Our Montfortian Giants played like brave warriors when they faced SJI at SJI on Tuesday afternoon. In fact our Warriors were leading 7-5 at half-time but SJI clawed their way back to lead 19-7 with five minutes to go.
Our Giants pushed SJI all the way to the final whistle but were narrowly beaten by SJI 19-14.
This narrow defeat at the hands of our fellow Catholic brother school had some positives.
The Montfortian Giants did not give up even when they trailing 19-7 with five minutes to spare. Captain Low Feng Hua narrowed the score to 19-14 with a converted try with four minutes remaining. This set up a frentic finish but SJI just hung on for their lives to snatch a narrow victory.
Montfort's tries were scored by our Captain Low Feng Hua and Ng Kian Hao. Feng Hua also converted one of the tries while Vice-Captain Ng Song Yu chipped in with a conversion.
Today's game also marked the debut of our school softballer Tan Ming Liang. Ming Liang played his heart out and has loads of potential to be a good rugby player. All players who wore the Montfort jersey today did the school proud. Gentlemen, you are all true warriors and Giants!
We may have lost to SJI today. But we will bounce back and give our best shot against Bedok Town on Friday at SAJC.
To God Be The Glory!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Montfort:21 Evergreen:10
Our Montfortian Giants thrashed Evergreen Secondary 21-10 on Friday 22nd Feb at Evergreen Secondary.
In front of a boisterous home crowd, our Montfort Rugby warriors silenced the home team when Captain Low Feng Hua scored the first try of the match. The try was duly converted by Vice-Captain Ng Song Yu. Two more tries were scored and converted to seal a great victory.
Playing a high tempo pressing game, our Montfortian Giants blunted the much-vaunted Evergreen forward pack. The Evergreen pack boasted a national under-16 player who was a menace. But our Montfortian Giants were able to deal with the Evergreen threat with a series of hard-hitting tackles and no nonsense rucking.
Two more tries were scored by Montfort to seal the fate of Evergreen. Feng Hua scored his second try to add to Benjamin Matchap's first-half try.
This was a game that saw our Montfort Giants brave the hostile home crowd who had berated our school with chanting that is best left unwritten. But being true gentlemen, our boys swept aside such negativity and charged forward with great passion to do the school proud.
A point to note that our Giants played well because they played with their hearts, aims and hopes as ONE!
The pre-match talk led by Mr Vincent Toh and pre-match prayer led by Mr Vincent Yong certainly got our players focussed on the task at hand. Pacing the touchlines, Head Coach Mr Kelvin and teachers Mr Toh, Mr Yong and Mr Singh continued to keep our Montfortian spirits up. This four-man partnership are always there to support our Montfortian Giants - They are truly Men For Others.
Remember gentlemen - Our Hearts, Our Hopes and Our Aims Are One.
We dedicate our victory to God without whom we would not be able to overcome the hostile environment and a technically-gifted team like Evergreen.
Our next match will be against our fellow Catholic brothers SJI at SJI on Tuesday. SJI has a long and proud rugby tradition. We must respect them and they are well-led by teachers who very passionate about the game. Their head coach is also a respected veteran in the coaching scene. It promises to be a cracking match. Montfortian supporters are more than welcome to the match. The match kicks off at 4.30pm.
To God Be The Glory!
In front of a boisterous home crowd, our Montfort Rugby warriors silenced the home team when Captain Low Feng Hua scored the first try of the match. The try was duly converted by Vice-Captain Ng Song Yu. Two more tries were scored and converted to seal a great victory.
Playing a high tempo pressing game, our Montfortian Giants blunted the much-vaunted Evergreen forward pack. The Evergreen pack boasted a national under-16 player who was a menace. But our Montfortian Giants were able to deal with the Evergreen threat with a series of hard-hitting tackles and no nonsense rucking.
Two more tries were scored by Montfort to seal the fate of Evergreen. Feng Hua scored his second try to add to Benjamin Matchap's first-half try.
This was a game that saw our Montfort Giants brave the hostile home crowd who had berated our school with chanting that is best left unwritten. But being true gentlemen, our boys swept aside such negativity and charged forward with great passion to do the school proud.
A point to note that our Giants played well because they played with their hearts, aims and hopes as ONE!
The pre-match talk led by Mr Vincent Toh and pre-match prayer led by Mr Vincent Yong certainly got our players focussed on the task at hand. Pacing the touchlines, Head Coach Mr Kelvin and teachers Mr Toh, Mr Yong and Mr Singh continued to keep our Montfortian spirits up. This four-man partnership are always there to support our Montfortian Giants - They are truly Men For Others.
