Kolej Abdillah edge Shoaw in rugby showdown

Players and officials with Zamzy (second left) celebrating at the Song Kheng Hai Rugby Ground last Saturday.

KUCHING: Kolej Datuk Patinggi Abdullah Haji Abdillah (Kolej Abdillah) were crowned the kings of Kuching school rugby when they lifted the MSSM Kuching 15-A-Side Boys U18 title at Song Kheng Hai Rugby Ground last Saturday.

They edged traditional rival SMK Agama Sheikh Othman Abdul Wahab (Shoaw) 19-17 in the latest clash of the local rugby titans.

It was Shoaw who took the lead 7-0 and Kolej Abdillah leveled 7-7 before the former regained the lead 12-7 and stretched it to 17-7 before conceding a try in the final minute of the first half to allow their opponents add seven more points to narrow the gap to 17-14.

Shoaw tried hard in the second half but solid defending by Kolej Abdillah prevented them from making further ground and Zamzy Abdul Rahman’s boys managed to score another try for a 19-17 lead.

That score remained unchanged until the final whistle.

“We overcame our weaknesses to become our strengths and our players have been very committed to both training and competing in this tournament,” said the Kolej Abdillah coach Zamy after the thrilling final.

According to him, it had always been a close affair in the last few years and he congratulated Shoaw for giving a good fight to his team.

“We had been champions from 2011 to 2014 and lost the title to Shoaw last year and we are very happy to be able to regain the crown this year,” said Zamzy who attributed the victory to the great teamwork by the players and the strong support from the school management including principal Ibrahim Jamain, the teachers and the parents.

He noted that the third-placed team MRSM Kuching had also improved greatly and they will always be there to challenge the supremacy of Kolej Abdillah and Shoaw.

In the play-off match played earlier, MRSM Kuching had trounced Kolej Vokasional Matang 66-0.

Meanwhile, Shoaw coach Zulkaranainhisham Sarbini accepted the defeat with grace and congratulated Kolej Abdillah for the win.

“It was hard luck to the Shoaw boys. They played well and controlled the game and we had our chances, we were leading but just failed to kill the game,” he added.

“We failed to score in the second half and we lost because of a few bad decisions and moreover the pitch condition wasn’t ideal,” said Zulkaranainhisham.

Other teams taking part in the championship were SM Teknik Sejingkat, SM St Joseph and SMK Sungai Maong.

 

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