ACS(I) complete clean sweep of rugby titles

SINGAPORE — Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) cemented their status as the top rugby school in Singapore as they completed a clean sweep of the national schools rugby divisional titles by beating St Andrew’s Secondary School 22-17 in the ‘C’ division final on Tuesday (Aug 23).

This was only the third time that ACS(I) had won all three titles - since they started competing in 'A' division rugby as well - having previously also achieved the feat in 2008 and 2011. They secured the ‘A’ and ‘B’ crowns earlier in the year.

It also meant that national schools sports history was made, as the ACS family had won all the rugby titles up for grabs all the way from the Primary level this year, with Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) having also nabbed the Under-11 and Under-13 titles respectively.

“We are delighted to have achieved such a feat, it’s never easy to complete a grand slam of titles, and we will look back on this year with a lot of pride,” said ACS(I) head coach Adrian Chong, who has been coaching the school since 1993.

But ACS(I)’s route to the ‘C’ Division title was far from easy, as defending champions St Andrew’s put up a valiant defence of their title at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium in front of close to 700 supporters.

Having come into the final as favourites, ACS(I) stormed to a perfect start with flanker Timothy Tan scoring a try within the first 90 seconds.

But St Andrew’s hit back midway through the first-half through a penalty try by Mohamad Irfan, which Nijhof Naran then successfully converted to give his team the lead.

However, Bryan Beng restored ACS(I)’s advantage just before half-time with another try as they went into the break with a 10-7 lead.

ACS(I) extended their lead early in the second half through captain Matthew Lim’s try, which was converted by Alex Hunter, before Timothy scored his second try of the game four minutes from time to give his team what proved to be an unassailable lead.

Despite a late flurry from St Andrew’s, who scored a converted try in the last minute of the game, ACS(I) held their nerves to see the victory out – as the final whistle was blown, the ACS(I) players raised their hands in triumph and relief, while hundreds of their supporters ran onto the pitch in celebration.

Reflecting on his team’s victory, Chong, 49, said: “We underperformed in the first-half and it became a very close affair because we were making mistakes we normally don’t. But that’s the nature of a final.

“During the break, I told them to calm down and stick to the basics and the game plan. They did that, and the early try that we scored in the second half helped to settle the nerves.

“Overall, you could see it was quite clear that we were the superior team after the break, but great credit to St Andrew’s for putting up such a tough fight.”

ACS(I) captain Matthew Lim, who was part of team that was defeated by St Andrew’s in last year’s ‘C’ division final, said losing the previous final made this victory even sweeter.

“It does make the victory special and it’s almost like redemption for me,” said Matthew, 14. “Completing a sweep of all the titles is also not easy to achieve so we’re all very proud of that feat.

“We’ve done well this season – we started strong, remained steady throughout and now, ended well, and all of us are very honoured to have brought glory to the school.”

Despite the defeat, St Andrew’s head coach Alan Wee, 58, was pleased with his charges’ battling performance and tipped his team come back stronger next year.

Acknowledging that his team, who were beaten 34-12 by ACS(I) in the preliminary stages, were the underdogs for the final, Wee said: “I think overall my boys performed pretty well, and it’s probably one of the best games they’ve played all season. They finally decided to come together, work as a team and we gave ACS(I) a real run for their money.

“I’m quite proud with the boys for stepping up and putting their bodies on the line in the final. At half-time, we thought we had a real good chance of springing a surprise, but the try they scored early in the second-half knocked the winds out of our sails.

“It’s always the case that in St Andrew’s you have to fight for a place in the team. Half the team we have now are from Secondary 1, so hopefully we’ll be able to develop a much more cohesive and stronger team for next year.”