2006 Tournament Write-UpDragging myself out of be on Saturday november 4, 2006 in anticipation of the “heart attack” of a breakfast including scrambled eggs, bacon, beans, hash browns, something that club liason officer Werner Trachsel tells me are “sausages” (where DO white sausages come from I wonder?) that oft precedes a day of non-stop inaction up in the Eagles nest – sets you up nicely for the marathon ahead. Total concentration is the order of the day, for 11 hours straight, without a break, not daring to blink, praying that the scoreboard doesn’t play up. And 08.00 arrives, the ref’s whistle blows and No 59 starts to roll. Army U.K. against old pals Casuarina Cougars for a period of 18 minutes – to get them on, play, have a break, play some more and to get them off. Precision timing to the second and then it’s over! Only to be repeated 35 more times on the same day – “please don’t let it rain” – and whilst you close your eyes to take a deep breath the whistle goes again and when you open them, it’s the Wanderers from negri Sembilan up against another set of long time friends from Oz – Palmyra. Eight groups of 4 teams, with each team up against the other three in its group, all at each other for a place in the “big one” tomorrow. The curtain came down on the first day as daylight was rapidly fading; a tight schedule had been maintained and achieved – just – thanks to slick organization, co-operative referees – and disciplined teams. Oh, and as well - it didn’t rain! Day two beckoned! WHO LOOKED GOOD AFTER DAY OnE? The USA Eagles certainly (having also taken Randwick by 26 pts to 7), and the usual suspects – Davetalevu (who had made hard work of a couple of their games though), UK Army (fit, fast and Fijian), Durban Harlequins and the menacing Ponsonby (who had re- ceived some stiff competition from the British Army Germany outfit before running out winners by 26 points to 14). The surprise team of day 1 though was the HK Dragons squad – winning all 3 of their group games. The great thing about the SCC Sev- ens is the volume of silverware to go for – everyone has a real chance of going home with a trophy: a Cup, a Plate, a Bowl and a Jug. The prospect generates real enthusiasm among the players – not only do they all get a minimum of five games over the two days – they all have a chance to compete at their own level. And it’s totally democratic! no preferential treatment for the big boys, no mollycoddling! The first round proper of the Ablitt Cup was on first and Davetalevu were there on the pitch minutes before their scheduled start at 08.00 against the Japanese Samurais. And for those that snooze – well, you lose! Top game, top teams. The tight match which went the Fijians way by a margin of 15 points to 12 – but, boy, were they run close. The scene was now doubly set, as USA Eagles 17 points edged out Blue Bull Barbarians’ 14 points. Two tight encounters that set the tone, and which really pretty much summarized much of the play and action that followed, although HK Dragons (the dark horses) left Cobra Malaysia standing as they knocked up 43 points (7 tries) without reply. A surprise result too, when Borneo Eagles (last year’s Plate holders under their then pseudonym of the Sandakan Rugby Club) convincingly knocked out Randwick by 33 to 14 pts. Losers in this round, of course, go to the Plate – the standard of which is, these days, pretty high as teams like Impala, Randwick, Japanese Samurais, and Blue Bull Barbarians found themselves up against each other to contest second prize of the day when their q/Fs came round. The day passed: the standard was generally very good and most games were exciting to watch, with many close run scores, and in no time at all we were at the final stages. not without incident of course! The semi-finals, particularly of the Cup and the Plate, produced some excellent Sevens rugby. HK Dragons, having disposed of the British Army Germany team in the quarters, ran out of steam as Davetalevu took them out by 27 pts to 7 in the first semi (but they did perform exceptionally well throughout both days), whilst Ponsonby overcame Durban Harlequins by 21 pts to 10 in the other semi. Ponsonby had been gathering momentum from the start – after beating a tough PnG Rookies comfortably in their morning match (by 33 pts to 17), they accounted for Army UK in the quarters, running up 36 pts against a reply of 17. Hanging back for bets, eh? Other Notable games during the day saw PnG Rookies and Impala play to a 17 pts all draw in their Plate quarterfinal, before Impala scored the golden try to win it in extra time. But all their efforts were in vain as the Kenyans went down to Randwick in the plate semis, also a game that was tied up at 14 points all at no-side, only