a continuation from the previous entry
at the debrief after the AC game,gene told us about the trngs lined up for us for the week until 17th may.when "we have to hit the track on friday for the last time this season before meeting RJ again" came from his mouth,all our faces changed.we always dreaded tracks.well,who doesnt man?so yup.but for that moment,we didnt care and cont to enjoy the victorious moment.have to thank amelia,fiona,liangyang and so much more for the phone calls to congratulate our victory.
so thursday was a video and hydro session for all of us.all of us were released early from class.after the hilarious hydro session,we went down to support the soccer boys who did well to qualify for the semis.friday was supp to be the track session but the sudden thunderstorm forced us to have our fitness session in the hall.half and hour of circuits non stop and half an hour of suicides non stop.totally knocked out.
saturday came.so it was 4 days to the finals and we had a trng session at the finals venue.police academy (CCK).was a good session with variations to our lineout calls and it was good to see the determination everyone was putting in despite the aches from the previous trng.ended the session and had a great night out with alex,khairul,liang,joel and jesse.the KFC dinner and para para were unforgettable.
monday and tues had trngs at our beloved potong pasir field.i remember on tues most of the J2s were pretty emo.becos it was our last trng as st andrew's ruggers and when thought about the first time we came and trained together,there was no doubt all of us searched deeply down our soul.
[17th May 2006]
the day finally settled in.i was late for school.but oh well,that wasnt the point.had a team breakfast together before heading to the trophy room to rest saw you as i went to collect my physics spa notes at the gallery but all you could do was just turn away and nth from you at all before the game.but nvm.
slpt so well with eugene that i actually dropped my pack of ice.hahaha.so yupp.after slping we had a good lunch and shitting session.hahaha.before major vas came in to take us for our psyching up session.the same routinal things,but i dint feel what i felt during the session for the AC game.i wasnt really hyped up.and that gradual fall led to something really bad.so major vas had to rush off and the coaches were left to speak to us.we had an individual assessment and coaches gave us our individual strengths.really enjoyed it.haha.each one of us got remarks and praises.mrs lim came in to present us with our jerseys.what she said made some sense in a way and when she left,gene showed us the photos throughout the entire season.totally overwhelming.after which,taping was done hastily and we had to rush to board our coach to CCK.saw a couple of my classmates because they were actually so nice to be one of the classes to book the buses to head down to CCK.thanks guys.
on the bus journey,taping was done and in a blink of an eye,we reached the somewhat familiar police academy which we had set our feet on thrice this season.
got everything ready and off we were for warm up.rafflesians came in 20 mins before the game and started to do lunges,push ups etc while we were having our team runs.
afterwhich,we all headed to our changing rooms to have a team talk and the last psyching session.whoever said it was rare to see tears from ruggers would be severely mistaken if he/she saw what happened in the changing room.some of us started to tear and sob due to the overwhelming effect.and poof.off we were to the pitch.
when we jogged onto the pitch,the immense applause and cheerings from our fellow school mates gave all of us an adrenalin.had the last couple of team runs and off we were in with the ref at the other end of the field and made our way down to the other.we did our haka.which was the first time in 17 yrs.brought about some awe and surprises to the crowd.sis took a perfect video of it.thanks mann.
so off went the whistle and we were on.liang kicked off well and we gave chase.smack the ball carrier on first hit and everything was going so fine.one smack after another.gave chase.massive lineouts due to the massive kickings from rafflesians.and scrums.an infringement by a rafflesian gave us the lead as malcolm went for the points and converted it well.
3-0 up for the saints.
all of us believed that this was going to be our game.we all were hyped up.but for me,i must admit that i cracked after the first lineout.totally off.i did everything so badly.screwed up my scrums and mauls.
however,RJ came back even stronger and scored a try through their fast winger.we got caught as they handed the ball out wide.so 5-3.we found ourselves chasing.
more lineouts,scrums and massive kickings.we actually had a couple of good chances,but RJ defence gave us no space and gap to punch through.we thought that rolling mauls will be a good strategy against a strong RJ backline.to our surprise,RJ's rolled mauls against us and we felt it was difficult to hold them back.was trying our best to defent against them too."beep" went the half time whistle.
at half time.we were all tired.rafflesians were known for their fitness and fast runners.we on the other hand relied on tight play.5-3 the score and gene was unhappy.marcus yelled.gene came to apply deep heat on my neck again.the stinging pain on my neck woke me up from my dreamy and screwed up mode.
so in we went for the second half.it did not take long for them to score a second try through zhehan who stepped and went all the way.so 10-3 the score and we felt even worse.more to chase.esp when we were just a few minutes into the second half.there were a few of us who totally cut off and gave up hope.but thanks to other few on the other hand who wanted the cup so damn badly.
then RJ came in hard again and tested our tryline defence.they came in at least 5 phases at the try line.i remembered clearing the first with sean and some others before sean pulled me up again to take them out on the 3rd phase.till the last phase,a rafflesian was penalised for holding the ball in a ruck and thus scrum to saints.
