Royal Mayhem

By Arthur Fernandez

Rugby was in the limelight not for the quality of the rugby on display, but for various reasons, such as transgression, referee abuse and other controversial issues. I am a firm believer that when things go against you, one needs to comply and then complain.

From the time that I can remember watching this great sport, there have been instances of player indiscretion. Whilst there are strict laws governing this contact sport, there will be the odd punch that will be thrown in. If a team is to stop playing because of a punch thrown in, act like a bunch of sissies, and they walk off the field of play, then the team must indulge in another sport.

Thus Royal by walking off the pitch has brought this hallowed game into disrepute. I remember in the 70s when the great Y.C. Chang, stormed of the pitch with his team in a club match, the consequences was severe. Thus, I cannot see the rationale of permitting the Royal team to take any further part in the tournament. Part of the blame must also be fairly and squarely placed on the shoulders of the support team, who would have no doubt aided and abetted such a shameful decision to walk off the field of play. What a sad day for school rugby.

In this regard, I must commend the swift and decisive action taken by the Science College Rugby board and it is now left to see if the so called elite schools can take a leaf out of the science book and act to keep this game alive and clean. In terms of Rugby, it was a week of upsets and the Joes brought the Lions down to earth. Whilst it is recorded as the first tournament loss for TCK, one must not forget that the second division Thoras taught them a lesson as well.

As predicted the Pete’s were given a sound thrashing by Kingswood and the Pete’s are still wondering what hit them. They are obviously not the same unit that was coached by Sanath Martis, and I am sure that the credentials of the current coach must be under a lot of scrutiny. I would be surprised if he keeps his post next year. Dharmaraja continues to dazzle and remain unbeaten with the only blemish being their draw against the Lions in the early stages of the tournament. Much was expected of the Science lads when they clashed with Wesley over the weekend.

Science definitely missed the services of their key player, serving a two week ban. Wesley played some quality rugby and deserved to win. They were patient with ball in hand and decided to use the forwards over and over again to get past the gain line. They sucked in many Science defenders at the breakdown point and used their big forwards to punch holes in the middle, after about five or six phases of ball retention, they unleashed the three quarter line and the result was gratifying. Whilst the score line may look flattering, the game could have been considered as very close till the last few minutes, with Science making a strong bid to equalise.

On the Super Rugby front, the Reds lost to the Cheetahs, is what the score line indicates. For those who watched the game, there was a number of learning points. Having possession of the ball and having territorial advantage for long periods of the game does not get you a score. You still have to make it past the goal line without dropping the ball. Having run 100 m, and grounding the ball one inch short is not a score. In life it is the same thing. You may do the hard yards but if you lack finishing touches, you don’t win, and all the hard works amounts to zero.

(The writer can be reached via [email protected])