Touch World Cup 2011 Scotland, Edinburgh

Channel News Asia - World Cup Coverage

Patwant Singh: Channel News Asia August 2nd 2011

SINGAPORE: The sport might not be so big in Singapore but that did not stop the women's Touch team from scoring on the world stage.
The team finished third at the recent Touch World Cup in Scotland.
The lack of size was not an obstacle as the women used their speed and agility to win honours for Singapore.
Touch is a modified version of League Rugby with minimal contact.
The World Cup in Scotland held in June, saw 26 countries competing. And 12 months of hard work paid off for the Singapore Team, as they beat bigger teams like England 5-4 for the bronze medal.
Singapore's Women Touch Team captain, Alvinia Yong, said: "It is quite a great achievement because most of us are self-funded, so we spent lots of time and money on this trip, so to be able to come away with a bronze medal is quite a great satisfaction."
Yu Chien Chih, one of the expatriate players on the team, said: "Our single mindedness is what helped us win and off course the coaches and the player’s effort as well."
The girls are hoping that the win could garner more support for the sport, which can be enjoyed by people of all sexes and ages.
Anne Goh, a member of the team, said: "Recognition is always good and the schools would start to understand that this is a very serious sport and now that we are on the world map, a lot more respect in the world scene will definitely be a good opening for us to increase number of teams, number of players and interest in our country.
The sport has a large following in the tertiary institutions, and 50 teams play in the Singapore League.
Touch Football Singapore, which is not a National Sports Association, currently runs the sport in Singapore.
Touch Football Singapore estimates there are about 4,000 players in the local community and the sport is gaining popularity among men.
And for the very first time, a men's team from Singapore was fielded in the Open Category at the recent Touch World Cup in Scotland.

See the TV footage at the CNA link: http://www.channelnewsasia.com – click the SPORTS tab.

Representatives from Blacks RFC Touch:
Xu Xueting, Jazreel Tan, Caleb Ong, Khairullah, Tee Liang Sheng, Derrick Ng, Yen Chia Hsien

Taken from Touch Football Singapore Website:

Singapore Barbarians took on Scotland in the International friendly fixture earlier in the day with a clear sky overhead.

The action was fast and the skill level very high - it was a very entertaining match-up and the spectator crowd were genuinely enjoying this high standard of play.

Scotland had the upper hand early by scoring in quick succession however, the Barbarians certainly proved to have their measure and bounced back with couple of their own.

The sky opened up and the flood waters came and sadly, spoilt a really good game.

The players continued on regardless – but with the rain was so heavy it was tough to see the sub-box on the opposite side of the field.

The Scotland team were up to their ankles......the side line disappeared under 6 inches of water and the corner cones started to float away. Welcome to Turf City dam.....this was some serious precipitation.

The contest continued regardless and although in obviously tough conditions – the referee’s (Marli, Anne and Mark) maintained a constant game flow and the touch downs kept coming.

The final score Scotland 7 – Barbarian’s 4

Well done Barbarians – consisting of our more experienced players from a range of clubs. They would have appreciated a dry track and wanted another crack at the touring team – however will have to wait for another day.

Thank you also to the teams that enjoyed the social games between the Barbarian’s and Test Match – the conditions underfoot after the rain were not ideal – however, most seemed to relish the ‘mud’?

The test match proceeded after some photography and a simple ceremony where both captains exchanged commemorative plaques; anthems were played – a Scottish Piper delivering the Flower of Scotland.

The field had drained well by this time and so although the surface was far from ideal – the sun was shining and both teams went at it – a tight contest for the first 5 – 7 minutes or so as they both tested their opponents.

Played at a fast pace (even in the wet conditions) – Scotland took the lead, however Singapore lads came back and the half time break saw Scotland ahead 3 – 1.

The second half saw some handling mistakes come into the Singapore game and the visitors were making significant territory – and too easily, as they drove down the field and had Singapore on their heels.

Singapore held on and only one TD was scored in the first 10 minutes. Great effort! Singapore had many a charge at the Scottish line – but just could not score. Close – but no cigar.

The last 10 minutes was tough going for the locals as gaps opened on their line and fitness started to tell.

Singapore was playing a well drilled, experienced team that had recently won the European Championships – they sniffed an opportunity and took it.

Singapore conceded four TD’s in the last ten minutes to go down 8-1.

With Scotland targeting a medal at their home town World Cup in June 2011 – the Singapore lads played well, and will gain significant knowledge and experience from this match.

The last ten minutes was difficult – however with this the biggest game these individuals had ever played and their first run as a team – will allow for genuine progress to be made over the coming months in their bid to travel to Scotland to take on the world!

Well done lads!

The officials for the test match were Chris Meade and Darren Blakeley – with Chris Knott FIT Asia Director of Referee’s the 3rd referee.

They controlled the match well and these guys must be thanked and recognised for their commitment to Singapore and Asian referee development.

Chris M and K are off to Australia this weekend to referee at the largest and most competitive tournament in the world – The NSW State Cup. Go get ‘em men!

Touch ...’What a Game!’


Singapore Open Men

Gideon Luo Shunheng

Joshua Yap En Jian

Sandran s/o Jogalu

Tee Liang Sheng

Khairullah Abdul Razak (Captain)

David Teo

Akira Lim Chun Ju

Shao Guo Yong

Lee Fook Loy

Dexter Ian Ng

Asyraff Khan Baharudin

Muhammad Hakim Jailani