It didn’t seem too long ago when we first started training for this season on the 8 June with 5 people at CCAB. But its actually been about 4 months of preparation before we took to the field two Saturdays ago in our swanky new NUS (tigers) jersey for the Rugby 7s invitational Singapore University Games (SUniG). To be exact, its been 118 days of hard work, sweat, (the occasional bouts of) tears and tape.
So 2nd October finally arrived and the gloomy sky had us all praying that we wouldn’t not have to wait it out till 11pm. Taping up, moving the goalposts, warming up and getting mentally psyched up was a slow affair and personally, I was started to get strung up.
I heard some of our teammates comment that the fixtures this year is exactly like that of last year: with our opening match being against SIM, whom some of us were weary of (a grounded concern given that they did have a full field of national players). And indeed the first half of the game saw a substandard NUS performance. A too-flat attack line resulted in us losing ground in attack and eventually losing possession of the ball. On top of a disorganized and rather lazy defense, our tackles weren’t effective and we eventually paid the price of committing too many people at a breakdown by allowing SIM to take the lead via a try by SIM’s scrumhalf Hui Juan on the wing. A series of terrible passing commenced before the whistle went at half time and the coach was right to say we “threw the first half away”, literally.
Within the first minute of the second half, a fumble by SIM at their try line allowed Toffa the chance to drive on the ball and equalize. Determination renewed, NUS finally got our head in the game by putting in proper tackles defending as a line. A breakthrough from Yilin created a 2 on 1 situation and she showed some roomie love by unselfishly passing the ball to Esther who managed to finish this phase of attack bringing the score 10-5 in our favour. A kick from Christabelle followed by some relentless defending allowed us to resume attacking on their try line and good support play from Christabelle allowed her to score a try under the post. A conversion from Yilin ended the game at a score 17-5 to NUS, securing our first win in the group stage. This come from behind win seriously boosted the team’s morale and we were raring to go.
With renewed determination we took SMU on with all confidence. This could have worked against us as a complacent try line defense allowed SMU to put themselves on the scoreboard within the first 1 min. This rude awakening was much needed and NUS quickly regrouped, spread the play wide and Captain Caslin managed to outrun her opponents on the wing to put ground the ball under the post (though she almost was too lazy to run there). After the half time break, competitive Yilin gave two unsuspecting SMU girls “the hand” to dive for a try under the posts (At this point, a source said she spotted a “gain all face”) Some amazing chemistry between our two national players allowed Yilin to put yet another try under the post and this time, the conversion was good.
In the last game of the group stage, the NTU spirit had us all on our toes, and we’ve always been impressed with them for playing with so much heart. Indeed, NTU’s prop Taojng’s commanding presence and Sarah-Jean’s quick breakout from the scums took me by surprise. But this surprise aggression fired us up and forced our forward pack to respond quickly. And respond we did. But NTU’s fold defense proved effective and we were prevented from scoring. An unfortunate ball loss on attack allowed for quick hands to NTU’s pink boot fairy, Amanda. Half-hearted tackles and a slow to push up defense allowed her to run a J-curve and give NTU the lead (seems that chasing up is our forte). Siew Huai made the score more threatening by converting the try to allow NTU the lead 7-0. NUS replied via their newest hooker XY who scrambled (she really didn’t have to) to score on the wing but an unsuccessful conversion meant that NUS was still trailing 7-5. Both teams played their hearts out but just as the horn sounded it was NUS who put in the critical try. Esther managed to beat 3 defenders and ground the ball via some stunning, spinning moves (YES!) that rendered XY speechless. NUS hence claimed a hard fought victory 10-7 and were progressing to the finals undefeated to meet SIM who had reinforcements.
It was obvious that SIM had their sights set on avenging themselves but we had come this far and we definitely wanted the championship for ourselves. The team started on a high note, with everyone aware of her responsibilities and determined to make a difference. Unfortunately, our efforts were not rewarded and we found little breakthroughs and for most part of the game, found ourselves on defense. Eventually, a miscommunication between 3 players allowed SIM winger Clarissa to weave her way through and score a try on the wing. Undaunted, NUS pressed on. But despite being relentless on defense, we found no opportunity to turn over the ball and remained camped in our half. As the game drew to a close, SIM begun a series of pick-and-goes. I felt a surge of pride as I saw my teammates making tackles after tackles and helping each other out (not that I was slacking of course). We managed gain possession of the ball just as the horn went. With nothing to lose, Esther knew it was now or never. But her chip and chase backfired as SIM was quick back on defense. Clarissa managed to get her hands on the ball and burn on the wing to bring the game to a close and the victory went to SIM while we had to content being the cup runner-ups.
Like what a wise old wing said, “when you are on the field, you’re not watching a movie. You are the star of the movie” (some people also pose on the field like movie star siol- Belle). We may have lost, but we definitely put up a good show (for most of the time anyways) with our camaraderie, aggression and spirit and those wrongly printed silver medals definitely didn't come by easily. There were no low points on the field and everyone showed so much dedication and encouragement I think everyone watching should have been touched and proud of themselves. And I am so very grateful to everyone, player, sub, supporter, helpers and coach(es). And as this chapter comes (came actually since this report is much overdue) to a close, I do believe that every player has benefited so much from this experience and there is so much to be proud of- as individuals and more significantly, as a team.
