M1 SRU Under-17 10-a-side Rugby Tournament

On a bright sunny day at Pioneer Secondary School on Saturday 30th Aug, our Montfort Under-17 team progressed into the Cup Semi-Final before bowing out in extra-time to a sudden death try.
The day started well for our team as we had walk-over after our first round group opponents Bedok Town was forced to withdraw because of a lack of numbers. So our next group opponents were Bedok South Secondary. We beat them easily 15-0 to set-up a Semi-Final showdown with hosts Pioneer Secondary School.
After a thrilling 12-12 draw at full-time, the game went into extra-time. It took a brilliant piece of magic from a Pioneer to break the deadlock and secure a 17-12 victory over Montfort.
Nonetheless, there were some positives:
We came out fourth out of the 12 teams that took part in this competition.
We have a core group of Sec 3s who, with proper coaching and managing, can rock next year's Under-17 National Rugby Championship.
Finally, the team is cohesive, united and determined to bring back glory to the school.
Said team manager and rugby TIC, Mr Jasbir Singh: "The team is beginning to gel well and rugby means a lot to them as well to the teachers. So we will continue to give our best for the glory of the school."

M1-SRU U-17 Rugby Tournament 30th Aug

The following rugby boys will be involved in the M1-SRU U-17 Rugby Tournament at Pioneer Secondary School:
1) Low Feng Hua 4A3 (Captain)
2) Ng Song Yu 4A3 (Vice-Captain)
3) Terence Liaw 3E1
4) Ng Wei Jun 5A1
5) Stanley Lim 3A1
6) Mohd Firdaus 3A1
7) Ben Matchap 3A1
8) Nathaniel Takahashi 3AA
9) Gerald Cheong 3AB
10) Raphael Loo 4E3
11) Lyon Ee 3A1
12) P Aravind 3A1
13) Hisyam 3AB
14) Jason Hong 4E5
15) Ng Kian Hao 3A3
Transport to Pioneer Sec will leave Montfort at 7am
Let's Bring Back Some Silverware!

Singapore Rugby (South) vs Singapore Rugby (West) @ CCAB 28th Aug

The following Rugby Boys on to report to CCAB on Thursday [28th Aug] at 1.30pm.
The Montfort Rugby boys who have been selected to represent Singapore (South) are:1) Ariel Salim 2A1 (Centre)2) Jonathan Lim 2A1 (Lock)3) Justin Seow 2A3 (Hooker)4) Leon Lim 2A3 (Flanker)5) Calvin Lim 2AA (Scrum-Half)6) Mohd Mukhlis 2AB (Full-Back)7) Muhd Fardanshah 2AB (Prop)8) Ahmad Danial 2E4 (Winger)9) Joel Lee 2E4 (No.8)10) Tang Han Yang 2E4 (Prop)11) Muhd Nabil 2A3 (Fly-Half/Centre)12) Harish Pandey 2AB (Flanker)13) Rexford Biondy Henka 1E2 (Prop)14) Mohd Shamir 1AB (Winger)15) Matthew Ho 1AA (Prop)16) Randall Toh 1E3 (Winger)
The following players have also been identified to assist as a shadow team during matches:1) Kenny Lee 1AA (Prop)2) Zulhilman 1E2 (Lock)3) Ivan Ong 1E3 (Utility Back)4) Kirish 1E4 (Utility Back/LooseForward)5) Dom Daniel Kumar 1E2 (Scrum Half)6) Alvin Yap 1A1 (Prop)7) Lewis Syn 1E1 (Hooker)

Singapore Rugby (South)

