rugby Championship — full fixtures and results