Asian Tri Nations win for Singapore

SINGAPORE - The Singapore national rugby team had not played an international test match at home since 2010, and some 2,000 fans who turned out at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium today (Aug 24) to cheer on the Reds at the Asian Tri Nations were not disappointed today after witnessing the hosts notch a 30-19 victory over world No 56 Taiwan.

The victory also saw Singapore leapfrogging two spots in the world rankings from No 58 to No 56 to end their Tri Nations campaign on a high. This especially after their heartbreaking 35-25 loss to Hong Kong “A” in their first game on Sunday.

Prop Reiner Leong was the hero of the day for the Singaporeans after scoring a hat-trick in the fiercely-contested match between both rivals. With Taiwan drawing first blood in the seventh minute, the 27-year-old managed to even the score with his first try in the 23rd minute before striking again just before the half-time whistle to give the hosts a 12-7 lead.

Leong made it a hat-trick in the 55th minute after breaking through the scrum at the goal line, and subsequent tries from teammates Gabriel Lee and Peter McFeeley saw the Reds claiming victory, 30-19.

Leong, who had scored four tries in three international games, was delighted with the team victory as he said: “This wouldn’t have happened if the team hadn’t worked together. I can’t take credit for the tries. All I can do is give credit to the team.”

After a week of action on the field, Hong Kong “A” was eventually crowned champions of the Asian Tri Nations tournament with victories over Singapore and Taiwan.