for the Sydneysiders to get the golden score this time and knock our African friends out at the last but one hurdle. Wonderful “Boys Own” stuff on show at times! All the while, the minnows were scrapping for the right to win the Bowl or the Jug, determined to take something out of the weekend for their troubles. Two visiting sides from Oz, Gove and Casuarina, contested the Jug final (after successfully putting out n.S. Wan- derers and Singa Lions in their two semis), and a close final saw Casuarina get home by 20 pts to 14. Bowl finalists Tamariva and Thai Barbarians (an all Asian final this one) slugged it out and ran in two tries apiece in the allotted time. The value of conversions, though, shone through as the Thai boys landed both of theirs, and Tamariva didn’t – 14 pts to 10 to the Thai side. The plate brought together two Australian teams, long time visitors to the Padang, Palmyra, up against one of Sydney’s most respected rugby names, and former SCC Sevens champions (1993), Randwick. And what a final they gave the crowd. Showing no signs of the two very tough semi-finals both teams had gone through (Randwick taking out Impala by 19 – 14, but needing a score in extra time to do so, and Palmyra having overcome the Japanese Samurais by 28 pts to 12) they put on a show of highly entertaining rugby spiced with added drama of a winning score in extra time to clinch it! Palmyra took an early lead only for Randwick to fight back with three converted tries to lead 21 – 7 well into the second half. Where Palmyra found the stamina, and will, to come back, I will never know, but come back they did, scoring two late converted tries to tie it up at 21 – 21 apiece. And then, finding one last burst from somewhere, Palmyra did the unimaginable and pulled out the winning score in extra time. Breathtaking stuff from both sides which had the spectators on their feet with excitement, shouting themselves hoarse with it all (but with sufficient lubrication at hand to repair any damaged vocal chords in readiness for the Ablitt!). It’s an old cliché I know – “neither side deserved to lose”, and it certainly was the case here, but another even older cliché perhaps fitted the bill better – “rugby was the winner”. Whew. All good things come to an end, but they don’t all end “good”! The 59th did, with a splendidly contested Ablitt cup final worthy of gracing any rugby stadium anywhere in the world. Davetelavu from Fiji up against Ponsonby from new Zealand. With sun setting, vox populi in fine fettle, and the Padang looking majestic and ready for the show, Ponsonby and Davetelavu got into their respective strides. It was close; it swung from side to side, Ponsonby taking an early lead with a try. The Fijians hit back with two tries of their own, and looked, at half time the likelier of the two to pull it off. Ponsonby had other ideas – they roared back and, with a converted try, sneaked ahead at 12 – 10. Davetelavu gained some possession and went over themselves, restoring their 5 point advantage with the conversion. Could Ponsonby rise to the challenge? How they tried, putting the Islanders under enormous pressure, pinning them in their own 22. The dreaded “hooter” went but the ball was still in play when, from somewhere, somehow Ponsonby went over – to level the scores. But what drama – the ball looked as it had been knocked forward – the crowd howled with the injustice of it all. The referee was having none of it – it was a try, time was up, it was all square – kick to come. You could have heard a S$2 note drop that afternoon on the Padang as the Ponsonby man lined up to make the conversion. Players from either side couldn’t bear to watch. Extra time loomed, the crowd held their breath – the ball soared – up – and over. Ponsonby had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and had stolen Davetelavu’s crown at the very last moment. It makes me breathless even now, just recalling those final dramatic moments What a final – close, contested in the most sporting manner, every player giving his all for the cause, the spectators on their feet and rising to both teams. They had just witnessed something pretty special, something that will stay in the memory for many a year I suspect. And then after the presentations, with light fading quickly as it does in this neck of the woods, it was all over for another year. No 59 proved to be one of the best tournaments on the park for many a moon. All that remained was the players well deserved “r and r” in the evening that followed and the revelation of the “stars” of the weekend. After much deliberation, for there were many fine performances over the weekend, the two outstanding participants turned out to be:
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