there was a held up and at this point their looshead prop started to make noise,"so show me what you learn during trng and scrum practices lar.come on come on!woohoo!" but sean shut his gap by ramming right through.lol.
so RJ rolled in fresh legs.and when they came into scrums,according to khairul,they were high-fiving with each other.every single one of them looked as tho they won the rugby world cup.that was when things started to turn our way.
we started to dominate them in rucks,scrums and lineouts.was making hell lot of noise at the lineout to confuse their call.haha.but oh well.the clock was ticking down.
the last 10 mins of the game was the 10 mins of my entire season.and we provided the spectators with 10 mins of pure entertainment uncensored.we decided to go all out and play the hell out.i remembered we had a break and arthur brought the ball in.with 4 players going against him,he decided to set it up and so off the tights went in to secure the ruck before setting up anotehr phase and khairul broke right through to score against the green black and white right between the posts.malcolm converted the try well and so we're levelled.at this point of time,RJ had subbed out some crucial players and im sure they were pretty worried.
so off we were playing the time of our lives.3 mins were left in the game.khairul yelled,"come on guys,this is the last 3 mins of the game.3 mins of your lives!lets do it!come on!saints!" that truly sparked us off.and even more so when rafflesian lock was sin binned for repeated offences.so they had one man short and on the sidelines,marcus called for forwards to set a phase.off sherwyn went,taking 3 players with him.and then liang sheng brought it forward and then.poof.we gained hell lot of ground.inches and inches we moved towards the tryline.then a lineout was given to us.the call was for jeremy to get the ball.lifted him up and started to roll a maul.kept driving and driving until someone set another phase and i remembered peeping up while trapped in a ruck and saw alex with the ball diving for the try zone.
beep,the whistle went and the try was allowed!so off we were with 5 points ahead of them.we know pretty well there was not much time left and you should have been there to feel the ecstacy of the crowd and our team.malcolm failed to convert it but "breeeeppp" ref signalled and end to the game.
i was pretty lost because my ankle was in immense pain but when i saw khairul jumping and screaming with sas boys rushing right into the field.we all knew it!we WON!!15-10 the final score and the crowd rushed down too!thanks SAJC!the first guy who came to hug me was nick teoh who came rushing from the sidelines!thanks nick!a couple of us started to tear!i teared when i thought of how far we came and from a team with no faith in entering the finals to a finalist then a cup champion in 17 yrs!it all came to my mind.i was crying so much so that when juls came and screamed,"hey champion alr!" all i could do was to nod and grabbed his hands.
..to be continued..
at the debrief after the AC game,gene told us about the trngs lined up for us for the week until 17th may.when "we have to hit the track on friday for the last time this season before meeting RJ again" came from his mouth,all our faces changed.we always dreaded tracks.well,who doesnt man?so yup.but for that moment,we didnt care and cont to enjoy the victorious moment.have to thank amelia,fiona,liangyang and so much more for the phone calls to congratulate our victory.
so thursday was a video and hydro session for all of us.all of us were released early from class.after the hilarious hydro session,we went down to support the soccer boys who did well to qualify for the semis.friday was supp to be the track session but the sudden thunderstorm forced us to have our fitness session in the hall.half and hour of circuits non stop and half an hour of suicides non stop.totally knocked out.
saturday came.so it was 4 days to the finals and we had a trng session at the finals venue.police academy (CCK).was a good session with variations to our lineout calls and it was good to see the determination everyone was putting in despite the aches from the previous trng.ended the session and had a great night out with alex,khairul,liang,joel and jesse.the KFC dinner and para para were unforgettable.
monday and tues had trngs at our beloved potong pasir field.i remember on tues most of the J2s were pretty emo.becos it was our last trng as st andrew's ruggers and when thought about the first time we came and trained together,there was no doubt all of us searched deeply down our soul.
[17th May 2006]
the day finally settled in.i was late for school.but oh well,that wasnt the point.had a team breakfast together before heading to the trophy room to rest saw you as i went to collect my physics spa notes at the gallery but all you could do was just turn away and nth from you at all before the game.but nvm.
slpt so well with eugene that i actually dropped my pack of ice.hahaha.so yupp.after slping we had a good lunch and shitting session.hahaha.before major vas came in to take us for our psyching up session.the same routinal things,but i dint feel what i felt during the session for the AC game.i wasnt really hyped up.and that gradual fall led to something really bad.so major vas had to rush off and the coaches were left to speak to us.we had an individual assessment and coaches gave us our individual strengths.really enjoyed it.haha.each one of us got remarks and praises.mrs lim came in to present us with our jerseys.what she said made some sense in a way and when she left,gene showed us the photos throughout the entire season.totally overwhelming.after which,taping was done hastily and we had to rush to board our coach to CCK.saw a couple of my classmates because they were actually so nice to be one of the classes to book the buses to head down to CCK.thanks guys.
on the bus journey,taping was done and in a blink of an eye,we reached the somewhat familiar police academy which we had set our feet on thrice this season.
