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| SINGAPORE ENDS TOP 5 RUN ON A HIGH WITH BRAVE DEFENCE AGAINST CHAMPIONS JAPAN |
The brave Singapore Rugby Lions finished their Top 5 run in the HSBC Asian Five Nations on a high by holding defending champions Japan to a 45 - 15 victory in today's match played at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium in Singapore.Japan may have scored more points, but it was a moral victory for the Singaporeans, who will be relegated to Division One next season and replaced by the Arabian Gulf in the 2010 Top 5.
Singapore scored the most points against Japan than any other team in this year's tournament and conceded the least against the Asian giants.Japan, playing without any of their expatriate players, got off to a cracking start, with the big forwards creating havoc in the midfield off broken play. Tries to veteran lock Hitoshi Ono, skipper Takashi Kikutani and Koji Taira meant it was 19-0 after 15 minutes. A big scoreline looked on the cards, but where other teams tired and folded, Singapore hardened up, conceding just one more Taira try before halftime, while notching a penalty of their own to keep the score at the break to 26-3.Despite what must have been some vocal recommendations from John Kirwan at halftime to both his team and the referee, the HSBC Asian Five Nations champions still looked disjointed in the second half. The trouble continued after the sin-binning of captain Kikutani after 55 minutes. Singapore focused on playing the game in close and concentrating on possession. At times there was no Singaporean player wider than 10 metres from the ruck and breakdown, but the Japanese could not get their hands on the ball to effect turnovers and take advantage of the big spaces left out wide. Kikutani engaged in some aggressive counter-rucking at one breakdown, which the referee ruled as shoulder charging and the flanker was yellow-carded. The then rudderless Japanese managed to get just two more tries, but Singapore replied through four penalties taken by fly-half Ryan Cumbers as a result of Brave Blossom transgressions in the second half to bring the score to the final 45-15 spread to Japan. The capacity crowd of over 2,300 people stood at the end of the match and acknowledged the home team's effort. Singapore coach Danny Tauroa was equally complimentary of the efforts of his team, saying: "This was by far our best performance in the HSBC Asian Five Nations. We really picked it up after last week in Hong Kong and showed some real determination. Our guys really fronted up and had a go and I am proud of them. Today was all about character for us and restoring the pride in wearing the Singapore jersey." JAPAN
Tries: Ono (2) Kikutani, Taira (2) Imamura, Toyota
Cons: Yoshida (5)SINGAPORE
Pens: Cumbers (5)Some content contributed by Mike Rehu, STAR Sports Rugby Commentator. |
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