Story by Les Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Clara Yuan, Lim Yong Teck, and Jeffrey Chiang/Red Sports
Kyler Wong (#9) of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) scores the second and game-winning try against St. Andrew’s Junior College. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
Home Team Academy, Tuesday, May 19, 2015 — Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) [ACS(I)] endured a nervy second half to eventually beat St. Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) 12–5 in the final of the National A Division Rugby Championship.
It was all ACS(I) in the first half, with the game played almost totally in the SAJC half. SAJC were not helped either when they went down to 14 players when Muhammad Farhan Bin Hazri (#25) was shown a yellow card.
However, ACS(I) could not make the pressure pay and all they had to show for their first-half domination was a converted Anders Seah (#8) try for a 7–0 lead at half time.
That lead started to look too slim as SAJC came storming back in the second half and threatened the ACS(I) try line. ACS(I) then dug themselves not one, but two holes when first Jason Goh (#21), and then Arend Wong (#27), were shown yellow cards by the referee for illegal tackles.
It was therefore no surprise that SAJC took advantage of a 13-man ACS(I) to score a try through captain Jeromy Chua (#12). There was a tense wait as the referee took counsel with his linesman before awarding SAJC the try near the left corner flag. Left with an acute angle, Vickneshwaran (#7) could not convert to tie up the game and ACS(I) held on to a slim two-point lead (7–5).
ACS(I) looked for a second try but all their attempts were fizzling out. One such attack ended with an SAJC lineout near their try line. ACS(I) stole the ball at the lineout, with Jason Goh passing the ball to Kyler Wong (#9) who flew over the line. There was another tense moment again when the referee consulted with his other linesman. When he finally blew his whistle and raised his right hand to give ACS(I) the try, cheers erupted in the stands.
The last five minutes saw SAJC reach within touching distance of the try line but ACS(I) held on to seal the 12–5 win.
Recalled Kyler Wong of his try after the game, “I knew I scored it; the line was there, I had to go. It’s my last game, I’m glad I ended on a high.”
Teammate Anders Seah said, “Our lineouts kept getting disrupted by Saints. They’re very strong in their lineout defense. But eventually, all that we practiced eventually paid off in the try over the corner on the right.”
“Our resilience [was a highlight for me]. We were pinned down a couple of times, two men down, but we stuck to our game plan, trusted in each other and I’m glad we pulled through in our win today,” added Anders.
“I think that it’s really just towards the end, that we gave in. But actually, throughout, I think we just played very well,” said Saints captain, Jeromy Chua. “We held them off for a very very long time, and we were coming in as the underdogs, but that didn’t really stop us, as you can see. So I’m just really proud how we played, even though we lost. To us, in our hearts, we just want to thank all the supporters for coming today.”
“I don’t think we played as well as we should,” said ACS(I) coach Adrian Chong. “I think they’re capable of much better. We fluffed many chances, we made errors that we normally would not have made. But I guess that’s how tense it was for the boys, and I think that the pressure of really wanting to win this, especially for the Year Sixes, because they’re in their final year, probably took its toll. But I think that it’s clear that we were in control most of the game, it’s just that we didn’t have so many points to show for the possession we had.”
Surviving part of the game with just 13 players stood out for coach Chong.
“Well, in any game, when you’re down by two players, it’s going to be tough, but I think that they showed their resilience and that pleased me. Two very important lineouts won us the game, and I think that hard work actually paid off, especially for the forwards, because they actually nailed it when it mattered the most. And the backs, I thought the defense was great, we were working a lot on defense and I think it paid off today.”
Score by Half
ACS(I) vs SAJC
1st half: 7–0
2nd half: 5–5 (12–5)
ACS(I) Roster
Matthias Soh Jia Loong (#1), Zachary Tan Jun Rong (#2), Alex Chia Yao Wei (#3), Nunis Mikael Keith (#4), Lloyd Ng Jee Hean (#5), Daniel Chris Lee Zi Ern (#6), Isaiah Teh Jia Jin (#7), Anders Seah Nanjie (#8), Kyler Wong Yiming (#9), Ho Teng Yang, Ethan (#10), Tjoa Han Yang (#11), Seow Kai Liang Alexander (#12), Daniel Ho Chia Chun (#14), Michael Yee Jia Hong (#15), Lee Tat Wei (#16), Tuang Rui Shan (#17), Lim Jun Yi, Joshua (#18), Dan Yuet Yau (#19), Ou Wai Yan Darrell (#20), Goh Jien Feung, Jason (#21), Jeremy Choy Yi Xiang (#22), Goh Kiat Jwei Joshua (#23), Woo Ming En, Roy (#24), Edward Hui Xian Wei (#25), Lucas Tay Yi-En (#26), Wong Jun Jie, Arend (#27), Philip John Duggan (#28), Bryan Foo (#30)
SAJC Roster
Muhammad Asyraf B Sukor (#1), Ryan Ong Tse T’ng (#2), Benjamin Pang Jing Jie (#3), Jotham Teo (#4), Gabriel Koh Giap Pang (#5), Markus Tan Yi Heng (#6), Vickneshwaran S/O S. Supramaniam (#7), Lin Shengkai, Jonathan (#8), Gabriel Augustine Silva (#9), Derek Ng Kok Heng (#10), Dedrick Lim Yong Yew (#11), Jeromy Chua Kai Ching (#12), Goh Jun-Hui Adley (#13), Png Wei Jie Gregory (#14), Riley Shannan Liew Jat Jung (#15), Ho Ting Wei (#16), Benjamin Png Hao Ze (#17), Low Seong Keng Shawn (#18), Kane Huang (#19), Delvon Anand Jose Charles (#20), Nur Adli Iqbal B Mahadir (#21), Khaizuran Khairin Bin Nur Kamal (#22), Elton Mah Wei Kang (#23), Tsu Jun Ying, Gavin (#24), Muhammad Farhan B Hazri (#25), Kenneth Ng Wei Wen (#26), Lim Han Wei Xavier (#27), Nicholas Tan Wen Feng (#28)
National A Division Rugby Championship — fixtures and results
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