SMU Rugby @ SSU Day!

Transfer Updates: Summer 2013 Signings

SMU Rugby is pleased to announce their latest 2 signings.                                 Benjamin Choy & Harresh Krishnan.


Both players recently featured for The City Boys at the SUNIG 7s, with Choy playing for SMU B and Krishnan for SMU A.

The new signings were also seen on stage during Freshman Bash where they demolished the opposition and took home the crown of Beer Chugging Champions 2013.

Harresh Krishnan

The Black Mamba, Route One, Blackout; whatever the name, you know that you are in for a bout playing against him. Harresh "The Friendly Giant" Krishnan, has finally put pen to paper after a drawn out year in rival club SIM.

SMU's marquee signing of 2013, Harresh adds a new dimension to the City Boys with his devastating runs and powerful handoffs. His admirable ball handling skills as a forward also shows he is versatile in the game, evident from his inclusion into the first team for the SUNiG 7's.

Standing at a staggering 1.86m, Harresh also brings a lot of experience with him, having been the youngest player to earn a full cap at National level and playing in the Premiership for current club, SCC.

Aside from rugby abilities, Harresh's philanthropic efforts also potray a soft side to this goliath, as he actively involves himself in SMU PAW(People for Animal Welfare). Journalists have reported that while backpacking in the United States during the summer, he thoughtfully declined to ride on a mule through the Grand Canyon as it was suggested that the mule would not be able to bear the full 115kg of his body. 

His care and love for animals and his passion for rugby go in tandem, and the City Boys have much to learn from this stature of a man.

Benjamin Choy

Benjamin "King Casual" Choy adds some weight and beef to the SMU Pack. Able to play all positions from 1 to 8, Ben adds some much needed depth and fits in perfectly with SMU Rugby's free flowing style of play.

Ben, who was signed in the summer of 2013 has been a regular at pre-season training and his efforts paid off during the SUNiG 7s with regular starts and a few tries to his name. Not too shabby for a debutant! 

Summer was extremely intensive for our new forward, reports say that Ben was seen at nearly every camp the University had to offer - From Arts Camp to even Sailing Camp. His

 playing style does directly co-relate to his lifestyle of diverse experiences.

                          Is Choy the 3rd Frank brother??

Player of the Week - Arveen

                                            The Flying Fijian

In this week's feature for Player of the Week, we proudly present to you, Arveen Rajulah Rajah.

Name: Arveen Rajulah Rajah

Position: Winger

Height: 172cm

Weight: 70kg

Interests: Ballin' Hard

Arveen's name itself is the stuff of legends. Coming from the ancient sanskirt scrolls only unearthed recently under a defunct Thai Disco, Arveen's name translates to: Eloquent King.

A truly deserving name for the man that spun many heads right round right round at last years SUNIG and Quad-Uni 15s 2013. Arveen, who only picked up the sport some 3.5 years ago has risen through the ranks and could quite possibly be deemed as SMU Rugby's most improved player.

Labelled ''The Flying Fijian'' by his team mates, Arveen definitely lives up to that nick name. His mesmerizing runs and safe catches make him the first choice of many(If there ever was a Fantasy League). 

                   They see me rollin'....they hatin'.....

Unfortunately, Arveen recently suffered an  injury to his knee and had to undergo a reconstruction surgery last month. SMU Rugby is glad to say Arveen has been recovering well. Arveen flew to Bangkok a few days after his operation to undergo a strict rehab program and has plans to feature in the Quad-Uni 15s 2014 sometime in March next year. 

We wish Arveen all the best and a speedy recovery. We can't wait to see him wreak havoc again soon!

SUNIG 7s 2013 - Report

The City Boys came short of SUNIG 7s glory after losing 12-5 to a more agile and quicker NUS side in the Cup Semi-Finals. It was made known to all teams prior to the tournament that ground conditions were horrible and sources from the sideline say that the NUS team tried to replicate this at practice on Thursday. Their attempt was futile however as one of their players forgot to turn the water hose off resulting in the flooding of the AYE and the Science Faculty looking slightly like Atlantis.

