SRU Regional U15s Tournament

Shamir in action for North Zone

Dominic clearing the ruck for North Zone

Lewis tackling his heart out for North Zone


Eugene, the lineout specialist, in action for North Zone

North Zone Team in Regional U15s Tournament 2009

Eleven Sec 2 Montfort ruggers were nominated for the Singapore Rugby Regional Under-15s Tournament.

Neighbourhood schools nominated their best Sec 2 players for this tournament which saw the schools divided into North, South, East and West zones. Players from each zone were coached by Singapore Rugby coaches and played a series of matches below:
9th Nov North vs South, East Vs West
12th Nov North vs East , South vs West
16th Nov South vs East, North vs West

The Montfort Ruggers were part of the North Zone team that was coached by the Rugby Development Manager, Malcolm David, from Singapore Rugby. Special mention to the following Sec 2 ruggers who made an impression for the North Zone team: Alvin Yap, Lewis Syn, Kenny Lee, Eugene Sito, Mohd Shamir and Dominic Daniel. From this regional tournament, Singapore Rugby will choose the best of the best to make up the 2010 National U16 Rugby Team. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Montfort will at least have a couple of national reps in the U16 team next year.

The final round of games in the Standard Chartered National Rugby Academy Regional under 15's Competition were held on Monday 15th November.This coaching programme and competition was created to identify players for the SCNRA under 16 group for 2010. The thirty players selected following the games will now progress to a further training camp on the 30th November and 1st December.The games saw the West squad defeat the North in the final minutes of the game with a penalty by their captain Khairul Anwar, from Pioneer Secondary School, to seal the game 13 - 5 in their favour. The second game saw the East beating South by a large margin of 51 - 0. The score line does not reflect the effort of the South players who never stopped tackling, making their counterparts working really hard to earn their tries.

Pictures Courtesy of Standard Chartered National Rugby Academy

Montfort in SCC 7s

Montfort Rugby U16 took part in the 62nd SCC International 7s (Schools and Colleges) on November 6th. We played a total of three matches before bowing out bravely at the Padang.

In our first match against local powerhouse, Saint Andrew's Sec, we were soundly beaten by Saints. Nonetheless, we bounced back with a win against Greenridge Sec. Montfort beat Greenridge 7-5 in a close match. Our try scorer was Nabil Idris. In the final match for the day, we lost by one converted try against expat school Overseas Family School. Final score was 12-5 in favour of OFS. Our try scorer was Ivan Lim. Despite the one win and two loss record in the 7s tournament, it is still an improvement from last year when we didn't win a single match during the SCC 7s in November 2008. Inch-by-inch, Montfort will continue in its long journey to rugby excellence. Good effort from the Sec 2s, Sec 3s and Sec 4s who took part in the tournament.

Many Thanks to Mr Aaron from Saint Andrew's Sec for the match pictures.

As part of the SCC International 7's programme a Coaching Clinic was held at the Padang on the Thursday preceding the Tournament where more than Montfort Ruggers were part of the 120 players took part and benefited from the expertise of the visiting team coaches. Led by 2009 Sevens World Cup winning coach Paul Treu from South Africa, there were also contributions from Ponsonby (New Zealand), Impala (Kenya), Rugby Ecosse Wailers (Scotland) and Southern Lions (Australia). Though the weather was unforgiving as lightning interrupted the session, the players thoroughly enjoyed themselves as they gained valuable insights to elite training and were inspired by the players and coaches. Our thanks to Standard Chartered Bank for supporting this Clinic.

Montfort's Kenny Lee was featured on RazorTV as part of his involvement in the clinic.

The videos that had Kenny's involvement:

Mauls and Rucks - The pros' take (Rugby 7's Clinic Pt1)

Keep your chin up! (Rugby 7's Clinic Pt2)

The 3 D's of Rugby (Rugby 7's Clinic Pt3)

SCC 7s (Schools & Colleges Tournament)

The Montfort U16 will be taking part in the 62nd SCC Rugby 7s at the Padang on November 6th.
In the tournament draw held at the SCC Clubhouse on November 3rd, Montfort was placed in Group B alongside Overseas Family School (OFS), Saint Andrew's Sec and Greenridge Sec.

Our first match will kick off at 0828hrs.

The other groups consist of: Group A (RI, LFS, ACSI and Nhulunbuy High from Australia); Group C (UWC, Tanglin Trust School and Singapore American School) and Group D (Pioneer Sec, SJI and ACS Barker Road).

Matches will be played at the Padang.

Montfort Hosts Penguin International RFC

Montfort Rugby hosted the world-famous Penguin International RFC Coaching Panel at a special rugby clinic on November 2nd. Coaches from Penguin International RFC conducted an intensive coaching clinic for our Sec 2 and Sec 3 Ruggers. The coaches were former UK internationals.

