By Clara Yuan/Red Sports

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Khairiz Haikel (#13) of Evergreen being tackled by Montfort players. (Photo 1 © Clara Yuan/Red Sports)

Physical and Sports Education Branch, Friday, April 10, 2015 — Evergreen Secondary survived a late comeback effort from Montfort Secondary to win 30–24 and clinch the bronze medal in the National B Division Boys Rugby (Bowl) Championship.

Both team held 3–2 win-loss records coming into the game.

Last year, Evergreen finished second, while Montfort were eliminated during the group stage.

Early in the game, Javier Lek (#7) of Montfort had a good run but was brought down by his defenders. Shortly after, Jerome Tio (#24) of Montfort scored the first try of the game.

Muhammad Dinie Matin (#14) of Evergreen managed to get the ball and scored from the side leveling the score at 5–5 going into the half-time break.

In the second half, Muhammad Dinie (#14) of Evergreen got hold of the ball near the try line and sprinted towards it to score another try for a 10–5 lead.

Isaac Andrew (#15) of Montfort then had an amazing run, sprinting across two-thirds of the field to score a try. Joshua Tan (#10) of Montfort added a conversion to give his team a 12–10 lead.

Muhammad Shahir (Evergreen #2) scored a try assisted by Danial Hadi (Evergreen #9) to take back the lead at 15–12. Subsequently, Evergreen continued their scoring streak to extend their lead to 27–12 with two tries by Matthew Seah (#7) and Riduan B Sulaiman (#10) with a successful conversion.

With less than 10 minutes left to play, Montfort staged a last minute comeback effort with two tries by Javier (#7) and Joshua (#10). Joshua (#10) also added a conversion.

However, the comeback effort came a tad too late as the deficit proved too large to overcome. Evergreen eventually sealed the game with a 30–24 victory.

Evergreen captain, Mohamed Faheem (#8), said, “It was challenging but we persisted to the end. It was a bit shaky but we held up. This season we were aiming for final but finished third instead, so we take that. It’s the best team I have played with and I am very thankful for this team I have.”

Montfort captain, Gerald Goh (#9), said, “We did very well in the first half and I am very proud. We were in their half most of the time and pushing them all the way. During the second half, the last few minutes was amazing because we managed to score two tries.”

Scoring by half
Evergreen vs Montfort
1st half: 5–5
2nd half: 25–19 (30–24)

Scorers
Evergreen
Muhammad Dinie Matin B Yusham (#14) – 2 tries
Muhammad Shahir (#2) – 1 try
Matthew Seah (#7) – 1 try
Riduan B Sulaiman (#10) – 1 try

Montfort
Isaac Andrew (#15) – 1 try
Jerome Tio (#24) – 1 try
Javier Lek (#7) – 1 try
Joshua Tan (#10) – 1 try

Evergreen Roster
Muhammad Hazim B Subari (#1), Muhammad Shahir B Mazlinan (#2), Shafuliqbal B Shamsudin El-Yum (#3), Tan Cheng How Lloyd (#4), Heilman Rusydi B Suhaidi (#5), Muhammad Danial B Jamaludin (#6), Seah Qi Hua Matthew (#7), Mohamed Faheem B Md Fuad (#8), Danial Hadi B Affendy (#9), Riduan B Sulaiman (#10), Lionel Tan Yi Hong (#11), Aslamshah B Budinshah (#12), Khairiz Haikel B Khairul A (#13), Muhammad Dinie Matin B Yusham (#14), Ian Andre Fonseca (#16), Muhammad Zhulfadhli B Hanapiah (#17), Is’han Syaqir Bharoocha B I B (#19), Muhammad Laili Muharam B A (#20), Ong Qi Bin (#21), Hadyff Irawan B Kamsari (#22), Ng Cheun Han Kyles (#23), Priyadarshan S/O Kanniapalan (#24), Muhammad Azrul B Ali (#24), Ahmad Ilyas B Azhari (#25), Danny Lim Leong Boon (#26), Abdullah Bin Abdul Rahman (#27), Muhammad Amir B Mohamad Ali (#30), Quek Chui Hong (#31)

Montfort Roster
Hkabil B Azmi (#1), Mohamed Isyafiq (#2), Nicholas Tan (#3), Vivek Ram Mahendra Kennedy (#4), Noer Zat (#5), Mohammad Ryan Tan (#6), Javier Lek (#7), Zahid B Mohamad Noor Azrin (#8), Gerald Goh (#9), Joshua Tan (#10), Haneef Arshad Ahamed (#11), T Gautam (#12), Isaac Andrew (#15), Muhammad Shahadat (#19), Nate Bernard (#20), Dharma S/O Ommabathy (#23), Jerome Tio (#24)

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