SINGAPORE — Bruised, battered and completely covered in mud, Singapore’s Under-19 rugby players were almost unrecognisable as they trudged off the pitch at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium following their 12-27 loss to Sri Lanka in their opening match of the Asian Rugby U-19 Championships today (Dec 13).

But the Singaporeans wore their grimy appearances with pride. After all, it was a mark of the commitment and effort they had put in over the course of 80-odd minutes against a team they were expected to lose badly to.

“The score was quite close and honestly, we didn’t expect the boys to do this well,” said Singapore head coach Hadizan Jaaman after the game. “Sri Lanka was second in the division last year and have always been a strong team, physical and good on the outside.

“But we prepared the boys well for the game and they applied everything on the pitch. Fitness wise we also did okay, and it was only the lapses in the second half, especially in our tackling, that was the difference.”

With the pitch muddied and torn up following the earlier match between Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei — which took place in a downpour and saw Hong Kong eventually running out 78-12 winners — Singapore took a while to settle into the game, which allowed the Sri Lankans to score a converted try after just 17 minutes.

But the hosts cut the deficit six minutes later when captain Jeromy Chua powered through the Sri Lanka backline to score his team’s first try of the afternoon. Singapore eventually went into the break trailing 5-10.

Despite drawing close to Sri Lanka in the second half — at one point cutting the deficit to just three points — Singapore were unable to overcome the sheer physicality of their opponents, who scored two tries in quick succession to put the result beyond any doubt.

Chua admitted that he and his team-mates had harboured hopes of upsetting Sri Lanka during the game, but bemoaned his side’s failure to cope with the tricky pitch conditions.

“The field was really muddy and the soil was soft and thick so each time we had to take that extra second just to get our legs out,” said the 18-year-old St Andrew’s JC student.

“It was the same conditions for both teams, but our players were much more affected, especially with our running and speed.

“This meant there were a lot of last-minute changes, which affected how we wanted to play. We initially wanted to play a fast-paced wide game, but had to change to a slower, tighter game to minimise the passing.

“Right from the start, we had the belief that we could win the match. So we’re quite upset about the loss.

“But there’s still this fire within us, and we are determined to beat Chinese Taipei on Wednesday.”