Try As They Might

By Laura Lewis 

NTU came out strongly in the final against their fiercest rivals, winning three penalties in the first 10 minutes.

The only problem was, they missed all three — spurning nine points.

With the final whistle blown at the Inter-Tertiary Rugby Championship final, NTU was left to rue their missed chances as they crashed to a 44-10 defeat to NUS.

The same team denied NTU the title in the final few minutes last year.

The odds were firmly stacked against NTU, who had previously lost 25-5 to the same opponents in the tournament’s preliminaries.

But after defeating an intimidating SMU side by a single try in the semi-finals, NTU captain Marah Fahmy, 25, and company harboured hopes of reclaiming the title, and perhaps exacting revenge.

“The SMU team has players who had been playing together since secondary school. They were cohesive and technically superior,” said the final-year School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering student.

“So, winning SMU in the semi-finals with a well-worked try in the final 10 minutes made it all the more enjoyable and gave us confidence for the finals,” he said.

In the final held at the NUS Sports and Recreation Centre, NTU managed to hold their own against their opponents for the first 15 minutes, despite missing the three penalties early on.

NUS then clinched their first three points after 18 minutes and the floodgates opened.

Two minutes later, they broke through the NTU line, increasing their lead to 10-0 with a successful conversion.

NTU’s Shazwan Hafiz, 23, eventually whizzed past his opponents, split the defence, and dived over the line.

The NTU rugby player scored the first try against NUS. But it was not enough as his team were trailing by 13 points.

Unfortunately for NTU, the NUS team weren’t ready to end the half, surging forward to make the halftime score 25-5.

Things remained the same in the second half, with NUS imposing themselves throughout until the final whistle.

NTU’s coach, Gilbert Soh, commented on the team’s performance: “The occasion got the better of them.

“They were well prepared but not able to execute what they are normally able to. Despite a couple of injuries, the reserve stepped up well, but NUS deserved to win.”

Marah, on the other hand, said NTU lacked communication and experience.

“We couldn’t manage to convert possession into points and communication was down so we missed some of our tackles,” he said.

“Most of NUS’s players also started playing the sport from a young age and now play in the Singapore Rugby League.

“Meanwhile, our team is made up of first and second years. Even then, we have players who only picked up the sport in junior college. We lacked experience and composure,” he said.

Despite the loss, it has nonetheless been a fruitful season for NTU’s rugby team, as they emerged winner of the Tertiary 10s Championship and runner up for the SUniG 7s, among others.

But with NUS enforcing their stronghold over this championship, it remains to be seen whether NTU has what it takes to wrestle the title back.