Tertiary 7s this weekend!

After 2 consecutive 15s seasons, Tertiary rugby finally sees 7s rugby action this Saturday at the NTU field.

Besides the usual University suspects, Republic Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic are making an appearance for the first time. Republic Polytechnic are the current kings of the Polytechnic circuit and Singapore Polytechnic are close on their heels.

SMUrugbyNews tried speaking to the respective managers for a preview of their squads, but all remained tight lipped and hesitant to speak.

We do know however that all University squads are missing their marquee 7s stars, who are in full on training for the SEA Games happening in June. These players include Martin Butler and Nick Yao from NUS, Ex City Boy and NIE/NTU gas man Bryan Ng and Blandon Tan from SMU.

Speaking to Blandon Tan earlier today, SMUrugbyNews got his insights and thoughts about tomorrows tournament

                                   Blandon Tan, SMU Rugby
SMUrugbyNews: Good to speak to you Blandon! What are your thoughts on the 7s tournament tomorrow?

Blandon: I think its great to see some of the Polytechnic teams step up and compete at a higher level, a long time ago, rugby did have IVP(Inter Varsity-Poly) games but were ceased due to age differences and something silly like size advantage. The game is evolving and players are getting bigger and badder. It's a good thing that this tertiary tournament is featuring these teams, it could be the push that IVP rugby needs!


So if you want to catch the youth of Singapore Rugby tear up the pitch tomorrow, do head down to NTU field where the games kick off at 9am!

Public Apology - SMU Rugby submits wrong club name on nomination form

                             

SMU Rugby would like to apologise to our super star flanker, Marcus Ang for submitting the wrong club name on the Sports Awards Night nomination form.

We understand that this caused great confusion within The City Boys camp and around the SMU Campus.

SMUrugbyNews spoke to Marcus Ang within minutes of the incident and he had this to say.

"SMU Sports Union uploaded its marketing collaterals for the upcoming event earlier this morning reflecting "Flare" under my name. I know some have said I do bring flare and passion to the field and training, but as you can see, I am nominated for Mr Stud. No one cares if I am inspiring or got the skills. This award is all about my looks and figure.  I expect a public apology from SMU Rugby for this f*ck up"

Do vote for Mongoose at the following link and cement his unofficial tag as Mr Stud around SMU!

https://www.facebook.com/smusportsunion/photos/a.767771476652712.1073741888.136656843097515/767772009985992/?type=1&theater

Alumni Exclusive - Amos Siow

                  Amos Siow - The man that started it all.

SMUrugbyNews will like to pay tribute to one of the founding fathers of the club and the infamous City Boy spirit that makes us and fans proud to be a part of SMU Rugby. 

Amos Siow, one of the original City Boys from the Class of 2010 hung up his boots over the weekend after years of service to his respective schools, clubs, country and of course, SMU Rugby from 2007-2010.

Many of the younger City Boys and fans may also like to take note that Amos Siow created this rugby blog and its legacy. The following this page receives has increased over the years and this can all be credited to Amos. Who would have thought he would have created the most cited and credible source in SMU!

SMUrugbyNews got in touch with Amos and faced its most serious interview to date, here is how it went down.

SMUrugbyNews: What did SMU Rugby mean to you?

Amos Siow: SMU rugby, at that point in time, it was one of the set-ups or teams that i was more involved with. It was one of the teams I really enjoyed playing for during that time. We were a very young club then, and what we wanted to do was leave behind a legacy or tradition for other young players to come through the ranks and enjoy what the club had to offer.

SMUrugbyNews: How was SMU Rugby like in the early days?

Amos Siow: It started in shambles. Rugby players wearing soccer jerseys to play the inter varsity games, and losing every game we played. Some teams said we were there just to make the numbers.


SMUrugbyNews: What are your best memories with the club? 

Amos Siow: Best Memories? Many good ones to be honest.
- Going to Australia, Perth for the first time to represent SMU in the IRAUG games - hilarious tour!
- Organizing our very own 7s tournament in Singapore. The team we had was a really good team, unfortunately we lost controversially. But overall, it was a great tournament organized by a bunch of uni kids. I think it was a well participated tournament, one that all teams enjoyed playing - and i may dare say was a tournament that's probably more well organized than some of the other local tournaments organized by our national body (back then).
- But of them all, Winning the Tri-Unis for the first time probably has to top the list. this was coupled with being named SMU sports team of the year, after which we were promoted to elite status and obtained funding from OSL.