got everything ready and off we were for warm up.rafflesians came in 20 mins before the game and started to do lunges,push ups etc while we were having our team runs.
afterwhich,we all headed to our changing rooms to have a team talk and the last psyching session.whoever said it was rare to see tears from ruggers would be severely mistaken if he/she saw what happened in the changing room.some of us started to tear and sob due to the overwhelming effect.and poof.off we were to the pitch.
when we jogged onto the pitch,the immense applause and cheerings from our fellow school mates gave all of us an adrenalin.had the last couple of team runs and off we were in with the ref at the other end of the field and made our way down to the other.we did our haka.which was the first time in 17 yrs.brought about some awe and surprises to the crowd.sis took a perfect video of it.thanks mann.
so off went the whistle and we were on.liang kicked off well and we gave chase.smack the ball carrier on first hit and everything was going so fine.one smack after another.gave chase.massive lineouts due to the massive kickings from rafflesians.and scrums.an infringement by a rafflesian gave us the lead as malcolm went for the points and converted it well.
3-0 up for the saints.
all of us believed that this was going to be our game.we all were hyped up.but for me,i must admit that i cracked after the first lineout.totally off.i did everything so badly.screwed up my scrums and mauls.
however,RJ came back even stronger and scored a try through their fast winger.we got caught as they handed the ball out wide.so 5-3.we found ourselves chasing.
more lineouts,scrums and massive kickings.we actually had a couple of good chances,but RJ defence gave us no space and gap to punch through.we thought that rolling mauls will be a good strategy against a strong RJ backline.to our surprise,RJ's rolled mauls against us and we felt it was difficult to hold them back.was trying our best to defent against them too."beep" went the half time whistle.
at half time.we were all tired.rafflesians were known for their fitness and fast runners.we on the other hand relied on tight play.5-3 the score and gene was unhappy.marcus yelled.gene came to apply deep heat on my neck again.the stinging pain on my neck woke me up from my dreamy and screwed up mode.
so in we went for the second half.it did not take long for them to score a second try through zhehan who stepped and went all the way.so 10-3 the score and we felt even worse.more to chase.esp when we were just a few minutes into the second half.there were a few of us who totally cut off and gave up hope.but thanks to other few on the other hand who wanted the cup so damn badly.
then RJ came in hard again and tested our tryline defence.they came in at least 5 phases at the try line.i remembered clearing the first with sean and some others before sean pulled me up again to take them out on the 3rd phase.till the last phase,a rafflesian was penalised for holding the ball in a ruck and thus scrum to saints.
there was a held up and at this point their looshead prop started to make noise,"so show me what you learn during trng and scrum practices lar.come on come on!woohoo!" but sean shut his gap by ramming right through.lol.
so RJ rolled in fresh legs.and when they came into scrums,according to khairul,they were high-fiving with each other.every single one of them looked as tho they won the rugby world cup.that was when things started to turn our way.
we started to dominate them in rucks,scrums and lineouts.was making hell lot of noise at the lineout to confuse their call.haha.but oh well.the clock was ticking down.
the last 10 mins of the game was the 10 mins of my entire season.and we provided the spectators with 10 mins of pure entertainment uncensored.we decided to go all out and play the hell out.i remembered we had a break and arthur brought the ball in.with 4 players going against him,he decided to set it up and so off the tights went in to secure the ruck before setting up anotehr phase and khairul broke right through to score against the green black and white right between the posts.malcolm converted the try well and so we're levelled.at this point of time,RJ had subbed out some crucial players and im sure they were pretty worried.
so off we were playing the time of our lives.3 mins were left in the game.khairul yelled,"come on guys,this is the last 3 mins of the game.3 mins of your lives!lets do it!come on!saints!" that truly sparked us off.and even more so when rafflesian lock was sin binned for repeated offences.so they had one man short and on the sidelines,marcus called for forwards to set a phase.off sherwyn went,taking 3 players with him.and then liang sheng brought it forward and then.poof.we gained hell lot of ground.inches and inches we moved towards the tryline.then a lineout was given to us.the call was for jeremy to get the ball.lifted him up and started to roll a maul.kept driving and driving until someone set another phase and i remembered peeping up while trapped in a ruck and saw alex with the ball diving for the try zone.
beep,the whistle went and the try was allowed!so off we were with 5 points ahead of them.we know pretty well there was not much time left and you should have been there to feel the ecstacy of the crowd and our team.malcolm failed to convert it but "breeeeppp" ref signalled and end to the game.
i was pretty lost because my ankle was in immense pain but when i saw khairul jumping and screaming with sas boys rushing right into the field.we all knew it!we WON!!15-10 the final score and the crowd rushed down too!thanks SAJC!the first guy who came to hug me was nick teoh who came rushing from the sidelines!thanks nick!a couple of us started to tear!i teared when i thought of how far we came and from a team with no faith in entering the finals to a finalist then a cup champion in 17 yrs!it all came to my mind.i was crying so much so that when juls came and screamed,"hey champion alr!" all i could do was to nod and grabbed his hands.
..to be continued..
