From Asian5Nations.Com:Korea and Singapore reach Division 1 Final.
Korea and Singapore reach Division I Final
Korea eked out a tense 34-20 win over the upstart Philippines Volcanoes in the semi finals of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division I Tournament held today in Ansan, Korea. In this afternoon’s other semi final, Singapore ran in eight tries to power past regional rivals Malaysia and book their place in the final against the hosts.
The winners of the Division I final will be promoted to the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Top 5 competition, the pinnacle of Asian ruby, in 2012. Malaysia and the Philippines will face off to avoid relegation to Division II of next year’s competition.
Featuring five of its Japan-based professional players in a XV stocked with experience, Korea looked the much stronger side on paper and indeed they dominated the first half, opening the scoring through winger Kim Gwong Min in the fifth minute.
Tries to No 8 Park Soon Chai and a conversion and penalty to fullback Hong Jun Ki saw the Koreans out to a 15-nil lead before the Philippines got on the board through a penalty to flyhalf Oliver Saunders. Korea added another try to flyhalf Yoon Il Tae with the conversion from Hong extending the hosts lead to 22-3.
Despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession in the first half Korea couldn’t extinguish the Philippines Volcanoes, as the visitors scored their first try in the 39th minute to bring the score to 22-8 at the break.
The second half saw Philippines captain Michael Letts open the scoring with a try in the 48th minute to narrow the gap to 22-13. Korea quickly replied with a second try to Kim Gwong Min before Volcanoes winger Matthew Saunders scored in the 74th minute to bring the Philippines to 27-20 behind after the successful conversion by Saunders’ brother Oliver.
An historic upset was in the offing as the Philippines, unranked in world rugby, were threatening to take the scalp of the world’s 33rd ranked team with just ten minutes remaining.
The last period turned into a seesaw affair with the Philippines giving up some unforced errors that eventually led to Korea scoring its fifth and final try in the 81st minute through reserve prop Kim Hyun Soo. Hong Jun Ki’s third conversion of the match brought the final result to 34-20 in a scoreline that flattered the hosts.
Today’s result left neither team fully satisfied but both in the position to achieve some notable milestones. For Korea, a chance to return to the Top 5 in 2012 is in the cards, while the Philippines have made a strong claim to sticking in Division I after being promoted from Division II last season. Today was the first loss for the Philippines in four years of HSBC Asian 5 Nations competition.
Philippines coach Expo Mejia said, “The loss is disappointing because we gave the game away through unforced errors but I am very proud of the guys.
“We stood toe to toe against one of the heavyweights of Asian rugby this afternoon. We didn’t get the result we wanted but we’ve shown that we have what it takes to stay in Division I and to even be one of the Top 5 teams in Asia.”
Korea coach Kim Myung Joo said, “Of course we are happy to have the win today but we don’t feel like we showed what we are capable of on the pitch. We achieved what we wanted to, which is to give ourselves a chance to return to the Top 5, but today we played too much as individuals and not enough as a team. We need to fix that on Saturday.”
Kim Jeong Min, captain of Korea, spoke about the importance of promotion to his side, “It was hard for us to watch the Top 5 from the sidelines this year but we now have a chance to correct that. We played Singapore in 2008 and we beat them well. We are at home so we know we can get the result we need. It is vital for us to be promoted so we can revive the reputation of Korean rugby.”
To do that, Korea will have to meet the challenge of high flying Singapore after the Rugby Lions turned in an eight-try performance against Malaysia in a 52-17 win.
Despite the scoreline, Singapore struggled for possession in the opening exchanges today as Malaysia threw everything into attack and stifled Singapore attacks through some committed tackling. Malaysia opened the scoring through a try to towering lock Dineshvaran Krishnan in the eighth minute.
Malaysia could not convert the steady pressure into points however, giving Singapore the chance to get back into the game. It was an opportunity that Singapore took well, particularly the forward pack which shone today scoring four of Singapore’s eight tries. Singapore’s first try came through scrumhalf Azmi Mohammad Suliman. No. 8 Peter McFeely added Singapore’s second try from a pushover try after the pack wheeled Malaysia’s scrum to win the put-in on the five metre line.
McFeely was one of three forwards earning new caps for Singapore who scored today, alongside flanker Matthew Head and lock Marc Warburton. Malaysia, who had six first caps of its own in today’s XV, rounded out the first half scoring with a try from centre Isao Turuva, a just reward for a tireless day on the park. Turuva’s tally brought the score to 12-all at halftime.
In the second half Singapore lock Warburton continued the pack’s pristine performance on the afternoon with his try in the fifth minute giving Singapore a lead they would not relinquish at 17-12. Warburton’s try was followed ten minutes later by flanker Matthew Head who crossed the line in the 54th minute.
Five minutes later Singapore was awarded a penalty try after one of their players was interfered with while chasing down a well-weighted chip kick near the Malaysian line. Malaysian No 8 Nasri Ahmad was sin-binned for the offence and Singapore scored two more tries while Malaysia was a man down to open the floodgates for good.
Singapore flyhalf Suhaimi Mohammad Amran had a strong day with the boot making six conversions, most of them from deep in the wings to round out a high-octane performance for Singapore.
The result will have given Singapore a much-needed boost in their first test match under new coach Des Thornton. It was also a measure of revenge after Singapore nearly lost the same encounter in last year’s Division I competition, winning just 25-23 at home. Singapore will now face the huge challenge of facing off against Korea in front of their fervent home supporters. The last time the two teams met was in the 2009 Top 5 when Korea dispatched Singapore 66 – nil in Seoul.
The 3rd/4th place playoff between Malaysia and the Philippines will be played at 13.00 at the Ansan-Wa Stadium in Ansan, Korea on Saturday June 4. Korea and Singapore will kick off at 15.00 at the same venue.