The Penguins International RFC was founded in 1959 by the late Tony Mason and Alan Wright, both players for Sidcup RFC, who subsequently became Vice Presidents of Sidcup RFC and Kent County RFU. Penguins RFC are now recognised as the premier touring club in the UK, having played in or against teams from no less than 57 countries. Indeed, they are not only the most travelled rugby club in the world, but the most travelled sports club in the world. The principal objective of the Club has been to foster - by coaching and playing - the development, goodwill and camaderie of Rugby Union worldwide. The Club’s coaching and educational programme is organised by the HSBC Penguin Rugby Coaching Academy. The Club has endeavored to provide coaching sessions to the local rugby population on the majority of its tours over the last 45 years. In moving the club forward it was decided to formalise the coaching activities and in conjunction with HSBC the HSBC Penguin International Coaching Academy was formed in 2004.

Many Thanks to Singapore Rugby, HSBC and Penguins for making Montfort their Singapore stop as part of their global efforts in spreading the rugby gospel.

Sec 1 Ruggers Emerge as National Top 4

The Montfort Sec 1 Rugby Boys emerged fourth in the National Schools U13 Tournament at Saint Andrew's on Saturday 31st October.

The ten-a-side tournament featured teams from Saint Andrew's Sec, Raffles Institution, Pioneer Sec, SJI, Greenridge Sec, Bedok Town Sec, ACS Barker Road and Pierce Sec.

Montfort was placed in Group B which saw us play Pierce Sec, Saint Andrew's Sec, Greenridge Sec and SJI in the group phase.

In our first group match, we beat Pierce Sec 17-0. In the next match we met a gifted Saint Andrew's team and lost 0-19. But in our final two group matches, we notched up wins over Greenridge (12-0) and SJI (17-0).

With a three win and one loss record in the group stages, we emerged as Group B Runners-Up and faced Group A Winners, Raffles Institution.

In a hard-fought semi-final clash, we were beaten by a well-drilled Raffles team 0-17.

Despite that loss, we can hold our heads up high as we ended the tournament as the 4th best Sec 1 rugby team in Singapore, only behind Saint Andrew's, Raffles Institution and Pioneer Sec.

The Montfort Sec 1 team has potential to go far.

Pictures Courtesy of Mr Aaron Kong (Saint Andrew's Rugby TIC)

Montfort B Div Rugby Lions: M1 Schools Series Plate Runner-Up

The Montfort B Div Ruggers played their hearts out in the M1 Schools Rugby Series Tournament at Yio Chu Kang Stadium on Tuesday September 8th and emerged as Plate Runner-Up.

In a pulsating Plate Final against Peirce Secondary School, our ruggers conceded an early try against the well-drilled and aggressive Peirce team. But a brilliant try by our lock forward Harish Pandey levelled the scores with less than a minute to go. The Plate Final went into sudden death extra-time. With the scores still level in extra-time, Peirce was declared the winner because they had scored the first points during normal regulation time. It was a disappointing end to the day, but our Montfort Ruggers could hold their heads up high after a full-day tournament of four matches.

The day had begun with a 12-0 loss to the rampaging ACS (Independent) team in the first match of the group stages. But the Montfort ruggers picked up the pieces in their second match when they ran in four tries against Northbrooks Secondary. The tries were scored by Muhd Nabil, Harish Pandey and Mohd Shamir (twice). Two of our tries were converted to give Montfort an impressive 22-0 win over Northbrooks. With a one win and one loss after the group stage, Montfort were paired against Damai Secondary in the Plate Semi-Finals. In a robust Plate Semi-Finals, Montfort fell behind to an unconverted try by Damai but our flying winger, Ahmad Danial was able to level the scores with a scintillating run that was duly converted by Captain Muhd Nabil to give Montfort a narrow 7-5 win over Damai.

Despite the Plate Final loss to Peirce, the match had some positives. We are beginning to see the Sec 2s gel well with the Sec 3s and this will augur well for B Div 2010. Our boys were also mentally stronger and did not give up despite going down to early tries scored by the opposition.

The team that played today has the potential to go far in B Div 2010.

M1 Schools Series Squad for September 8th: Matthew Ho, Alvin Yap, Lewis Syn, Justin Seow, Harish Pandey, Leon Lim, Kang Dong Wan, Kenny Lee, Eugene Sito, Calvin Lim, Dominic Daniel, Muhd Nabil, Mohd Shamir, Jonathan Lim, Ariel Salim, Ahmad Daniel and Yong Cheong.