The current squad of City Boys would like to wish Amos a happy retirement and thank him once again for his service and selfless sacrifices he made to bring SMU Rugby to where it is today.

Cheers Amos! We would love to have you drop by during our season this year.

One of the best boots SMU Rugby has ever seen

Old is Gold - Jesse Quek called back to represent BONDUE at IFG Touch Rugby

                Jesse(3rd from right) seen with his BONDUE comrades

Saturday, 24th January at Republic Polytechnic Field. City Boy senior, Jesse Quek received a surprise call from BONDUE, the Business School student body to represent them at the annual Inter-Faculty Games (IFG) Touch Rugby tournament.

Quek, who last put on the BONDUE shirt in 2012 as a Sophomore found it tough to put it back on again over the weekend, requesting a fresh shirt mere minutes before kick off.

When SMUrugbyNews contacted BONDUE, they had this to say,

"Jesse Quek is a man of class. He has been with the BONDUE IFG Team since its dark ages, when we could never win and always finish at the tail end of the competition. Jesse has seen the BONDUE IFG Team achieve success and stand together in failure. We needed a man of his capability and knowledge." 

- Kor Porat Kom, BONDUE PR Executive

SMUrugbyNews understands that the average age of the BONDUE team was 21years old. Veteran Quek, who still remains youthful at 26 years old stood out amongst these younglings. Showcasing his silky hands and ballerina feet throughout the tournament, Quek inspired his team mates and eventually brought them to victory, defeating SOSCIETY by a close margin.

                              Quek executing the classic, "Show & Go"


SMUrugbyNews managed to speak to an elated Quek after the tournament, covered in champagne and confetti.

SMUrugbyNews: Congrats Jesse! How does it feel to be back in BONDUE Blue?

Quek: F*cking amazeballs! I was sitting by the Farrer Park Longkang fishing for Ikan Bilis and I got the call up. I never thought this day would come again! My BONDUE blue days seemed like something of the past, but when BONDUE calls, will you answer?


SMUrugbyNews: How was it playing with players 6-7 years younger than you?

Quek: These kids are something special. They are a different breed, their hunger and drive is something that set them apart from the rest of the competition. I felt like Stephen Donald out there over the weekend, coming on to the squad at such a late stage of the competition and making it count when I needed to.

 Quek compared his performance to Stephen Donald during the 2011 Rugby World Cup


So there you have it folks, a story that raised a faculty off their feet and shook the halls of the library. Congrats to Quek & Team Bondue for winning the IFG Touch Rugby tournament over the weekend!
                 

Player of The Week - Benjamin Choy

Name: Benjamin Choy

Position: Hooker/Prop/Second Row

Height: 1.8m

Weight: 95kg 

Interests: Hiking, Exploring & Wizardry

We are proud to bring you the first post of 2015 with a special report on one of the stand out players amongst The City Boys, Benjamin Choy.

Benjamin "Ain't About That Life No More" Choy has been part of The City Boys set up since 2013, making a successful transfer from ex club. Having picked up the sport during his upper secondary school years, Choy has been improving leaps and bounds and has been a regular contender for a spot in the competitive City Boy forward pack.

      Some men are born great, Some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them

Choy also holds the role of Events Director of SMU Sports Union(SSU). Having just took on the title in January 2015 he already has huge plans in the first quarter of the year with Sports Awards Night and Waikiki happening in February and March respectively.

               Choy is always up for cross cultural exchanges

SMUrugbyNews managed to catch this busy man for an exclusive all access interview.

SMUrugbyNews: Happy New Year Choy! Tell us more about the exciting events you have planned for SMU

Choy: Happy New Year! Well, as mentioned, we have Sports Awards Night and Waikiki, 2 of our marquee events that always gets the most following. Hopefully this year my team and I can make it bigger and better!

SMUrugbyNews: With the season approaching, how are you preparing for it?

Choy: I am training very hard for this upcoming season. Especially since its 7s, my forte. I believe I have mastered the art of energy conservation and will utilize my fitness and skill when the team needs it the most. I also hope to up my try tally to 2 this tournament and run over a few like a Tongan bulldozer.

