Rugby 7s: Singapore Cricket Club lose 21-5 to Aussie side Cottesloe in Bowl final

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports and Indrajit Singh

Padang, Sunday, November 6, 2011 — The Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) lost 21-5 to Australian side Cottesloe in the Bowl Final of the SCC International Rugby 7s. SCC had routed Indonesian side Harimau 26-0, before beating Singapore side Bucks RFC 5-0 en route to the final. Cottesloe had earlier prevented an all-Singapore final when they beat the Singapore national team 24-12 in the semi-final.

Cottesloe showed their dominance from the start and SCC could not stop the Australians from taking a 14-0 lead by the end of the first half. A minor scuffle broke out towards the end of the half with an SCC player sent to the sin bin.

SCC made a comeback in the second half. Three minutes in, SCC made their mark as their #19 scored their first try. The conversion attempt, however, hit the post and the team had to settle for only five points.

Cottesloe did not let up on their attacks and with just one minute left on the clock, they scored yet another try to seal the win and the Bowl.

SCC had beaten Bucks RFC 5-0 earlier in the Bowl semi-final. That match was a highly contested one as both teams had an old score to settle. Right from the start, SCC kept play in the Bucks’ half of the pitch. Four minutes into the game, the SCC #15 broke free from a tackle and looked like he was going to score a try. However, he was promptly taken down to keep the score 0-0.

There were several rough tackles near the Bucks’ try line, but SCC finally broke the stalemate when their Valu Raturibi (#16) scored the first try with two minutes left on the clock in the first half.

The Bucks quickly counter-attacked from the flank but were stopped in their tracks with increasingly stiff tackles. Tempers flared and a minor skirmish between two players saw a SCC player being sent off just before the end of the half.

Two minutes into the second half, SCC got another chance to score but Valu Raturibi (#16) was brought down just inches from the try line. Bucks could not make their mark and eventually had to concede defeat to SCC.

In the second Bowl semi-final, Cottesloe held off a resilient Singapore national side to progress to the final. Three minutes into the game, the Cottesloe #3 scored the first try of the match, and duly converted.

Teng Chong Yao (Singapore #5) got a golden chance to score when he managed to break free from the Cottesloe defense just as he kicked the ball forward. However, he was outrun by his Cottesloe opponent and the attack came to nothing.

However, Singapore did not go down easily and fought back. With just over three minutes left in the game, Singapore made their first try via Hairul Naim (Singapore #11). Mohd Suhaimi (Singapore #1) then converted to level the score 7-7.

Luck was not on Singapore’s side however as Cottesloe took the advantage again via a try from their #5 to end the first half 14-7 in the lead.

The second half saw Cottesloe step up their game as they quickly raked in the points. Despite Singapore’s efforts, they were no match for Cottesloe and eventually lost the semi-final match 24-12.

For more photos go to the next page.