Montfort C Div Rugby Lions M1 Schools Rugby Series Runner-Up

Our C Div Montfort Rugby Lions ended up as Overall Series 1st Runner-Up for the Under-14 category in the M1 Schools Rugby Series organised by Singapore Rugby and local telco M1. The only team that had a better record than Montfort in this year's M1 Schools Rugby Series was ACS Barker Road. Our Runner-Up position in the three-tournament series was secured after the Montfort Rugby C Div Lions took part in the third and final round of the M1 Schools Series U14 on Saturday August 29th at Yio Chu Kang Stadium. A Cup Semi-Final appearance in the third & final tournament of the series was enough for Montfort to be crowned as the second most powerful team in the 10s rugby in Singapore. Only ACS Barker is a better 10s outfit than Montfort.

For the third and final tournament, Montfort was drawn in Group B together with Damai Secondary and Regent Secondary.

The tournament format was a 10-a-side match with each played for 10 minutes flat.

In our first group match on Saturday, our C Div ruggers beat Damai 12-0 with lock Azhar opening the scoring with a try. Our speedy winger Randell Toh added another try after a burst down the wings. Our Captain, Mohd Shamir, converted one of the two tries before the referee called time in the first match.

In our second match for the day, Montfort turned on the style and ran in three tries against Regent Secondary with Dominic Daniel, Randell Toh and Mohd Shamir scoring the tries against a valiant Regent Secondary. Shamir converted two of the three tries.

With two wins out of two group matches, Montfort emerged as Group B champions and were paired against the Group C champions - ACS Independent - in the Cup Semi-Finals.

The Cup Semi-Final was a pulsating match with our Montfort Ruggers pushing their ACSI opponents before succumbing to two converted tries from the awesome ACSI forward pack.

With the Semi-Final defeat, Montfort left the tournament with a Top 4 placing for the day and Overall Series 1st Runner-Up.

The M1 Schools Series, a three tournament series, sees teams being awarded points for each tournament that they take part in.

The Overall Champion of the M1 Schools Rugby Series will be determined by the team with the most Series points as set out below for each tournament:

Cup Winner (1) 30 points
Cup Runner Up (1) 28 points
Cup Semi-Finalist (2) 26 points

Plate Winner (1) 22 points
Plate Runners Up (1) 20 points
Plate Semi-Finalist (2) 18 points

Bowl Winners (1) 14 points
Bowl Runners Up (1) 12 points

Shield Winner (1) 8 points
Shield Runners Up (1) 6 points

Participating Team 2 points

Our C Div Montfort Rugby Lions had emerged as Plate Champions in the first tournament in March, Cup Runners-Up in the second tournament in June and Cup Semi-Finalists.

The cumulative points of 76 points meant that our C Div Montfort Rugby Lions ended up as Overall Series 1st Runner-Up for the Under-14 category. The only team that had a better record than Montfort was ACS Barker Road.

Well Done Montfort C Div Ruggers!

The Tens Squad over the past three tournaments:
Matthew Ho, Alvin Yap, Lewis Syn, Zulhilman, Kang Dong Wan, Chua Chinnakrit, Dominic Daniel Kumar, Mohd Shamir, Kirish Deepan, Ivan Lim, Randell Toh, Kenny Lee, Azhar, Harry Stokes, Zech Wong, Mohd Syahiran, Solomon Soh and Ryan Tai.

Coaches: Euan Morrison (Head Coach), Low Feng Hua and Pan Chao (Assistant Coaches)
Attending Teachers for 29th August: Mr Singh and Mr Yong

Match Picture Courtesy of ACSI Parent Volunteer Mr Richard Seow

C Div Match Report 10: Montfort vs Greenridge

C Div Captain, Mohd Shamir, handing the National Schools Rugby Championship (Plate) Trophy to Montfort Principal, Mr Andrew Tan

The Montfort Rugby Lions - C Div Rugby Champions (Plate)

Rugby Brothers: Montfort & Greenridge Players coming together


Montfort No. 8 Kang Dong Wan sportingly consoling his Greenridge counterpart

Montfort Rugby juggernaut mauling their way to the Greenridge try-line

The Montfort Rugby C Div team emerged as Plate Champions in the National Schools C Division Championshiop after beating Greenridge Secondary 26-22 in a hard-fought final played on Friday 21 August at Saint Andrew's Secondary. The win meant that Montfort attained its highest ever placing in the National Schools Rugby Championship.

Both teams played a pulsating match that saw both teams giving their best performance for this season.

Both teams scored four tries each but it was the deadly goal-kicking of Montfort Captain Mohd Shamir that sealed the match for Montfort.

Montfort converted three of the four tries whilst Greenridge was only able to convert one of their tries.

Both sides showed great spirit.

For Montfort, the front row of Matthew Ho, Alvin Yap and Lewis Syn dominated their opponents with deadly scrummaging.

The second-row partnership of Kenny Lee and Azhar gave the much-needed push in the scrum's engine room.

The loose forward trio of Kang Dong Wan, Chinnakrit and Eugene Sito were at the breakdown almost instantenously.