SMUrugbyNews: We also hear that you are on Local Exchange this Semester at NTU. Tell us about that!

Choy: I am actually pretty excited about this to be honest. I am clearing 2 modules here in SMU and 3 at NTU. I am going to take classes in Astronomy and Defense against the Dark Arts

                                  Adventurer and Explorer

City Boys on Local Exchange- Power Lifts in the gym to Power Jumps on the mat

The rugby season is over and it has been reported that more and more City Boys are reclining back into the enclaves that are GSRs and the Li Ka Shing Library. It was been noticed however, in the weeks that past after the SUNIG games, a certain group of players took part in a "local exchange program" to maintain their match fitness and rugby prowess. 

We all know how the technical aspect of the game has changed in the last decade and little things like grip strength during a line out and even finishing moves upon a try celebration can make the difference between a glorious win or a tragic loss.

SMUrugbyNews conducted a study and went down on the mats to find out more about this inaugural exchange program and how it can reap benefits far beyond the original intentions.

             Tackling techniques being applied, the double tackle

From the empirical research, we observed many trends and similarities between the techniques used, as seen above - the double tackle being executed perfectly(with the safety of the mat of course)

Other findings include obvious positive psychological aspects, where our players on exchange noted how there were "prettier faces at practice" (M. Ang, 2014) and "eh the skirts are cute" (V. Thomas, 2014). 

This positive increase in morale can be accounted to the change in environment and inclusion of females to the previously male dominated training setting of Turf City that The City Boys are used to. 

We are aware that there were limitations to this study, as this exchange program has only been going on for a few weeks.

Our first limitation draws upon this exact time factor, as perception and actual thoughts from the City boys may differ if observations were conducted over a longer time frame.

The second limitation would be the attire our City Boys wore as they took part in the exchange program. Fashion and Fad sociologist, Avinash Raju has proven that choice of clothing does make a significant difference in ones performance and how they actually present themselves in a public setting.

This new attire may have added response bias to our research, as theorised above. We do not deny that the City Boys on exchange are looking good as they kit up though!

                Standard attire during the Exchange Program

That is all the time we have for this busy and hectic Week 13, stay tuned for a more detailed study on this exchange program in time to come as we try to battle and overcome the limitations mentioned above!

*DISCLAIMER: NO RUGGERS WERE HURT DURING THE PARTICIPATION OF THIS STUDY

That perfect #OOTD & Social Media - A guide by Avinash

                                          Behind the scenes



#OOTD, #WIWT, #INSTAFASHION, THE LIST GOES ON! We have all seen and occasionally posted images on our social media outlets that have these exact hashtags, whether we like to admit it or not, we are all guilty of taking part in this necessary evil.

#OOTD or Outfit of The Day for those who have been living in the caves Li Ka Shing Library's dungeons has become popular of late. Especially within The City Boys camp where star winger and fashionista, Avinash has been labelled the epitome of the #OOTD.

                                         Avinash and a car

SMURugbyNews is grateful and fortunate to get a chance to speak to Avinash despite his busy schedule about this phenomena taking over the social media world like wildfire.

SMURugbyNews: So Avi, tell us more about this #OOTD craze

Avinash: Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a craze. I see it as more of a norm. How else can the world see what I wear everyday.

SMURugbyNews: Interesting! How do you recommend newcomers who plan to enter this #OOTD world

Avinash: I would ask them to look at my posts on Instagram for starters. In terms of outfits, I would recommend mixing it up, never do a back to back denim day, or back to back berms day. Mix up shirts and shorts, jeans and shirts, just stay fabulous!

SMURugbyNews: How about during the season? Don't you wear the same jersey every game?

Avinash: Maybe we could get customised kits depending on the day of the week and who we play against. This is something I would leave for further discussion but when it comes to game time, it is about the player and team.. not the kit(ok maybe a little bit)

                                          Avinash in a car


We would like to thank Avinash again for his time, please read on to check out this customised guide made by the Fashion Maestro himself about perfecting that #OOTD and getting the likes on Instagram and Facebook.

Avinash's Guide to #OOTD

• Angles, angles and angles
• Stay clear from busy backgrounds
• Find a reliable photographer(or hire one)
• ONLY post your pictures at 10pm
• Don't wear the same thing twice in 2 years
• Filters are important
• Stay good looking