By Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports
Lucas Tay (#26) of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) sprints ahead for the try against Raffles Institution. Tay scored the final try of the game. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
PESEB, Tuesday, May 5, 2015 — Defending champions Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) anchored their position as rugby powerhouses with a 37–0 semi-final victory over Raffles Institution, securing a berth in the final of the National A Division Rugby Championship.
ACS(I) established their dominance right from kick-off, using their forward pack to force the RI defenders back. Within the first 10 minutes, ACS(I) held a 15–0 lead, courtesy of tries from Alex Chia (#3), Anders Seah (#8) and Jason Goh (#21).
RI had no answer against ACS(I)’s offence, as the latter contained them within their half in the first 30 minutes of the game.
With just under five minutes remaining, Joshua Goh (#23) managed to pocket the ball off an RI blunder, and pushed it forward for a Daniel Ho (#14) try. Michael Yee (#15) followed with a conversion to bolster ACS(I)’s lead to 22 points. The full back added a penalty just three minutes later to give ACS(I) the 25–0 lead.
In the second half, after a line-out near RI’s try line, Arend Wong (#27) managed to fake out his defenders for the easy uncontested try on the left flank, putting ACS(I) up by 30 points.
With a comfortable lead secured, ACS(I) opted to field their reserves, which RI duly took advantage of. The Rafflesians managed to push the ball into ACS(I)’s half countless times in the final 20 minutes, which they did not enjoy earlier with ACS(I)’s starters on the field. However, ACS(I)’s reserves held their ground and denied RI any opportunity near the try line.
With under two minutes to play, an RI defensive breakdown allowed Lucas Tay (#26) to break through for a 50-yard sprint for the final try of the game. Wong (#27) subsequently converted to seal the 37-point victory and book ACS(I) a spot in the final.
“I think we played well in the first half of the game and in the second half, we slacked off a little,” said ACS(I) captain Isaiah Teh (#7).
“We were under a lot of pressure and we were tired, partly because our fitness levels are low, and that’s something that we need to work on.”
In the other semi-final, St. Andrew’s Junior College, who finished as runners-up in last year’s championship, held a 17–0 first-half lead over Anglo-Chinese Junior College. However, the second half of the game was adjourned due to a lightning risk.
Teh (#7) added, “ACJC and SAJC are both worthy opponents, and I hope both teams will play well in their semi-final game, and hopefully, we’ll see either one of them and play a good final game.”
ACS(I) will face the victor of the SAJC-ACJC game in the final, which will be held on May 14, 4.15 p.m. at the Home Team Academy.
Score by Half
ACS(I) vs RI
1st half: 25–0
2nd half: 12–0 (37–0)
Scorers
ACS(I)
Wong Jun Jie, Arend (#27) – 1 try, 1 conversion
Michael Yee Jia Hong (#15) – 1 penalty, 1 conversion
Alex Chia Yao Wei (#3) – 1 try
Anders Seah Nanjia (#8) – 1 try
Daniel Ho Chia Chun (#14) – 1 try
Goh Jien Feung, Jason (#21) – 1 try
Lucas Tay Yi-En (#26) – 1 try
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)
RI Roster
Keith Tay (#1), Foo Jih Shenn (#2), Kim Do Kyum (#3), Shawn Paul Fredrick (#4), Ivar Johann Lassesen (#6), Ryan Sek (#7), Park Chang Kyu (#8), Isaac Goh (#9), Christopher Mak (#10), Soh Qi Xu (#11) , Shant Sin (#12), Cleven Loh Kai Wen (#13), Muhammad Ridhwan (#14), Harish Rai (#15), Russell Tan (#17), Fang Jun Tao (#18), Remus Lai (#20), Zhang You Sheng (#21), Daniel Tan (#22), Koh Teng Chun (#23), Mustafa Siddiqui (#26), Tishya Khanna (#28), Shreyash Hemanthbabu (#29), Khoo Jun Yuan, Lai Jin Hoe, Tan Wei Han, Zakir Nasruddin
National A Division Rugby Championship — fixtures and results
More photos next page
[…] National A Div Rugby: ACS(I) advance to final with 37–0 rout of RI […]