Written by: Chang Zhe Ming
Edited by: Cheng Kai Wen
Photos by: Eusoff Works
After the boys managed to retain their title the day before, all eyes were on the girls as they pushed for a double championship. The second day of their carnival consisted of two round robin matches against Sheares and Temasek, before the finals.
EH vs SH (6 - 0)
We start the game on the front foot, making a dangerous move on the right wing before forcing SH into a fumble. After a sub box play, Theng drives into the try zone and passes it off to Anna to give us the lead. The next time up, Janice finds a clear path to run through, but was inches away from the try zone before the defender catches her at the last second.
The girls were impressive back on the defensive end as well, holding SH off and getting the turnovers. It also helped that they made a few unforced errors as well. After Ow made a touchdown on the left wing, we capitalised on an SH fumble, with Vanessa finding space on the opposite side for the try.
LYLC Claudia controlled the ball well and directed the line.
At the break, coach Kenny asked for better communication, and better initiative in offering each other help. That is exactly what he got as the girls systematically went for touches and started the second half by forcing an SH turnover.
We continued to dominate the rest of the half, winning the ball back high up the pitch and constantly threatening to score. Yiyin and Claudia each got a try within a couple of minutes, finding gaps in the centre of the defensive line to dive through. For the last play of the game, we forced SH to commit their defence left before attacking right, with Claudia finding Hui Lin for the touchdown to close the game in style. It ended 6-0 to Eusoff.
EH vs TH (1 - 2)
This was the match up that we were all looking forward to, especially the seniors who played in the comeback win last year. This time round, we were again anticipating a tough matchup. The game started evenly, both teams taking turns going at each other and clamping down on defence. There were no clear cut chances but plenty of turnovers and fumbles.
The breakthrough came after about 5 minutes, when Nikki found Yiyin who dove for the touchdown. However, we couldn’t let our guard down as TH continued to push. Our girls managed to hold them off with some good help defence, but they still got a try after we lost the ball in the middle of the pitch, leading to TH getting space to run through and into the try zone.
Theng driving hard and looking for a way to pass.
Tied at the break, both teams continued to buckle down on defence after play resumed. Queenie came close as she caught Claudia’s pass at the left wing, but couldn’t convert the try. Theng also found herself in the try zone but the defender closed her down before she could find a pass. Though we were able to keep TH at bay with some last ditch touches, they struck once again at the end of the half, running through our defence to take the lead.
With less than a minute left, TH took their own sweet time to start the ball, so the referee decided to let us play on. Fast as lightning, Theng picked up the ball and ran towards the try zone to find a way back into the game. The defenders got nowhere close to her, and there was no one between her and the rest of the field. We looked set for a dramatic equaliser, but… turns out Theng was running the wrong way…
Kenny was stunned, the TH defenders were confused, and everyone else was just having a good laugh. A light-hearted way to end the game, perhaps.
EH vs TH (2 - 1)
Having had a few hours to talk about the game and orient themselves to the field, the girls looked set to take their revenge against TH. It really was neck and neck in the previous game, right until the last ball, so neither team had any advantage at all.
We were off to a flying start as Claudia drove right, shifted left and found Yiyin open for the touchdown. The crowd that had slowly accumulated throughout the day went nuts. Everyone knew that every try was a big step towards the gold medal.
With TH on the ball, we defended with great chemistry and communication, providing help whenever needed and shifting the line up when it was time to pressure. When TH did get opportunities, we were quick to react, as Clae and Nikki made good touches at the try line to deny TH’s dives.
Again, the action came at the end of the half, as TH managed to get a try on the left wing, and the game was tied. However, it didn’t stay that way for long. Claudia and Jeyin worked the ball up the pitch before Claudia drifted right, shifting her defender. Having exposed the gap, she made a quick dive at the centre of the try line to hand us the lead at the break.
Claudia beaming from ear to ear, as she found the gap and dived right in.
With the numerous leads we’ve let slip this IHG, it’s no wonder the Eusoff crowd was nervous. Yet, this didn’t seem to affect the girls, who were laser focused on defending the lead. Right off the restart, Jeyin, Theng, Queenie and Anna got important touches to deny TH’s scoring opportunities. Despite not being able to progress our own play much, we covered our bases very well, and TH were never able to find any gaps.
We had our backs to the wall for most of the second half, save for a couple of opportunities. Following a strong drive by Yiyin, Jeyin moved the ball on to Claudia, who pulled off a nifty move to ankle-break her defender. If not for the help defence, she would’ve had an insane game winner right there.
The last 3 minutes were basically spent defending wave after wave of TH attacks. Even though they were visibly exhausted, our girls never slowed down, and continued to defend with the same intensity as they did at the start of the day. Everyone knew how close they were to the title, if they could just hang on a bit longer!
A long-awaited win for our girls!
Still, we got a nervy ending as TH managed to make it to the try zone only for the try to be denied by a forward pass. And with that, the horn was blown (after much pestering from the crowd… not sure what the timekeepers were up to), and we finished the game 2-1 to win the IHG championship.
It wasn’t the prettiest game offensively, but the girls delivered when it mattered, showing their grit and determination by defending for their lives for an entire half and more.
Congratulations, girls, for being crowned this year’s IHG Touch Rugby (F) Champions!
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