The backline was well-marshalled by Captain Mohd Shamir who linked up well with our Kiwi scrum-half Harry Stokes who gave it his all despite the sweltering heat and suffocating humidity.

Centres Kirish and Ivan were devastating in the line-breaks and defensive tackling duties whilst Dominic Daniel was his usual calm self in the full-back slot .. cooly cleaning up high balls.

Wingers Musli and Randell were equally tenacious in the tackle counts.

Above all the match today was a great advert for rugby. The Montfort boys consoled their beaten compatriots from Greenridge at the end of the final whistle by referee Mr Mohd Azhar Yusof.

Mr Mohd Azhar policed the match well and controlled a high stakes match very well with his calm and composed approach. The former RI rugby master truly made the match a joy to watch for the neutrals with his seamless refereeing.

In the end, the real winner of today's Final was rugby as both sets of players set aside their rivalry and shared a combined team group picture after the match. They truly deserved the applause from the spectators, made up of parents, old boys and school senior management, who thronged Saint Andrew's.

Scorers:
Tries: Mohd Shamir (2), Kenny Lee, Kang Dong Wan
Conversions: Mohd Shamir (3)

Montfort Rugby Lions vs Greenridge
Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap
Hooker: Lewis Syn
Locks: Kenny Lee and Azhar
Flankers: Eugene Sito and Chinakrit
No 8: Kang Dong Wan
Scrum Half: Harry Stokes
Fly-Half: Mohd Shamir (C)
Centres: Kirish Deepan and Ivan Lim
Wingers: Musli and Randell Toh
Full-Back: Dominic Daniel
Subs (Used): Syahiran

Friday August 21st at St. Andrew's Secondary Field, 445pm
Ref: Mohd Azhar Yusof (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)
Yellow Card: Nil
Red Card: Nil
Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Mr Singh, Miss Rashidah, Miss Jennifer and Mr Yong.

C Div 2009 Cumulative Record

Matches Played: 10

Won: 7 Lost: 3 Drew: Nil

Win/Loss Ratio: 70% Win

Total Tries Scored: 59

Top Try Scorer: Mohd Shamir (18 Tries)

Possible Conversions: 59

Actual Conversions: 29

Top Conversion Kicker: Mohd Shamir (25 Conversions)

Red Cards: Nil

Yellow Cards: Nil

C Div Match Report 9: Montfort vs Junyuan

The Montfort Rugby C Div Lions secured their place in the C Div Plate Final with a powerful performace against Junyuan Sec in the Plate Semi-Finals at Saint Andrew's Secondary on Tuesday August 18th.

Montfort beat Junyuan 39-5 in a pulsating semi-final which saw Montfort score seven tries.

Our speedy winger, Randall Toh, opened the try fest with a flash move after eight minutes.

Taking the cue from the tireless running an leadership of their captain, Mohd Shamir, Montfort piled on three more tries by half-time and went into the break leading 24-0.

But Junyuan came back battling in the second-half with a try.

But Montfort were able to hold off the pressure to run in three more tries.

To their credit, Junyuan didn't give up and tackled right up till the last minute. Kudos to Junyuan's head coach Slemat Rakisan and Old Boy Coach Yazid.

Match referee Marius Franken controlled the match well and had a firm grip on the proceedings and the clean record of the match was a testimony to his cool professional handling of the match.

Three of Montfort's seven tries (42.8% success rate) were converted by Mohd Shamir.

The Forward of the Match was Kenny Lee whilst the Back of the Match was Harry Stokes.

Montfort will be meeting Greenridge in the Plate Final either this Friday or next Monday.

Scorers:
Tries: Randell Toh (3), Mohd Shamir (3), Dominic
Conversions: Shamir (3)

Montfort Rugby Lions vs Junyuan
Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap
Hooker: Lewis Syn
Locks: Kenny Lee and Azhar
Flankers: Eugene Sito and Chinakrit
No 8: Kang Dong Wan
Scrum Half: Harry Stokes
Fly-Half: Mohd Shamir (C)
Centres: Kirish Deepan and Ivan Lim
Wingers: Musli and Randell Toh
Full-Back: Dominic Daniel
Subs (Used): Balvinder Singh and Fakhrul

Tuesday August 18th at St. Andrew's Secondary School Field, 445pm
Ref: Marius Franken (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)
H/T: 24-0 Montfort
Yellow Card: Nil
Red Card: Nil

Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Mr Singh, Miss Rashidah and Miss Jennifer.

C Div Match Report 8: Montfort vs Greendale

Securing their place in the C Div Plate Semi-Final, the Montfort Rugby Lions ran in an impressive thirteen tries in an awesome display of pride, power and passion against Greendale in the Plate Quarter-Finals at Greendale Secondary's home ground on Friday August 14th.

Leading by example, our C Div captain, Mohd Shamir opened the try fest with a well-worked move after seven minutes.