Remember gentlemen - Our Hearts, Our Hopes and Our Aims Are One.
We dedicate our victory to God without whom we would not be able to overcome the hostile environment and a technically-gifted team like Evergreen.
Our next match will be against our fellow Catholic brothers SJI at SJI on Tuesday. SJI has a long and proud rugby tradition. We must respect them and they are well-led by teachers who very passionate about the game. Their head coach is also a respected veteran in the coaching scene. It promises to be a cracking match. Montfortian supporters are more than welcome to the match. The match kicks off at 4.30pm.
To God Be The Glory!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Montfort Sec:38 Bukit Batok Sec:17
Our Montfortian Rugby Giants did the school proud when they thrashed Bukit Batok Secondary 38-17 at SAJC on a scorching Tuesday afternoon.
Our Giants started the game well and scored the first try of the match after a fine breakthrough by the Team Captain Low Feng Hua. Captain Feng Hua added two more tries in the match. Our multi-tasking Ng Kian Hao also scored another two tries and our Sec 3 player Nicholas Toh added another try to send Bukit Batok Secondary School down 38-17. Our Team Vice-Captain Ng Song Yu converted four of the tries.
This was a game that our Montfortian Giants had to win because there were comments in some rugby blogs that Bukit Batok were the favourites in today's match especially after they had beaten Evergreen Secondary last week at Evergreen. One posting on a Bukit Batok Rugby Blog mentioned that Montfort will lose today's match by a big margin. But we showed them!
But our Montfortian Giants played their hearts out and made the Bukit Batok boys eat their words. As we had said, we will settle the matter on the field. It is no use bragging off the field.
Our Montfortian Giants were fired up by some old boys who came back to remind the players that the team was playing the game not for themselves or for the coach but for the school that we love so much. They were reminded by one old boy, Cheng Sen, that we will defend the Montfortian badge all the way and we will not disappoint the school. Thank You Old Boys!
Before the match, Mr Vincent Yong led the team in a prayer. With our minds focussed, we got down to business to scare the living daylights out of Bukit Batok. Thank You Mr Yong for focussing our boys and to remind them that God is with us in our battle for rugby honours.
The rugby players did not disappoint us today. They played like GIANTS. The Bukit Batok team were silenced. WE BEAT THEM.
Let's today's win be a lesson for all Montfortians. Never brag that you will beat your opponent before a game. It will provide ammunition to the other team. I like to remind all rugby players of a story that took place in mid-2001.
Australia was playing a British Lions team in the third and final match of a three-match series. The British Lions won the first match. The Australians won the second match. So the third match was the decider. A couple of days before the third match, the British Lions player Austin Healey described the Australian player Justin Harrison as a mere wooden plank in the local newspapers. This was utterly rude to Harrison, who was a relatively new member to the Australian team. Harrison, who plays in the second row, was so fired up that he won every lineout ball in that match and sealed victory for the Australians. The mistake the British Lions did was to underestimate the Australians and especially the newcomer Harrison. Harrison later went on the play in a Rugby World Cup Final and win the Super 12 with the Brumbies. The lesson is simple: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR OPPONENT.
So our Montfortian Giants now play Evergreen Secondary on Friday 22nd Feb at Evergreen Secondary at 4.30pm. As our Giants know, Evergreen beat Bedok Town on Tuesday evening. So Giants, you know what to do on Friday - Respect your opponent, but fear not. Because God is with you. With his strength, you will soar like eagles!
To God Be The Glory!
Our Giants started the game well and scored the first try of the match after a fine breakthrough by the Team Captain Low Feng Hua. Captain Feng Hua added two more tries in the match. Our multi-tasking Ng Kian Hao also scored another two tries and our Sec 3 player Nicholas Toh added another try to send Bukit Batok Secondary School down 38-17. Our Team Vice-Captain Ng Song Yu converted four of the tries.
This was a game that our Montfortian Giants had to win because there were comments in some rugby blogs that Bukit Batok were the favourites in today's match especially after they had beaten Evergreen Secondary last week at Evergreen. One posting on a Bukit Batok Rugby Blog mentioned that Montfort will lose today's match by a big margin. But we showed them!
But our Montfortian Giants played their hearts out and made the Bukit Batok boys eat their words. As we had said, we will settle the matter on the field. It is no use bragging off the field.
Our Montfortian Giants were fired up by some old boys who came back to remind the players that the team was playing the game not for themselves or for the coach but for the school that we love so much. They were reminded by one old boy, Cheng Sen, that we will defend the Montfortian badge all the way and we will not disappoint the school. Thank You Old Boys!
