A Rugby 2009 Final: ACJC vs RI
It was a new pristine Police Cup, which RI took home after they defeated Anglo-Chinese Junior College 8-3 in the A Division Schools’ National Rugby Final on 22 May 2009 at the Old Police Academy.
The ACJC players, looking like warriors with their crew-cut hair, were all out to reclaim the title they last won in 2005.
Muhammad Fadhil gave ACJC an early lead when he converted a penalty in the 3rd minute.
But the Rafflesians fought back and soon were playing in ACJC’s half. In the 15th minute, Mohammad Saifuludin scored the only try of the match and Raffles held on to the 5-3 lead till half-time.
In the second half, both sides played clean hard rugby, trying their level best to break down the opponents' defence. Even though the Rafflesians had greater possession of the ball, they could not capitalise on it to widen the 2-point lead they had.
RI’s captain, Leonard Yap, took the score to 8-3 when he converted a penalty in the 22nd minute.
The final minutes were fiercely fought out as ACJC made several waves of attack and were just metres away from a try on several occasions but the Raffles defence stood firm and did not buckle till the final whistle.
It was a victory well earned by RI.
Said RI’s Wong Kuai Cheong: “ACJC is our toughest competitor. We know they would come back at us (in the second half) but we withstood the pressure.”
ACJC’s captain Peter Wang, said the ACSians had wanted to play a ‘territorial’ game in RI’s half but for a large part of the game were unable to do so.
“We knew that Raffles would keep it close. We had trained to counter them but they did exceptionally well today. When we had our chances, we didn't take them," said Peter.
Although ACJC’s dream of winning the Police Cup had been shattered, Peter added: “The season has been awesome. One loss doesn’t discount what we have been through as a team.”
The ACJC players, looking like warriors with their crew-cut hair, were all out to reclaim the title they last won in 2005.
Muhammad Fadhil gave ACJC an early lead when he converted a penalty in the 3rd minute.
But the Rafflesians fought back and soon were playing in ACJC’s half. In the 15th minute, Mohammad Saifuludin scored the only try of the match and Raffles held on to the 5-3 lead till half-time.
In the second half, both sides played clean hard rugby, trying their level best to break down the opponents' defence. Even though the Rafflesians had greater possession of the ball, they could not capitalise on it to widen the 2-point lead they had.
RI’s captain, Leonard Yap, took the score to 8-3 when he converted a penalty in the 22nd minute.
The final minutes were fiercely fought out as ACJC made several waves of attack and were just metres away from a try on several occasions but the Raffles defence stood firm and did not buckle till the final whistle.
It was a victory well earned by RI.
Said RI’s Wong Kuai Cheong: “ACJC is our toughest competitor. We know they would come back at us (in the second half) but we withstood the pressure.”
ACJC’s captain Peter Wang, said the ACSians had wanted to play a ‘territorial’ game in RI’s half but for a large part of the game were unable to do so.
“We knew that Raffles would keep it close. We had trained to counter them but they did exceptionally well today. When we had our chances, we didn't take them," said Peter.
Although ACJC’s dream of winning the Police Cup had been shattered, Peter added: “The season has been awesome. One loss doesn’t discount what we have been through as a team.”
posted by Sin Thai at 10:11 AM
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