Taking the cue from the tireless running of their captain, Montfort piled on the stunned Greendale team and by half-time were leading 43-0.

Seventeen minutes into the second-half, Montfort hit the magical point mark with a converted try that brought the score to 81-0.

The game was ended at the 47th minute mark as part of the "mercy rule" in force for the schools rugby that ends a match when it crosses the 80 point mark.

Match referee Kelvin Lee controlled the match well and had a firm grip on the proceedings and the clean record of the match was a testimony to his professional handling of the match.

Eight of the thirteen tries (61.5% success rate) were converted by the Montfort dead-ball specialists.

There is still area for improvement in the goal-kicking department and is still a source of worry for the coaching panel.

The coaching panel named Kenny Lee as the Man-of-The-Match who lit up the first half with an awesome ball-in-hand rampage down the left wing which ended with a try.

With the win, Montfort secured a place in the Plate Semi-Finals against Junyuan Secondary next Tuesday.

Scorers:
Tries: Mohd Shamir (6), Chinnakrit (2), Randell (2), Dominic, Kenny Lee, Zech Wong
Conversions: Shamir (8)

Montfort Rugby Lions vs Greendale
Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap
Hooker: Lewis Syn
Locks: Kenny Lee and Azhar
Flankers: Eugene Sito and Chinakrit
No 8: Kang Dong Wan
Scrum Half: Harry Stokes
Fly-Half: Mohd Shamir (C)
Centres: Kirish Deepan and Ivan Lim
Wingers: Musli and Randell Toh
Full-Back: Dominic Daniel
Subs (Used): Zech Wong, Balvinder Singh, Clement Yeo, Jonathan Goh, Solomon, Zulhilman, Ryan Tai

Friday August 14th at Greendale Secondary School Field, 33opm
Ref: Kelvin Lee (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)
H/T: 43-0 Montfort
Yellow Card: Nil
Red Card: Nil

Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Mr Singh and Miss Rashidah

C Div Match Report 7: Montfort vs RI

The Montfort C Div Rugby Lions put up a brave display against Raffles Institution but were humbled 27-0 at RI on Tuesday 11th August.

This was Montfort's second defeat in the 2009 C Division 2nd Round campaign and it meant that Montfort would now drop to the Plate Quarter-Finals of the National Schools Rugby Championship. We will meet either Evergreen or Greenridge in the Plate Quarter-Finals.

RI had invested heavily in an impressive coaching panel and are well-supported by their Senior Management, the Old Boys and RI Teacher-in-Charge Bernard Chan.

In Tuesday's match, Montfort made RI work hard in the first half and restricted RI to two unconverted tries and RI took 10-0 lead into the break.

In the second-half, RI put in a further three tries and one conversion to make it 27-0.

Despite the heavy defeat, Montfort's coaching panel of Euan, Feng Hua, Song You and Pan Chao felt that our players put up a brave performance in the forwards and backline respectively and tackled their hearts out. RI's five tries were scored as a result of five crucial miss tackles in our 22. So a painful but valuable lesson for our boys.

Nonetheless congratulations to RI for making it to the Cup Semi-Finals vs ACSI.

Scorers (Montfort):
Tries: Nil
Conversions: Nil
Penalty Goal: Nil

Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap
Hooker: Lewis Syn
Locks: Azhar and Kenny Lee
Flankers: Eugene and Chinakrit
No 8: Kang Dong Wan
Scrum Half: Jonathan Goh
Fly-Half: Mohd Shamir
Centres: Kirish and Ivan Lim
Wingers: Mohd Syahiran and Randell Toh
Full-Back: Dominic Daniel
Sub: Balvinder, Musli, Harry, Sean, Fakhrul, Dzulhilman

Tuesday 11th August at Raffles Institution School Rugby Field, 445pm
Ref: Kelvin Lee (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)
H/T: 10-0 RI
Yellow Card: 01 (RI)
Red Card: Nil

Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Mr Singh

C Div Match Report 6: Montfort vs Unity

The Montfort Rugby Lions C Div team scored an impressive 40-0 away win against Unity Secondary on Tuesday 4th August at Saints Village.

Six tries were scored in a match that was initally billed to be a tight affair.

But it turned out to be anything but tight.

This was the C Div first win in the 2nd Round of the C Div competition.

Montfort opened the scoring with captain fantastic Mohd Shamir. Further tries were added by Randell Toh, Alvin Yap, Zech Wong, Syahiran and Ivan Lim.

Although Unity were no pushovers, Montfort was still able to lead 19-0 at half-time before coming out even more determined to make it 40-0 by the final whistle.

Our goal-kicking, an area of concern in recent weeks, had shown improvement with five of the six tries converted by Mohd Shamir.