Before the match, Mr Vincent Yong led the team in a prayer. With our minds focussed, we got down to business to scare the living daylights out of Bukit Batok. Thank You Mr Yong for focussing our boys and to remind them that God is with us in our battle for rugby honours.
The rugby players did not disappoint us today. They played like GIANTS. The Bukit Batok team were silenced. WE BEAT THEM.
Let's today's win be a lesson for all Montfortians. Never brag that you will beat your opponent before a game. It will provide ammunition to the other team. I like to remind all rugby players of a story that took place in mid-2001.
Australia was playing a British Lions team in the third and final match of a three-match series. The British Lions won the first match. The Australians won the second match. So the third match was the decider. A couple of days before the third match, the British Lions player Austin Healey described the Australian player Justin Harrison as a mere wooden plank in the local newspapers. This was utterly rude to Harrison, who was a relatively new member to the Australian team. Harrison, who plays in the second row, was so fired up that he won every lineout ball in that match and sealed victory for the Australians. The mistake the British Lions did was to underestimate the Australians and especially the newcomer Harrison. Harrison later went on the play in a Rugby World Cup Final and win the Super 12 with the Brumbies. The lesson is simple: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR OPPONENT.
So our Montfortian Giants now play Evergreen Secondary on Friday 22nd Feb at Evergreen Secondary at 4.30pm. As our Giants know, Evergreen beat Bedok Town on Tuesday evening. So Giants, you know what to do on Friday - Respect your opponent, but fear not. Because God is with you. With his strength, you will soar like eagles!
To God Be The Glory!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Preview of MSS vs BBSS (19th Feb) 3pm @ SAJC
We will be playing against Bukit Batok Sec on Tuesday at SAJC at 3pm. Bus will leave school at 1.30pm. Match will kick off at 3pm. We should be done by 5pm. There will not be training for the lower secondary players on Tuesday. Training will resume on Thursday at 3pm for lower secondary and 5pm for upper secondary. All the best to Montfortian Giants Under-17 who will need to be at their very best when the take on Bukit Batok, who have a formidable team and are well-led by the teacher-in-charge and coach. But anything is possible in rugby as long as you stay humble and hungry for success. Remember that BBSS has a strong forward pack and skillfull backline. So stay focussed and stay hungry!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Under-17 Group Stages Match Day 1
Area for improvement: Engagement during scrum by tight-five; No.8 needs to pick-up and go from the base of the scrum more often; Flankers need to "immobilize" opposing scrum-half early in the game to show who is the BOSS; Entire scrum needs to work on defending the line five metres out; Need to vary line-out jumper and have more jumper options at the line-out; Use the rolling maul if line-out ball is secured; Cleaning out at the ruck (three to clear, three to guard the fringe of the ruck); Ruck to be cleared with shoulders and not hands; Target-sight and strike your opponent at the ruck with maximum force into his chest and stomach area; Keep low and stay strong when taking the ball into contact; Off-loading techniques need to be worked on; Tackling needs more "BIG HITS" at the lower-chest/upper stomach area, smashing with the lead forearm, especially in the first five minutes - show who is the BOSS.
So you can see we still have lots to work at. But to all under-17 players are just at the beginning of their rugby lives.
To all the B Div players who played Greenridge on Tuesday, the teachers-in-charge applaud your effort and spirit. You will only get better! Never give up! And always remember, the first ten minutes of the game, you will need to show the other team who is THE BOSS!
Good luck for the next game against Bukit Batok.
Remember to awaken the Montfortian Giant in you!
From Mr Singh (Rugby Teacher-In-Charge)
So you can see we still have lots to work at. But to all under-17 players are just at the beginning of their rugby lives.
To all the B Div players who played Greenridge on Tuesday, the teachers-in-charge applaud your effort and spirit. You will only get better! Never give up! And always remember, the first ten minutes of the game, you will need to show the other team who is THE BOSS!
Good luck for the next game against Bukit Batok.
Remember to awaken the Montfortian Giant in you!
From Mr Singh (Rugby Teacher-In-Charge)
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Training Schedule (Mon 11/2 to Fri 15/2)
Rugby training schedule for this coming week (11/2 to 15/2):
Mon - Weights - Sec 2 to 4
Tues - Under-17 Match against Greenridge Sec @ Evergreen Sec. Bus Leaves at 1.30pm
Wed - Weights - Sec 2 to 4
Thurs - Field Training - Sec 1 & 2 [3to5pm] Sec 3 & 4 [5to7pm]
Friday - Field Training - Sec 2 to Sec 4 [3pm to 5pm]
Mon - Weights - Sec 2 to 4
Tues - Under-17 Match against Greenridge Sec @ Evergreen Sec. Bus Leaves at 1.30pm
Wed - Weights - Sec 2 to 4
Thurs - Field Training - Sec 1 & 2 [3to5pm] Sec 3 & 4 [5to7pm]
Friday - Field Training - Sec 2 to Sec 4 [3pm to 5pm]
Let The Battle Begin!