SMU B kicked off the first game of the day against a spirited SIM side led by the versatile Bryan Lim still feeling fresh from his Quad-Uni Games triumph in the 3rd/4th way back in March. Constant pressure from both sides kept the scores deadlocked for the better part of the game till SIM capitalized on SMU B's mistakes and managed to sneak a victory towards the end. Stand out performances from Zul, Wei Arng and Isa dominating the break down and securing good ball to unleash the SMU B backline.

SMU A then faced NTU A in the first game of the other group. SMU A kept the ball in hand and played to the patterns but unfortunate handling errors and quick reactions from the NTU A boys resulted in them emerging victorious.The loss didnt bring the spirits of the City Boys down though, they faced NUS B in the next game of their group. The City Boys leadership core of Jesse Quek, Ronald Cher and Timothy Gay gathered the boys together and came out convincing victors against an NUS B through the hard running of Shaun 'Shaubieee" Ng. 

SMU B opted to play a more relaxed and free flow style of rugby throughout the rest of the day which managed to get them a place in the Plate Finals against SIM. 6 out of the 7 in the SMU B team were forwards. Chaw Wei Arng found himself right at home(or on Pluto) at in-center and pacified the threat of the dangerous hard running Jonah Wee of SIM. The ex ACJC teammates had skirmishes all match long and the hits just kept coming from Wei Arng. 

Stuart Ho had this to say about Wei Arng's performance, ''He is not a man. He is a Uruk-Hai''.

  Incase you guys weren't sure what an Uruk-Hai is..

SMU A then faced NUS A in the Cup Semi-Finals. The starting line up of Shaun Ng, Timothy Gay, Ronald Cher, Wong Kai Wei, Duarte Marquez, Jesse Quek & Brandon Yow were doing well till a fumble toward the end of the first half saw Martin Butler of NUS make the best out of a 2 v 1 situation and score.

7-0 at the half time break.

SMU A made some tactical substitutions in the form of Harresh Krishnan and Ian Gan. NUS A got their second try of the game and led 12-0 with about 3 minutes to go. Harresh then made the most of a line out option gone wrong and crossed over the try line after picking the ball from mid air. The try was too little too late as the ref blew the final whistle shortly after that. Heartbreak once again for the City Boys but fresh faces and improved camaradarie within the squad makes things look very positive in the next few months to come.

The Cup Final, which was contested between NUS A and NTU A was not short of excitement. Finals are either low or high scoring affairs and yesterdays SUNIG 2013 was the latter. NTU opened the gates first with a breakaway from Daniel Lum. NUS then replied with some brilliant interplay between their backs. This trend then followed till the last 2 minutes of the game which had NTU A leading NUS A 19-17.

Out of no where, the speedy Titi Teo, who is also a superstar frisbee player collected an offload from NUS center Daniel Looi. Titi Teo took off 5m away from the try line and scored under the posts in the most dramatic fashion. NUS sealed their victory against NTU 24-19 making them 5 time SUNIG 7s champions.

Titi Teo in mid flight

Titi Teo did not display much emotion after winning the SUNIG 7s 2013. He just wanted to have a nap.

Keith Arriola of NUS had this to say about his teams efforts on the day, 

" I just want to mention that the team really dug deep in the final, every single time NTU scored we bounced back with something of our owni instead of putting our heads down when it came to crunch time when we really needed that try, we did well to put if off when our resident frisbee player achieved flight and flew over the tryline. I think he even managed to sneak a cheeky smile in! The job was not done as we still had to hold on for the last 2 minutes. The team did really well to hold on and see the game out. It was a tough ask for them to play that kind of final given we played one more game in the morning as compared to NTU.''

Congrats to NUS and all the other teams for a great display of rugby yesterday. National Selectors were on site and were impressed. Many positive comments were made and we hope to see as many Uni boys featuring in the National Under 23 squad that faces Malaysia U23s in December.

With SUNIG 7s now concluded, the next big tournament among the 4 Universities would be the Quad-Uni 15s, probably sometime in the next semester. The City Boys boast a bigger and more dynamic pack from last year and have some new backs amongst their ranks. Could the Quad-Uni 15s finally see the City Boys achieve glory? Stay tuned for more! In the mean time, enjoy this fresh beat brought to you by SMU Rugby's  very own, DJ Duarte Marquez. 