Another positive is the solid scrummaging from our forward pack. This season has also unearthed the versatility of Kenny Lee who can play at either prop, 2nd Row or No. 8. He reminds me of the great All-Black prop Carl Hayman who in his younger days was a rampaging Number 8 and occasional 2nd Row.

A second positive that emerged is that this C Division squad is very tightly knit and are well-led by their captain.

The coaching panel - Euan Morrison, Low Feng Hua and Ng Song Yu - decided there was no Man-of-the-Match performance as it was finely balanced team effort today.

Scorers:
Tries: Mohd Shamir, Randell Toh, Alvin Yap, Zech Wong, Syahiran and Ivan.
Conversions: Mohd Shamir (5)

Montfort Rugby Lions vs Unity
Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap
Hooker: Lewis Syn
Locks: Kenny Lee and Azhar
Flankers: Eugene and Chinakrit
No 8: Kang Dong Wan
Scrum Half: Jonathan Goh
Fly-Half: Mohd Shamir
Centres: Zech Wong and Ivan Lim
Wingers: Mohd Syahiran and Randell Toh
Full-Back: Dominic Daniel
Subs (Used): Fakhrul, Balvinder, Harry Stokes, Clement Yeo, Musli, Solomon Soh and Zulhilman.

Tuesday Aug 4th at St Andrew's Secondary School Field, 445pm
Ref: Kelvin Lee (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)
H/T: 19-0 Montfort
Yellow Card: Nil
Red Card: Nil

Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Miss Rashidah and Miss Jennifer

C Div Match Report 5: Montfort vs SAS

For the second successive match, the Montfort C Div Rugby Lions came up against one of the powerhouses of schools rugby and were humbled.

The Saint Andrew's rugby powerhouse smashed the Montfort C Div Rugby Lions 71-8 in an awesome display of aggressive rugby on Friday 31st July.

This was Montfort's first defeat in the 2009 C Division 2nd Round campaign and it was big loss that says that Montfort still has a long way to go before we can be regarded as a serious rugby school.

Saint Andrew's has invested heavily in an impressive coaching panel, headed by Saints Old Boy Gene Tong, and are well-supported by their Principal and HOD PE. Saint Andrew's is truly the benchmark for schools rugby in Singapore.

In today's match, Saint Andrew's had raced to an unassailable 45-3 lead by half-time with seven tries and five conversions.

Saints continued to rack up the tries with an addiitional four tries and three conversions during the second-half to make it 71-8. Montfort's only points were scored through a first half penalty kick by captain courageous Mohd Shamir and a second-half try by twinkle-toes winger Syahiran.

Despite the heavy defeat, the coaching panel of Euan, Feng Hua and Song You felt that Alvin Yap and Dominic Daniel put up a brave performance in the forwards and backline respectively and were duly named Man-of-The-Match.

Scorers (Montfort):
Tries: 01 (Syahiran)
Conversions: Nil

Penalty Goal: 01 (Mohd Shamir)

Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap
Hooker: Lewis Syn
Locks: Zulhilman and Kenny Lee
Flankers: Eugene and Chinakrit
No 8: Kang Dong Wan
Scrum Half: Jonathan Goh
Fly-Half: Mohd Shamir
Centres: Kirish and Ivan Lim
Wingers: Mohd Syahiran and Randell Toh
Full-Back: Dominic Daniel
Sub: Balvinder

Friday July 31st at Saint Andrew's School Rugby Field, 445pm
Ref: Kelvin Lee (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)
H/T: 45-3 SAS
Yellow Card: Nil
Red Card: Nil

Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Mr Yong

Statistics from Montfort Rugby C Div Round 1

Montfort Rugby C Div Round 1

Played: 4 (3 Away Venues, 1 Neutral)
Won: 3
Loss: 1

Points Scored: 164
Points Conceded: 89
Differential: +75

Total Tries Scored: 28
Top Try Scorer: Shamir (6 Tries)
Total Individual Try Scorers: 13 Players scored at least one try during round 1.

Possible Conversions: 28
Actual Conversions: 12
% Successful Conversions: 42.86%

Top Conversions Scorer: Shamir (6 Conversions)
Total Conversion Scorers: 4 Players converted at least one try during round 1.

Man-of-the-Match Awards (Forwards): Azhar, Fakhrul (2), Chinakrit.
Man-of-the-Match Awards (Backs): Syahiran, Shamir, Zech Wong, Ivan.

Red Card: Nil
Yellow Card: Nil

Injury (Hospitalisation): Nil

Teachers-in-charge Attendance: Miss Rashidah (4 Matches), Miss Jennifer (2 Matches), Mr Yong (1 Match), Mr Singh (1 Match).

C Div Match Report 4: Montfort vs ACSI

The ACSI rugby juggernaut steamrolled the Montfort C Div Rugby Lions 84-0 in an awesome display of pride, power and passion on Saturday 25th July.

