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| Photo by Lawrence Ang |
by Wang Shao Ing
Bedok Kings Skyllas made history at CCAB on Saturday with a 15-10 win over Blacks A in extra time. It would be the first time since the Women’s XV league started that Blacks RFC have not held the championship.
It’s been a rough few months for the Skyllas as they were booted out from Singapore Recreation Club but the move to Bedok Kings has changed their fortunes. Now coached by Mohamed Zaki and led by new skipper, Sophie Gollifer, the team has demonstrated positivity in their game and are now the new champions of the Guinness Singapore Rugby Women’s XV League 2011.
Blacks will take heart that the loss comes on the back of deciding to field two teams in the league this year and spreading the experience around was going to come at a cost. Where they could normally count on no less than 80 caps in just the starting forward pack, the Blacks A team that took the field on Saturday comprised players of whom eighty percent are under 25.
It was a closely fought final with Blacks A starting poorly, which allowed the Skyllas to put 2 tries in through Chan Jia Hui and Agnes low before Chan Jiayu put one in for her team. Blacks undoubtedly lost some morale from the serious knee injury to their backrower, Ang Weiyi, in the first half. The second half saw a better performance by Blacks A and quick break by the nippy Samantha Teo put Amanda Teo through for the equalizer. Bedok held their defences despite the repeated threats to hold on for extra time.
It looked like Blacks were going to repeat history as worked their way to 15 m short of the Skyllas try line but penalty against Blacks A put both teams into another half of extra time. Bedok stuck to their guns and a quick tap penalty from a scrum wheel saw Koh Mei Giet seal the win for the Skyllas.
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