Written by: Chang Zhe Ming
Edited by: Cheng Kai Wen
Photos by: Eusoff Works
The tone for the day was set the night before the games, when Shern and Matthew reminded everyone what it meant to represent Eusoff, and to win. With a 7 year winning streak to defend, the stakes were high for the last day of the touch rugby carnival.
EH vs RH (9 - 1)
We hit the ground running on the very first possession of the day - after Yui’s dive was ruled out because of a touch, he finds Robbo who makes a quick pass to the wide open Darren for the touchdown. Back on defence, we were solid as well, as the boys closed down hard on RH and forced the turnover.
The rest of the half continued to be a one-sided affair, as Brandon, Shern, Tantham and Fabien converted one try each. Deme had a couple of opportunities to finally get his first points this season, but was unluckily denied by the RH defence. Darren also gets a steal and half the court to himself, but couldn’t outrun the defenders.
Tantham going right in for the dive!
The second half started with a chance to score on the left wing, but it was overruled for a forward pass, which were already piling up this match. Nonetheless, we were able to defend well and counter, with Robbo making an impressive drive past two defenders before finding Yui, who fakes the pass and dives for the try.
Our defensive highlight of the day came shortly after as Brandon closed the gap in the middle before chasing the long pass to the right wing on a full sprint, reaching just in time for the crucial touch. Unfortunately, RH were able to regroup and score off of our offside.
After Ray and Elliot combined to snatch back our momentum, we continued to dominate the game on both ends, making dangerous plays on our wings and forcing RH to fumble repeatedly. The match finished 9-1, wrapping up our last round robin game and sending us to the finals against Temasek.
Scoring was not enough for Yui, as he did a forward flip right at the try line to ground the ball.
EH vs TH (6 - 3)
Having already beaten them once, our boys knew that the win, and the title, was there for the taking. Nonetheless, TH were not to be underestimated, and we had to dig deep.
Darren opened the scoring again as he caught Ray’s pass. TH looked unprepared for that play, but they came back strong the next time up, forcing a fumble and immediately pressuring our defence. Tantham made a clutch touch to deny them the try, but they found a way through afterwards to even up the scoring.
The next two minutes saw teams converting their chances, Robbo sliding through the defence to return the lead, before TH found space on the right wing to draw level again. We had ourselves a ball game.
I... I'm not too sure if Yui got the right sport here... Is this handball?????
TH kept us at bay for a while, but they couldn’t get any attacks going as we forced a couple of fumbles in quick succession. On our last touch following Yui’s overruled dive, Robbo drove hard and passed it to Tantham just as the defender reached in, and Tantham did the same to find Brandon free on the left wing for the touchdown. An impressive play that earned roars from the sidelines.
Again, TH came right back at us, but we were able to hold them off. Ben made a nice interception and Yui made a good touch before TH fumbled in the try zone. Close call, but we held on to lead at the break.
The game resumed where it left off, both teams going at each other aggressively. We were able to capitalise on the fresh six after TH intercepted but dropped the ball, as Shern found Matthew on the run for the touchdown. We were finally able to extend a lead for the first time this game.
TH’s mistakes would prove costly, as we took advantage of a fumble high up the field. Seeing his defender drift off, Nicolai caught Yui’s pass on the left wing and made the try, as we started to pull away from TH.
They still managed to get another try, though, but it would be their last as we stepped up our intensity on defence in the closing minutes of the game. On our last attack, Robbo made a hard drive and drifted towards the right, before faking out two defenders and getting the touchdown, restoring our three point lead. Final score: 6-3 to Eusoff.
Truly of a captain, Robbo scored the last try and we got the last word.
It was anyone’s game in the first half, but our boys never let their foot off the gas and put in real shifts on both the offensive and defensive ends. Even on the sidelines, they cheered each other on, counted the touches and communicated instructions. Everyone - the players, coach, TM, supporters - played their part to the end to bring home this gold medal.
And with that, for the eighth year running, Eusoff are champions of Touch Rugby (M)! Congratulations boys!
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