The following Rugby Boys have to attend a training by Singapore Rugby on Wed 27th Aug.
Attendance at this training is vital as you make up more than 60% of the Singapore Rugby (South) competition squad and run-on team for the upcoming Standard Chartered Youth Tournament against Singapore Rugby (North); Singapore Rugby (West) and Singapore Rugby (East).
The Montfort Rugby boys who have been selected to represent Singapore (South) are:
1) Ariel Salim 2A1 (Centre)
2) Jonathan Lim 2A1 (Lock)
3) Justin Seow 2A3 (Hooker)
4) Leon Lim 2A3 (Flanker)
5) Calvin Lim 2AA (Scrum-Half)
6) Mohd Mukhlis 2AB (Full-Back)
7) Muhd Fardanshah 2AB (Prop)
8) Ahmad Danial 2E4 (Winger)
9) Joel Lee 2E4 (No.8)
10) Tang Han Yang 2E4 (Prop)
11) Muhd Nabil 2A3 (Fly-Half/Centre)
12) Harish Pandey 2AB (Flanker)
13) Rexford Biondy Henka 1E2 (Prop)
14) Mohd Shamir 1AB (Winger)
15) Matthew Ho 1AA (Prop)
16) Randall Toh 1E3 (Winger)
The following players have also been identified to assist as a shadow team during trainings:
1) Kenny Lee 1AA (Prop)
2) Zulhilman 1E2 (Lock)
3) Ivan Ong 1E3 (Utility Back)
4) Kirish 1E4 (Utility Back/LooseForward)
5) Dom Daniel Kumar 1E2 (Scrum Half)
6) Alvin Yap 1A1 (Prop)
7) Lewis Syn 1E1 (Hooker)
My deepest apologies for the late notice as Singapore Rugby was able to confirm pitch availiability late last evening.
On behalf of Singapore Rugby, many thanks for your kind understanding and support in the development of our home-grown rugby players.
Cheers,
Mr Jasbir Singh (HP: 94505434) Montfort Rugby Co-ordinator & Singapore Combined Schools Under-18 Team Manager

M1-SRU 10s Tournament @ YCK Stadium

Montfort Rugby Under-14 smashed its first three opponents on a rain-sodden pitch on Saturday (23rd August).

Our Under-14 team beat Greenridge 10-0, Northbrooks 15-0 and ACS International 5-0.

With those three teams, Montfort will meet ACS (Independent) in the Cup Semi-Final. The game was expected to take place on Saturday (23rd August) but had to postponed because of inclement weather.

The re-scheduled Semi-Final is expected to take place sometime next week. Nonetheless, it means that Montfort is now the Top 4 among the 10-a-side rugby teams.

Maybe we should concentrate on building a niche in 10s and 7s.

Cheers,
The Boss

Singapore Rugby Regional U15 Competition 2008

I am delighted to announce that the following U-14 rugby players will be required to attend the Singapore Rugby Regional Under 15s Competition selection trial:
Ariel, Jonathan Lim, Justin, Leon, Calvin, Mukhlis, Fardhan, Ahmad Danial, Joel, Han Yang, Nabil and Harish.
From the trial, there is an opportunity of representing their zone. Montfort have been placed in the South Zone. The four zones North, South, East and West, will play against one another in an SRU-organised Tournament starting on the 18th August.
This Under 15’s regional competition is played between neighbourhood schools, and is supported by the Standard Chartered Bank. This tournament allows the union to identify 30 talented players. These players will then train and play against a combined team from the main schools, who have also been selected by the union.
Standard Chartered Bank has always been a firm supporter of Rugby and Youth Development in the sport, and they have kindly continued their sponsorship of the National Under 16 and Under 20 Teams.
Please ensure that all of you who have been asked to go for the selection players attend the trials, as it enables you to improve not only your playing abilities, which will in turn enhance our school’s overall playing performance.
If you need any clarifications on dates and venues, please see Mr Singh (HP: 94505434)

M1-SRU Tournaments

To All Sec 1-4 players,

There will be an U-14 M1-SRU 10s tournament on 23rd Aug. Venue will be confirmed closer to the date.

On 30th Aug, there will be another U-17 M1-SRU tournament. Venue will be confirmed closer to the date.

