Ramming Towards the Throne of Melaka Rugby

By Megat Farish bin Ahmad Shaifuddin and Shamel Harith bin Mohd Rosli

“The journey of 30 boys in becoming the kings of Malacca through the Curtain Raiser Cup 2022”

On Saturday, the 18th of June 2022, 30 boys embarked on a journey to become men, to discover what it takes to play for the KYS Rammers Rugby Club as they face their first challenge after two years in the form of the Curtain Raiser Cup 2022.

Two teams from the KYS Rammers Rugby Club participated in the tournament and they are KYS RAMMERS A and KYS RAMMERS B. The teams departed as early as 6:45 a.m. to SMK Telok Mas after having a light breakfast at the dining hall. They reached the field at 7:15 a.m. and started with team warm ups.

Pure grit and determination shown by KYS RAMMERS B, coached by Ahmad Dzafer allowed them to pave their way to the finals and emerge victorious in the shield category after beating SM Teknik Melaka by 10-0.

KYS RAMMERS A’s first game of the tournament was against SM Teknik Melaka. The boys showed hunger and desire to play on the field. The game resulted in a win for KYS RAMMERS A by 15-0. The first try was scored by Haqeemy Fakhrizzaki and the two consecutive tries were scored by Irfan bin Kamaludin.

The second and final game saw them facing MRSM Terendak to determine their  group placing for the quarter-finals. KYS had most of the possession but the team also had a solid defence, allowing the RAMMERS to emerge as winners only by 5-0. The try was scored by Haqeemy after a brilliant passage of team play which allowed him to make an outstanding run down the right hand side of the field. This resulted in KYS RAMMERS A leading with 2 wins out of 2 giving them a place in the quarter finals of the cup and plate category against MRSM Alor Gajah.

The results from the previous games bolstered and boosted their motivation to enter the knockout stage with a goal none other than to reach the finals. They approached every game strategically and played as if it were their last game of the tournament.

KYS RAMMERS A won against MRSM Alor Gajah by 15-0, shifting them up into the semi-finals. Haqeemy Fakhrizzaki, Tengku Nurhan Akmal and Shamel Harith played brilliantly and scored the tries.

The semi-finals, the last barrier between KYS RAMMERS A and a spot in the finals, was against none other than the SBPI Selandar Rugby Club. They have been brilliant throughout the tournament as well, having won every game until they met KYS RAMMERS A. RAMMERS won by 10-0, with the tries scored by Azim Imran and Aqhar Faisal.

That left them with one last game, the peak of this event,  the finals of the Curtain Raiser Cup 2022 against MRSM Tun Ghafar Baba. The players felt the pressure as no one wanted to settle for second place, but they stayed calm and stuck to the game plan from the kickoff, allowing them to score the first try of the game as the team maintained continuity for Roshan James to finish off with a brilliant team move.

Many inconveniences and difficulties were thrown at them throughout the game, with MRSM Tun Ghafar Baba scoring a solo try down the wing while KYS RAMMERS A was 2 men down in what would be a final game for the ages. KYS RAMMERS A knew it would go down to the wire with this one as the final whistle blew and they had a 5 minute gap left to play. The players were exhausted physically but no one was ever truly finished. They kept focused and in the dying seconds of the game, a pass out wide would allow the winning try to be scored by Irfan bin Kamaludin.

The spirit of chivalry shown by the rugby players and the desire to never give up until the final whistle just goes to show that the possibilities are endless once you put your mind to it. Not to forget, all of this would not have been possible without the tactical awareness and mental motivation of our head coach, Mr Mussolini Faalupega Magele.