SCC Rugby 7s SA Sevens Academy Win Ablitt Cup | PrisChew.com

South African (SA) Sevens Academy won the Ablitt Cup after demolishing the Penguins 36-5 in the Societe Generale Singapore Cricket Club International Rugby Sevens (SCC 7s) final yesterday.

This had been after a narrow scare in the semi-finals, where they had been pushed to the brink of defeat by the Tribe 7s team from Australia, but had come away winning 12-7 in the end.

A victorious SA Sevens Academy side in the SCC 7s Tournament.
Photo by The Straits Times.

Tournament adds value to their pre-season

Said Kyle Brown, captain of the SA Sevens Academy, “It was a great tournament and credit to the organising committee for a great job done. Wonderful pitch, wonderful Sevens and the crowd was awesome as it really raises the spirit of the Sevens.”

Continued Brown, “This tournament really adds value to our pre-season which is pretty much over. We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning like running, a lot of time in the gym. The only thing we haven’t had is game time, that’s why tournament like these are so valuable.”

South Africa’s team Captain Kyle Brown (right) in a bid to avoid a tackle from a player from Penguins. (Photo Credit: Singapore Cricket Club)

The overall top try scorer in the tournament was Rosco Speckman – who had also scored two tries in the final to bring his overall tournament tally to 10. Brown himself, as well as Justin Gerald and Cecil Afrika also scored tries for the South Africans. On the other hand, Captain Will Hafu scored the Penguins’ only try.

Penguins remained gracious in defeat

But Hafu had still continued to remain gracious and civilised despite having been beaten. He said, “The South Africans played their best in this tournament and they deserved the victory. We are proud of the way that our boys played in this tournament and having managed to get to the finals, I think we did great.”

He added, “The youngsters got a taste of what it is like to play at the national level and so this experience will thus help them to improve a lot.”

Host team from Singapore put on a good showing

An SCC player (Black & Yellow) attempting to break through a tackle from a player from the Singapore National Team (Red) during the plate quarter-finals. (Photo Credit: Singapore Cricket Club)

In the Plate competition that had been concluded earlier in the day, the host team Societe Generale Singapore Cricket Club had knocked out an in-form Singapore National Team with a score of 19-0 during the quarter finals. But they fell short in the final, when they lost to Plate winners PNG InterOil Turagas from Papua New Guinea, with a scoreline of 26-5.

And Japan’s Tamariya Rugby Football Club won the Jug competition with a 10-5 win over Australia’s East Arnhem Rugby and Australia’s NS Silverbacks easily beat NS Wanderers from Malaysia, 46-0, in the Bowl competition.
Also, France Development Team won the Shield, by beating England Academy 19-10.

Organisers are happy with the event

The organisers are happy with how the event went. Said Jonathan Leow, Chairman of the SCC International Rugby 7s Organising Committee, “The event was a resounding success and we would not have done it without the support of our elite sponsor, Societe Generale. This year we had a good mix of very tough national and development teams, such as the France Development Team, Penguins and England Academy and the PNG InterOil Turagas from Papua New Guinea.”

He continued, “We are very happy for the SA Sevens Academy who displayed commendable skills and team spirit throughout the tournament. The atmosphere was great and we can’t wait for the next edition already.”