PIRADINHA - GABRIEL VALIM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JsVZQzyKYM

SUNIG 7s 2013

 SMU Rugby is pleased to reveal the new kit for SUNIG 7s 2013

The City Boys have been hard at work for the past few weeks and over the summer for the SUNIG 7s 2013. Familiar and seasoned faces like Wong Kah Wei have returned to the squad after a sabbatical in Barcelona. It has been rumoured that Kah Wei, a star signing from the summer of 2010 has been improving his footwork in the catalan by attending regular latin dance classes.

On a more serious note, SUNIG 7s 2013 seems to be the most exciting one yet, with all teams looking pretty dangerous boasting new signings and similar squads from the last campaign.

SIM

The dark horses of the tournament have secured the services of National 7s player Joe Seng in the January 2013 transfer window and will be led from the front by the ex Anglo-Chinese School(Barker Road) & ACJC duo of Bryan Lim and Jonah Wee. 

This will be SIM rugby's first outing since they ended the Quad Uni Games on a high securing their club's first ever win in history and achieving a respectable 3rd place. 

There will be a battle of family pride at stake as well when The City Boys face the boys from Ulu Pandan. Brandon Yow, our newly elected Vice-President will get the chance to face his cousin, SIM Rugby's Captain of Vice Porky Lim. When interviewed over whatsapp SIM Rugby's Porky had this to say: "No one gets to smash my cousin except for me!". 

NTU

This well drilled and disciplined side is never short of suprises. Kenn Wong, Daniel Lum and Teo Boon Rong will be eager to avenge their loss in the SUNIG 7s 2012 to NUS.

NTU have also got some new gas on their flanks, with Darryl Tan signing a deal over the summer of 2013.

Departing Captain from 2012/13 Squad, Marah Fahmy had this to say about his old team. "I believe NTU rugby has been training really hard for this sevens. We were finalists last year and lost eventually to NUS. Majority of the players that played last year are still in the squad with some new faces like Nabhan, the former Raffles Junior College player making his NTU debut. Will be exciting!''

NUS

Defending champions NUS rugby maintains a strong squad similar to that of last year. With the likes of Workhorse Martin Butler and National 7s representative Keith Arriola at the helm, NUS rugby certainly boasts a strong squad for the 2013 SUNIG. 

Saha Devan, NUS Rugby Player/Strength&Conditioning Coach had this to say when interviewed,

 ''We are looking to make it 5 times, 5 times, 5 times, 5 times 5 times in a row as champions. #smallgains #gohardorgohome".

When asked about NUS rugbys new signings Saha commented, "There was never a need for a major overhaul and especially with the exorbitant amount being thrown around, we've opted to keep the core of last year's team with the addition of Hargi and Titi Teo''

So yes, do come down this Saturday, 7th September 2013 to catch the SUNIG 7s 2013!

SMU Rugby secure major sponsorship with Maxinutrition ahead of the 2013/14 Season

The City Boys are proud to announce the successful sponsorship deal with leading sports supplement and nutrition company, Maxinutrition.

Maxinutrition is Europe's leading sport nutrition company supplying sports nutrition products to many of the biggest names in sport, including The British & Irish Lions and London Wasps RFC

The deal, which was officially confirmed in July 2013 will see the City Boys through their 2 major campaigns in the 2013/14 season - SUNIG 7s 2013 & the Quad-Uni Games 2014.

SMU Rugby would like to thank the good people at Maxinutrition Asia for their support.

WE'RE BACK!

After a hiatus of more than a year, SMURugby is glad to dust the digital cobwebs off the blog and move ahead into the new academic year and rugby season, kicking off with the SUNIG 7s happening this Saturday, 7th September 2013 at NTU - do stay tuned for a more detailed post on the SUNIG 7s coming up.

The past year has seen many ups and downs for the City Boys, most notably the graduation of our beloved Seniors who have put in their fair share of blood, sweat, and tears for the club. Thank you guys and all the best in your future endeavors!

A THANK YOU TO THE GRADUATING CLASS OF 2013

Daniel Kong

                                                   

              all the best in the digital music industry, Kong.

                                                   

Eugene Tan

Ryan Tan