Korea eked out a tense 34-20 win over the upstart Philippines Volcanoes in the semi finals of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division I Tournament held today in Ansan, Korea. In this afternoon’s other semi final, Singapore ran in eight tries to power past regional rivals Malaysia and book their place in the final against the hosts.
The winners of the Division I final will be promoted to the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Top 5 competition, the pinnacle of Asian ruby, in 2012. Malaysia and the Philippines will face off to avoid relegation to Division II of next year’s competition.
Featuring five of its Japan-based professional players in a XV stocked with experience, Korea looked the much stronger side on paper and indeed they dominated the first half, opening the scoring through winger Kim Gwong Min in the fifth minute.
Tries to No 8 Park Soon Chai and a conversion and penalty to fullback Hong Jun Ki saw the Koreans out to a 15-nil lead before the Philippines got on the board through a penalty to flyhalf Oliver Saunders. Korea added another try to flyhalf Yoon Il Tae with the conversion from Hong extending the hosts lead to 22-3.
Despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession in the first half Korea couldn’t extinguish the Philippines Volcanoes, as the visitors scored their first try in the 39th minute to bring the score to 22-8 at the break.
The second half saw Philippines captain Michael Letts open the scoring with a try in the 48th minute to narrow the gap to 22-13. Korea quickly replied with a second try to Kim Gwong Min before Volcanoes winger Matthew Saunders scored in the 74th minute to bring the Philippines to 27-20 behind after the successful conversion by Saunders’ brother Oliver.
An historic upset was in the offing as the Philippines, unranked in world rugby, were threatening to take the scalp of the world’s 33rd ranked team with just ten minutes remaining.
The last period turned into a seesaw affair with the Philippines giving up some unforced errors that eventually led to Korea scoring its fifth and final try in the 81st minute through reserve prop Kim Hyun Soo. Hong Jun Ki’s third conversion of the match brought the final result to 34-20 in a scoreline that flattered the hosts.
Today’s result left neither team fully satisfied but both in the position to achieve some notable milestones. For Korea, a chance to return to the Top 5 in 2012 is in the cards, while the Philippines have made a strong claim to sticking in Division I after being promoted from Division II last season. Today was the first loss for the Philippines in four years of HSBC Asian 5 Nations competition.
Philippines coach Expo Mejia said, “The loss is disappointing because we gave the game away through unforced errors but I am very proud of the guys.
“We stood toe to toe against one of the heavyweights of Asian rugby this afternoon. We didn’t get the result we wanted but we’ve shown that we have what it takes to stay in Division I and to even be one of the Top 5 teams in Asia.”
Korea coach Kim Myung Joo said, “Of course we are happy to have the win today but we don’t feel like we showed what we are capable of on the pitch. We achieved what we wanted to, which is to give ourselves a chance to return to the Top 5, but today we played too much as individuals and not enough as a team. We need to fix that on Saturday.”
Kim Jeong Min, captain of Korea, spoke about the importance of promotion to his side, “It was hard for us to watch the Top 5 from the sidelines this year but we now have a chance to correct that. We played Singapore in 2008 and we beat them well. We are at home so we know we can get the result we need. It is vital for us to be promoted so we can revive the reputation of Korean rugby.”
To do that, Korea will have to meet the challenge of high flying Singapore after the Rugby Lions turned in an eight-try performance against Malaysia in a 52-17 win.
Despite the scoreline, Singapore struggled for possession in the opening exchanges today as Malaysia threw everything into attack and stifled Singapore attacks through some committed tackling. Malaysia opened the scoring through a try to towering lock Dineshvaran Krishnan in the eighth minute.
Malaysia could not convert the steady pressure into points however, giving Singapore the chance to get back into the game. It was an opportunity that Singapore took well, particularly the forward pack which shone today scoring four of Singapore’s eight tries. Singapore’s first try came through scrumhalf Azmi Mohammad Suliman. No. 8 Peter McFeely added Singapore’s second try from a pushover try after the pack wheeled Malaysia’s scrum to win the put-in on the five metre line.
McFeely was one of three forwards earning new caps for Singapore who scored today, alongside flanker Matthew Head and lock Marc Warburton. Malaysia, who had six first caps of its own in today’s XV, rounded out the first half scoring with a try from centre Isao Turuva, a just reward for a tireless day on the park. Turuva’s tally brought the score to 12-all at halftime.
In the second half Singapore lock Warburton continued the pack’s pristine performance on the afternoon with his try in the fifth minute giving Singapore a lead they would not relinquish at 17-12. Warburton’s try was followed ten minutes later by flanker Matthew Head who crossed the line in the 54th minute.
Five minutes later Singapore was awarded a penalty try after one of their players was interfered with while chasing down a well-weighted chip kick near the Malaysian line. Malaysian No 8 Nasri Ahmad was sin-binned for the offence and Singapore scored two more tries while Malaysia was a man down to open the floodgates for good.
Singapore flyhalf Suhaimi Mohammad Amran had a strong day with the boot making six conversions, most of them from deep in the wings to round out a high-octane performance for Singapore.
The result will have given Singapore a much-needed boost in their first test match under new coach Des Thornton. It was also a measure of revenge after Singapore nearly lost the same encounter in last year’s Division I competition, winning just 25-23 at home. Singapore will now face the huge challenge of facing off against Korea in front of their fervent home supporters. The last time the two teams met was in the 2009 Top 5 when Korea dispatched Singapore 66 – nil in Seoul.
The 3rd/4th place playoff between Malaysia and the Philippines will be played at 13.00 at the Ansan-Wa Stadium in Ansan, Korea on Saturday June 4. Korea and Singapore will kick off at 15.00 at the same venue.
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