Royal run over by Tangling train
View(s):By David Stephens
Out muscled by a unit which towered intimidatingly over them, the Royal College Under 16 rugby team could merely steel themselves and stand their ground like a set of bowling pins in the path of an oncoming train. They were brutalised at 53 (five goals, three tries and one penalty) to 5 (one try) by Tanglin Sports Club’s Under-16 side from Singapore in a friendly played at the Royal Sports Complex yesterday.
Royalists had a tough time against Tanglin players who were too hot to handle. - Pic by Amila Gamage
If marks were awarded for gumption, Royal would have amassed 100 points. However they left the field with a lot of bruises and aches as the glaring discrepancy in size saw the boys from Reid Avenue being tossed about like rag dolls, with their opponents forming a procession over their try line.
Second Rower Dominic Reeves, No.8 James Ward, Outside Centre J.G Gibbs, Fly Half Tom Bagley, Full Back Chris Orange and Centre Josh Smith, who struck the game’s only penalty while taking all his team’s conversions, did the honours for Tanglin.
For the Royalists, No. 8 Dhamika de Silva elicited the sole roar of applause from the home fans when he went over for an unconverted try.
The game was effectively over from the moment the referee blew the opening whistle, with the Royalists simply unable to deal with the power of Tanglin’s players. At times three or four Royal players were required to execute a single successful tackle and there was an inescapable sense that a try was looming for the visitors.
This proved to be the case in the third minute as Tanglin burst down the right side to score. They followed this up with a penalty to have their opponents reeling early at 10-0 after just 13 minutes of play. In truth they could have extended their lead by several more points, but they were guilty of extremely poor handling.
Nevertheless, they tore through for one more converted try at the brink of halftime to make it 17-0. Whatever holes Tanglin had in their offense during the first half were plugged during the second, as the floodgates burst open with a flurry of tries. The Royalists though refused be bullied into submission. This resistance paid dividends as de Silva sailed over the line after a carefully constructed sequence of an attack, to ensure that his team left the field with their heads held high and pride intact.
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