Consent Forms will be issued out to all players soon. Please collect your consent forms personally from Mr Singh.

Cheers,
Mr Jasbir Singh [HP: 94505434]
"A Man who is lost in his passion is not as lost as a Man who has lost his passion!"

Congratulations to our National Rugby Players

Three Montfortian Rugby Players are now part of the National Under-16, National Under-17 and National Under 18 Rugby Team.

This is one-step up from the Combined Schools Rugby Team that had been assembled in June 2008.

Our three National Players are:

Low Feng Hua (National Under-18)
Ng Song Yu (National Under-17) and
Ng Kian Hao (National Under-16)

Well Done Boys for being NATIONAL players!

Mr Singh

C Division Rugby Season - An Overview

The 2008 C Division season for Montfort Rugby kicked off on 26th June 2008 with a convincing win over Jurong Secondary School. It was a good win for our Montfort C Div boys as well as debut win for new coach Chris Dyson.

The Jurong match saw the emergence of a bunch of Sec 2 rugby players who razzle-dazzled in the back-line (Nabil, Mukhlis, Ariel, Danial and Calvin). The forward pack was also well-led by Joel.

Then came the first real test for this emerging Montfortian team when they met the well-drilled St. Andrew's Secondary rugby juggernaut. It was a match to forget as the Saints smashed the Montfort team 80-0. But it was a performance that was not a disgrace as Saints are a well-oiled rugby machine with great players well-coached and well-led by passionate teachers-in-charge. Saints is the benchmark for all rugby playing schools in Singapore.

After the debacle at Saints, our Montfortian C Div team bounced back with a 67-8 win over Greendale Secondary at Greendale. It was a match that saw the total annihilation of Greendale.

The Greendale win was followed with another big win over Admiralty Secondary at CCAB on 11th July.

So at the end of the first round of the National Schools C Division tournament, Montfort was second in their group, thus qualifying for the 2nd Round.

At the 2nd Round draw held at Saints on 14th July, Mr Jasbir Singh and Mr Chris Dyson attended the meeting with bated breath. The 2nd Round Draw was not kind to Montfort. We were placed in the same group as ACS (Barker); Raffles Institution and up-coming rugby powerhouse Bedok Town.

We lost all our three matches in the 2nd Round - (0-19 vs ACS Barker); (7-37 vs Bedok Town) and (0-58). Somewhere along the way, the Montfort boys were overwhelmed by these rugby powerhouses. For example Bedok Town are coached by Mr Kelvin Lee, the ex-Montfort Rugby Coach. According to Mr Singh: "Coach Kelvin is a coach whom I tremendous respect for as he has always been able to bring the best out of any team that he coaches. The fact that his Bedok Town team qualified for the Cup Sem-Finals is a testimony to his coaching. The day he left Montfort was the saddest day in my life. I hope I can re-kindle my partnership in the near future. I have known him for six years and he has been a credit to rugby."

After finishing bottom of our 2nd Round Group, we were given a reprieve in the Plate Section of the Competition. We met Damai Secondary in the Plate Quarter-Finals on 1st August. Sadly we lost 17-0 to a well-drilled Damai side coached by Mr Adin Ng. Said Montfort teacher-in-charge Jasbir Singh: "It was a bitter blow to lose to Adin's team. But the better team won. We have to respect Adin's ability in moulding teams that are underdogs into champions. I had worked with Adin whilst I was Rugby Teacher-In-Charge at Junyuan Secondary when we were National B Division Novice Champions. Adin is a no-nonsense coach that is winner. Good luck Adin for your Plate Semi-Finals."

Overall, it has been a campaign that had some highs and lows for our Montfortian C Division. We were on a roll in the first round of the competition but lost our way in the latter stages of the competition.

Mr Jasbir Singh will be conducting a post-season review with the C Division team on Monday 4th August.

The road to victory for the 2009 season starts NOW!