This was Montfort's first defeat in the 2009 C Division campaign and it was heavy defeat that clearly illustrated the wide gap in rugby development between the two all-boys school.

ACSI has invested heavily in the right coaches and are well-supported by their Senior Adminstration in many ways.

By half-time, ACSI had raced to an unassailable 40-0 lead. The match was called off at the 55th minute mark when ACSI crossed the whitewash to make it 84-0, hence invoking the 80-point mercy rule.

Despite the heavy defeat, the coaching panel (minus Coach Euan who was away) felt that centre Ivan Lim put up a brave performance in the midfield was duly named Man-of-The-Match.

Scorers (Montfort):

Tries: Nil

Conversions: Nil

Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap

Hooker: Lewis Syn

Locks: Fakhrul and Azhar

Flankers: Eugene and Chinakrit

No 8: Kenny Lee

Scrum Half: Harry Stokes

Fly-Half: Mohd Shamir

Centres: Zech Wong and Ivan Lim

Wingers: Mohd Syahiran and Randell Toh

Full-Back: Dominic Daniel

Saturday July 25th at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Rugby Field, 10am

Ref: Marius Franken (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)

H/T: 40-0 ACSI

Yellow Card: Nil

Red Card: Nil

Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Miss Rashidah and Miss Jennifer

Photos courtesy of ACSI Parent Volunteer Mr Richard

C Div Match Report 3: Montfort vs Peirce

The Montfort Rugby Lions C Div team notched up an impressive away win against Peirce Secondary on Thursday 23rd July.

Nine tries were scored in a one-sided match that saw starting debuts for four Sec 1 players.

This was the C Div third successive win on the trot and maintained the 100% winning record for the 2009 season.

Fielding mostly a Sec 1 team, Montfort opened the scoring with prop Matthew Ho. Although not firing on all cylinders, the team still led 20-0 at half-time before coming out even more determined to make it 51-0 by the final whistle. Obviously the half-time talk jolted the players into a ruthless streak against a Peirce team that tackled their hearts out.

Once again, goal-kicking was an area of concern as only three out of the nine tries (33% success rate) were converted by our dead-ball specialists.

The coaching panel - Euan Morrison, Low Feng Hua and Ng Song Yu - named second-row lock Fakhrul as the Forward-of-The-Match while rampaging centre Zech Wong was voted as Back-of-The-Match.

Match referee Rohit controlled the match with his usual calm and composed demeanour.

Scorers:
Tries: Dominic (2), Matthew Ho, Chinakrit, Azhar, Musli, Mohd Shamir, Lewis Syn, Ivan Lim.
Conversions: Mohd Shamir (2), Dominic

Montfort Rugby Lions vs Peirce
Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap
Hooker: Solomon Soh
Locks: Fakhrul and Azhar
Flankers: Balvinder and Chinakrit
No 8: Kang Dong Wan
Scrum Half: Harry Stokes
Fly-Half: Clement Yeo
Centres: Zech Wong and Ivan Lim
Wingers: Mohd Syahiran and Randell Toh
Full-Back: Musli
Subs (Used): Jonathan Goh, Eugene Sito, Lewis Syn, Sean Ang, Zulhilman, Mohd Shamir, Dominic.

Thursday July 23rd at Peirce Secondary School Field, 445pm
Ref: Rohit Singh (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)
H/T: 20-0 Montfort
Yellow Card: 01 (Peirce)
Red Card: Nil

Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Miss Rashidah and Mr Vincent Yong

C Div Match Report 2: Montfort vs Bukit Batok

Montfort Rugby Lions ran in fourteen tries in a convincing display against Bukit Batok at Saints Village on Monday.

True to form, the C Div captain, Mohd Shamir opened the try fest with a well-worked move.

Taking the cue from their captain, Montfort piled on the hapless Bukit Batok team and by half-time were leading 67-0.

Fifteen minutes into the second-half, Montfort hit the magical point mark with a converted try that brought the score to 86-0. The game was ended at the 45th minute mark as part of the "mercy rule" in force for the schools rugby that ends a match when it crosses the 80 point mark.

Match referee Rohit Singh policed the match well and had a firm grip on the proceedings and the clean record of the match was a testimony to his fine handling of the match.

Eight of the fourteen tries (57% success rate) were converted by the Montfort dead-ball specialists. The lack of goal-kicking options is still a source of worry for the coaching panel in the coming weeks.

The coaching panel named Mohd Shamir as the Man-of-The-Match while the battling openside flanker Chinakrit was voted as Forward-of-The-Match.

Scorers:
Tries: Dominic (3), Mohd Shamir (2), Ivan (2), Dong Wan, Syahiran, Chinakrit, Alvin, Eugene, Zech, Balvinder
Conversions: Dominic (3), Shamir (3), Lewis and Harry.