Our B Division Giants will be kicking off their National Under-17 Rugby Police Cup campaign on Tuesday (Feb 12) against Greenridge Secondary. The match will kick off at 3pm at the Evergreen Secondary School rugby field.
Montfort Sec has been pitted in Group C against SJI, Bukit Batok Sec, Evergreen Sec, Greenridge Sec and Bedok Town Sec. The top two will proceed to the Cup stage, the next two into the Plate stage and the bottom two into the Bowl stage.
All the best to our B Division Rugby Giants in their quest to be crowned as National Under-17 Rugby Champions.
To God To Be The Glory!
Montfort Sec has been pitted in Group C against SJI, Bukit Batok Sec, Evergreen Sec, Greenridge Sec and Bedok Town Sec. The top two will proceed to the Cup stage, the next two into the Plate stage and the bottom two into the Bowl stage.
All the best to our B Division Rugby Giants in their quest to be crowned as National Under-17 Rugby Champions.
To God To Be The Glory!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Our role models - Auckland Grammar School
Dear gentlemen of rugby,
For the past few months we have been trying to build up a culture of rugby excellence in Montfort.
Many of you have asked me [Mr Singh] on why we need to train five times a week for the Sec 2 to Sec 4s. The reason is pure and simple - We want to be the best that we can be in Singapore.
I have seen many great rugby-playing schools and all of them have reached the top through the following:
1) The players train consistently five times a week - Two days in the gym and Three days in the field. They train five times a week the whole year around.
2) The players are serious and disciplined.
3) The senior players coach the junior players.
4) The teachers-in-charge are serious about winning and are not interested in excuses.
5) There is a collective vision to always honour the school name when the players play against other schools.
Auckland Grammar School represents what we at Montfort Secondary School aspire to be.
Auckland Grammar rugby has produced more All-Blacks than any other school in New Zealand. Montfort Rugby hopes to produce more Singapore national players than any other school in Singapore with effect from 2008.
Auckland Grammar rugby is the acknowledged powerhouse of New Zealand Schools Rugby.
Montfort Rugby wants to be the best rugby playing school in Singapore by 2011.
If you believe it, you will achieve it gentlemen!
Check out the Auckland Grammar School Rugby http://www.ags.school.nz/sport/rugby.html
and you will understand why I [Mr Singh] has tremendous respect for them. In fact a lot of our rugby procedures and code of conduct in Montfort is going to be based on what has been going on in Auckland Grammar for decades. As they say, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery!
I wish Auckland Grammar all the best in their rugby endeavours and I hope Montfort Rugby can be like the great Auckland Grammar rugby teams of the past 100 years!
For the past few months we have been trying to build up a culture of rugby excellence in Montfort.
Many of you have asked me [Mr Singh] on why we need to train five times a week for the Sec 2 to Sec 4s. The reason is pure and simple - We want to be the best that we can be in Singapore.
I have seen many great rugby-playing schools and all of them have reached the top through the following:
1) The players train consistently five times a week - Two days in the gym and Three days in the field. They train five times a week the whole year around.
2) The players are serious and disciplined.
3) The senior players coach the junior players.
4) The teachers-in-charge are serious about winning and are not interested in excuses.
5) There is a collective vision to always honour the school name when the players play against other schools.
Auckland Grammar School represents what we at Montfort Secondary School aspire to be.
Auckland Grammar rugby has produced more All-Blacks than any other school in New Zealand. Montfort Rugby hopes to produce more Singapore national players than any other school in Singapore with effect from 2008.
Auckland Grammar rugby is the acknowledged powerhouse of New Zealand Schools Rugby.
Montfort Rugby wants to be the best rugby playing school in Singapore by 2011.
If you believe it, you will achieve it gentlemen!
Check out the Auckland Grammar School Rugby http://www.ags.school.nz/sport/rugby.html
and you will understand why I [Mr Singh] has tremendous respect for them. In fact a lot of our rugby procedures and code of conduct in Montfort is going to be based on what has been going on in Auckland Grammar for decades. As they say, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery!
I wish Auckland Grammar all the best in their rugby endeavours and I hope Montfort Rugby can be like the great Auckland Grammar rugby teams of the past 100 years!
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