Pubz Comm Reporter: Luigi Laurel

Photos courtesy of KE Photographers

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Score Summary

TH Vs. KEVII– 1-nil

KEVII Vs. EH – 0-6

KEVII Vs. RH– 1-nil

KR Vs. KEVII – 3-nil

KEVII vs. SH – 1-nil

February 3, 2008.

The female Touch Rugby sports carnival was held this morning, on a rather damp and drizzly Sunday. Each of the teams participated in 5 matchups of speed, skill and strength.

For those of us new to the sport of Touch Rugby (today was my first time at a real game), here’s a quick crash course:

A goal worth one point is scored by simply placing (but not throwing) the ball into the opponent’s goal area. The carrier has to run past her opponent’s line and plant the ball firmly on the ground. Her opponent can force her to stop by “touching” her or her clothing, just like in a game of tag. If tagged, the player has to carry out the roll-ball, in which she drops the ball and her teammate picks it up to resume the game. But once the team members have been touched six times, or they fumble the ball, possession changes sides immediately. She can pass the ball to her teammates, but only if her teammate is beside or behind her with respect to the opponent’s line. Today’s games had 6-on-6 matchup, and lasted 20 minutes each.

The rules are quite simple, but you can see how plays that involve feints and coordination are key to winning the game. The muddy multi-purpose field and the dirty ball did not help either, because once the ball slips and touches the ground, the ball changes hands.

Our first game was against Temasek Hall. An early goal by TH 15 seconds into the game proved to me how fast-paced this game can be. Our team made an intrepid effort to try and even out the score, but in the end we were not able to break their defense. Temasek won, 1-nil.

Our second game, at 10am, was against Eusoff Hall. A mere three minutes after the signal whistle, a yellow-clad player scored a goal. She would then proceed to score a couple more goals for Eusoff. This skinny opponent was simply too fast for our girls. Eusoff took the match, 6-nil. It is interesting to note that Eusoff won all their Touch Rugby games today.

Now that the grisly prospect of facing the two big sports halls was over and done with, we moved on to our next opponent: Raffles Hall. RH and KE7 might be joint hosts of this year’s IHG, but that does not mean we have to give them quarter in the fields. A vicious match ensued with the ball changing hands countless times, but five minutes into the game, a lone carrier managed to break through RH’s defenses and run towards their goal line. As she began to outrun her pursuers, cheers of “Go Amanda, GO!” filled our side of the field. Three tense seconds later, an excellent goal was scored by Amanda, today’s first by KE7! The match was not over yet, however, and RH was determined to launch a counter-attack. But our girls proved to be more mobile and minutes later, a valiant corner dive by Qian Hong almost doubled our lead. In the end, we triumphed over RH with a delicious 1-nil. Hurrah!

Next came Kent Ridge Hall, known as the “other” sports hall. Unfortunately, that new moniker turned out to be quite accurate, as they scored the first goal four minutes into the game. Two other goals followed. The game ended 3-nil in favour of KR.

And finally, our last opponent: Sheares Hall. Our teams were quite evenly matched and it looked like a stalemate in the making. But once again, our heroine Amanda managed to score a goal and put SH on the defensive. Their efforts were fruitless. Amanda was in the process of scoring another goal when an accident happened: she lost her footing and bumped her head. With the muddy field and rough contact, it was bound to happen. With no hard feelings, the game continued. The final whistle rang out just as we were about to launch another offensive. KE7 won, 1-nil!

As our tired but jubilant team left the field, I thought to myself that today was rather impressive considering that KE7 is placed on the bottom rung when it comes to sports. A little bit more practice and our girls could land in the top three next year! The challenge is on you!

One final note from me: Where were the supporters? Our welfare, publications and photography committees were represented, but surely the team deserved more than a handful of KEVIIans. However, it should be said that at no point was the team downcast or dejected. Laughs and smiles were aplenty; the team, headed by Pik Wei, accepted each loss with panache and each win with grace.

As this was a sports carnival, no further touch rugby matches will be held; this was the one day for the teams to show all the hard work and training they have put in since the start of the year. And prove it you did, ladies of the King Edward VII Touch Rugby Team! Enjoy your rest, you’ve earned it.

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Pubz Comm Reporter: Siva Subramaniam
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KE 4-0 SH

On a lazy Sunday morning, our squash boys took to the courts at the SRC and showed the other halls why KE 7 should rightfully be king of the courts. KE 7 won all 4 matches that were played in straight sets. The last (5^th) match was not played as both the KE and SH players involved were injured and agreed not to play out the match since its outcome was inconsequential.

KE’s Kwan Rong defeated SH’s Puo Wei in the first match up 9-0, 9-4, 9-0. Playing 2^nd was Raymond who was up against a worthy adversary in the form of Tian Long from Sheares. Raymond took the first set effortlessly 9-1, only dropping a point to a ‘stroke’ called by the umpire. In the second set the match heated up and the players lost their cool at times—whether it was flinging their rackets in anguish or disagreeing vehemently with the umpires. Unlike many of Raymond’s previous opponents, Tian Long read Raymond’s game well and did his very best to counter Raymond’s powerful advances. Clearly upset by some of the calls by the umpire and his opponent’s questionable on-court etiquette, Raymond’s focus wavered. He still stood his ground and took the 2^nd set 9-5. In the 3^rd set, Raymond quickly went down 1-4 and his opponent seemed to have the upper hand. Unfazed, Raymond remained focus and fought back to even the score out at 5-5. From here, our player’s endurance and skill pulled him through and the match ended in KE’s favour 9-1, 9-5, 9-5. Before leaving the courts both players shook hands and cleared up any hard feelings.

The 3^rd match saw Dennis from KE up against Sheares Captain Karthik. Dennis successfully slowed down the pace of the game and conquered his opponent with his clever shots and unmistakable style; 9-4, 9-0, 9-3. At this point KE had already won the match and secured a place in the finals. Still, Chris from KE and Weiming from SH played out the 4^th match. Chris had little trouble and won the match after only dropping 1 point; 9-0, 9-0. 9-1.

Defending champions KE 7 have secured a place in the finals at IHG 07/08.

They will be up against either Eusoff or Kent Ridge (details not available at press time). The final match is definitely one not to be missed. All KEVIIans reading this report should definitely make a date to come down and support our boys on Tuesday, 5^th February at 7pm, SRC courts.

This is our shot at Gold for the second year running and the match is sure to be a big hit. So come down on Tuesday dressed in red and get ready to create a racket as our boys show their opponents some love.

Coronat Victoria Fortes. Fortunately, we are the brave.

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For those who won’t be able to make it down for the match, stay tuned to this IHG blog for the lowdown on the squash finals. Pubz Comm’s Siva Subramaniam will be at your service.

 —>  Sean Ang, KE7 Squash (M) captain would like to say thanks to Sheares Hall for being sportive throughout the squash matches. He praises them for their excellent conduct, and their humbleness and honesty in their reporting. <—-