Montfort Rugby Lions vs Bukit Batok
Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap
Hooker: Lewis Syn
Locks: Fakhrul and Azhar
Flankers: Eugene Sito and Chinakrit
No 8: Kang Dong Wan
Scrum Half: Harry Stokes
Fly-Half: Mohd Shamir (C)
Centres: Kirish Deepan and Ivan Lim
Wingers: Mohd Syahiran and Randell Toh
Full-Back: Dominic Daniel
Subs (Used): Zech Wong, Balvinder Singh, Matthias Wong, Clement Yeo, Jonathan Goh, Solomon, Kenny Lee, Sean Ang, Zulhilman, Ryan Tai, Musli

Monday July 20th at Saint Andrew's School Field, 33opm
Ref: Rohit Singh (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)
H/T: 67-0 Montfort
Yellow Card: Nil
Red Card: Nil

Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Miss Rashidah and Miss Jennifer

C Div Match Report 1: Montfort vs Damai

Montfort C Div Rugby Lions smashed Damai Secondary 27-5 at Damai on Thursday afternoon.

The Montfort C Div Rugby Boys were leading 10-5 at half-time.

Captain Mohd Shamir led from the front by opening the try scoring after wonderfully worked move. Damai then drew level before hooker Lewis Syn scored a try to make it a tight tense first half which saw both sides probably rusty due to the enforced CCA closure caused by the H1N1 virus these past three weeks.

After a half-time pep-talk by the coaches and teachers, Montfort Rugby Lions roared back with a vengence.

In the second-half, Shamir added two more tries before flanker Chinakrit added a fifth try to seal the match in the final five minutes of the match.

Match referee Kelvin Lee policed the breakdown well and had a firm grip on the game and the single yellow card was a testimony to his firm handling of the match.

Only one of the five tries were converted by Shamir. The lack of goal-kicking options is bound to worry the coaching panel in the coming weeks.

The coaching panel named Syahiran as the Man-of-The-Match while the 2nd row partnership of Azhar and Fakhrul were voted as Forwards-of-The-Match.

Scorers:
Tries: Mohd Shamir (3), Lewis Syn, Chinakrit
Cons: Mohd Shamir (1)

Montfort Rugby Lions vs Damai
Props: Matthew Ho and Alvin Yap
Hooker: Lewis Syn
Locks: Fakhrul and Azhar
Flankers: Eugene Sito and Chinakrit
No 8: Kang Dong Wan
Scrum Half: Harry Stokes
Fly-Half: Mohd Shamir (C)
Centres: Kirish Deepan and Ivan Lim
Wingers: Mohd Syahiran and Randell Toh
Full-Back: Dominic Daniel
Subs (Used): Kenny Lee and Jonathan Goh

Thursday July 16th at Damai Secondary School Field, 4.45pm
Ref: Kelvin Lee (Singapore Rugby Union Referees)
H/T: 10-5 Montfort
Yellow Card: 01 (Damai Secondary)

Red Card: Nil

Attending Teachers-in-Charge: Miss Rashidah and Mr Singh

C Div 2009 Kicks Off & C Div Competition Squad

The Goh Keng Swee Shield (Extreme Right) .... The C Div Pinnacle of Schools Rugby

The much anticipated Rugby C Div Tournament will finally kick off on Thursday 16th July.

Montfort will be playing away against Damai. Kick-off 4.45pm.

Our 2nd match in the 1st Round will be against Bukit Batok on 20th July at SAS.

On 23rd July, we will be up against Pierce at their home ground.

We complete our first round fixures with visit to ACSI on 25th July.

The C Div Competition Squad:

Matthew Ho Weijie 2AA
Syn Jun Hao Lewis 2E1
Yap Chiu Peng Alvin 2A1
Kang Dong Wan 2E3
Chua Chinnakrit 1A1
Dominic Daniel Kumar 2E2
Mohd Shamir B Mohd R 2AB
Kirish Deepan Jagadeesan 2E4
Lim Zhi Wei Ivan Irwan 2E3
Toh Randell Emmanuel 2E3
Lee Xian Hui 2AA
Eugene Sito You Cheng 2E3
Azhar B Mohd Noor Azrin 1E4
Harrison John Stokes 1E3
R Zuhilman B Mohamad Zaher 2E4
Mohamad Syahiran B Mohamad J 1A1
Fakhrul Izzat B Mohamed H 1A1
Muhammad Muslihuddin B Omar 1E3
Soh Xue Hui Solomon 1E3
Tai Ryan 1E4
Balvinder Singh s/o Surender Singh 1A1
Ong Jie Sheng Justin 1E1
Choo Yi Cong Adrian 1AA
Jonathan Goh Cheng Leong 1AB
Yeo Clement 1AB
Zechariah Wong An Yi 1E4
Matthias Bennett Wong Tse S 1A2
Sean Ang Jian Jie 1E4