A hearing had been heard and it was determined that the actions of Emery "Sub 10" Ong in the supposed high 'flying clothesline' tackle on his Bucks Opposite Number in the VB NRC Plate Semi-finals could not have been seen as an act of foul play.

The Committee explained that it was difficult to imagine, in the momentum Emery "Sub 10" Ong going for the tackle coupled with the fact that the Bucks player ducked at the last minute, what else Emery "Sub 10" Ong could have done to avoid the high tackle.

Moreover, upon close examination of the video replays, it was found that the first point of contact on the Bucks winger was within legal limits, should the winger not ducked at the last moment and the force of the tackle was directed downwards.

Thus the citing was dismissed.

Singapore, 14 October - Following the Bedok Kings v Bucks Plate semi-final at Yio Chu Kang stadium on Saturday, 13 October, a Bedok Kings player has been cited by Citing Commissioner.The Kings number 14 Emery "Sub 10" Ong has been cited for an alleged dangerous tackle described as a "Flying Clothesline" on his opposite number. The player was then seen fleeing the scene of a potential bust up with a gleeful smile on his face. The player and his team management have been informed and a hearing will take place as soon as reasonably practicable

In the early hours of a cold sunday morning, where the other teams, spectators, and some members of the organising committee were still trickling into Yio Chu Kang stadium, our commendable NTU boys were there ready to kick off our 7s campaign. Our surviving reporter is somehow present to bring you the results and updates from the ringEmail SMU 7s Rugby tournament.

Pool Stage
NTU was grouped with teams from Republic Poly, Temasek Poly, SRC Old Farts and tournament favourites/host -SMU A.
NTU started their day with wins over Republic Poly and Temasek Poly with scorelines of 19-0 and 12-5 respectively. They faced their first setback of the day when they met the SRC old farts and lost 7-12 to a last minute try. A NTU alumni was also spotted in the SRC ranks. He is none other than ex NTU prop - Kok Hwee. However, what stood out most was the respect and friendship both teams showed each other throughout the entire tournament. For that, NTU Rugby would like to thank SRC for the support it has given us during the tournament.
Last pool fixture saw a repeat of last year's NUS 7s cup finals. NTU took on tournament favourites SMU A. Fielding a much weakened side, NTU held on well and denied SMU A the landslide victory they were looking for. NTU lost the match 4 tries to nil with 2 tries scored by NTU Snubber turned SMU President- Amos Siow.
With pool stage completed, NTU finished 3rd in the table and were in the Bowl semi finals.

Bowl Semi-finals
NTU had to face the team that finished 4th from the other pool - SMU B. Still haunted by the defeat one match earlier, NTU was hungry for a revenge. The determined NTU side came out victorious in close battle with a scoreline of 12-10, sealing their place in the Bowl finals.

Bowl Finals
In the Bowl finals, NTU took on side well mixed with youth and experienced players - Tamoko Lions which included a player who had just recently joined club of NTU Alumnus - Rubberman Spencer Soh. Desperate for some recognition and silverware, the NTU boys put on a display of true class and team spirit and played out what was undoubtedly their most outstanding performance of the day, clinching the Bowl championship 24-0.

(Yes! The prize presenter was the Snubber himself)

However, the success did not come without any sacrifices. Adding to the long list of injured players, In-Center SK Kevin Ang - Twisted Knee, Lock forward - Sathish - Dislocated Fingers and Center/Winger - Qing - Pulled Hamstring. (Trying to get onto the injury list - Hooker - Bryanboy Yik - Backache).

In the post tournament press conference, player/team manager - Qing commended the bravery and efforts made by the team. "Our boys showed true character and passion. I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the team for putting in 110% for this tournament. It is a great start for NTU rugby this season and we can only build on this and keep improving as a team."
The team had also come to a unanimous decision that Alvin "Tigerslayer" Lim was the man of the tournament for them. His work rate and defence was a significant contribution to NTU's success. "We are looking forward to seal a permanent deal with Alvin once we get back to NTU on monday" said NTU Rugby.

A press conference was held immediately after friday evening's captain's run which the NTU team met up at the training grounds for one last time before boarding the bus and set off for this weekend's ringEmail SMU Rugby 7s. The final squad which will be travelling to this sunday's ringEmail SMU Rugby 7s was announced at the press conference. Not surprisingly, due to several key players suffering for injuries, NTU player/coach Qing had reshuffled the pack and decided to include a couple more rookies. However, the media also noticed that several senior players had been dropped from the travelling squad, most notably, the biggest signing in NTU history (literally), Rebel Rong.

As quoted during the press conference, "We have been looking forward to this tournament for a long time, despite the fact that our plans were disrupted due to key players getting injured, I believe we still have a strong side. I think selection of the side is probably the most difficult its been since we have started preparing for this. Particularly in the backs, we lost several key players to injuries like Adam "Mat Solo" Chan & Aminurashid "who cant run that fast anymore". We had one week to restructure ourselves and prepare for this tournament. Many has ruled us out as tournament favourites but we will still give every team a run for their money. The team which we will field for each match will be the team which we think that is most suitable for that particular match."

NTU Squad for ringEmail SMU Rugby 7s

1. Catwalker Ang Tze Shien



2. Peter "Fake Ang Moh" Walker



3. Tan Ah Kow



4. Satish "I think hes indian"



5. Alvin "Tigerslayer"Lim



6. Bryanboy Yik Thai Hoe



7. Mohd Hafiz "The Arab"



8. Soh Jin Qing



9. Sidney Kumar "I think hes indian too"



10. "Dancing Indian" Mitran B.



11. "Lao ying" Yeo Eng Kuang



12. "Salsa King" Kevin Ang (Captain)



13. Emery "Sub 10" Ong

NTU have suffered a major injury blow after scrum-half Adam Mat Solo was ruled out for up to three weeks with a twisted left knee.

The 23-year-old suffered the injury during Bedok Kings training on Monday. He collapsed immediately after colliding with ex-NTU prop Stormy Normy.

" I did not touch him at all, i don't know what happened." said Stormy.

Although Adam appeared fine after some 100 plus, x-rays have revealed the full extent of the problem, leaving NTU Captain SK facing a selection headache for Sunday's SMU 7s as Catwalker Tze has also ruled himself out.(reason: i can only study on Sunday.)

NTU medical staff confirmed that Mat Solo had received an injection to counter the problem in his knee, meaning the former MVP (of the National Touch League) man will be missing for the next three weeks.

While Adam will probably not be in action until the Cup competition, Tze could still return in time for the key trip to YCK stadium this Sunday.

It means player/coach Qing will shuffle his pack for the four games on Sunday.

"NTU will be fielding a weaken side for this competition. My reason is to blood our youngsters. 7s is not as important compared to 15s. However, we are going to try our best to win it this Sunday. I encourage all rugby fans to come down to YCK stadium to watch the top 2 universities in Singapore and SMU, fight it out for the SMU ringEmail 7s Cup this Sunday starting from 8am." said the nonchalant Qing.

Daunting? Nahhh~, say the NTU at the prospect of confronting SMU in the finals of the SMU 7s this weekend.

Global interest will boom for a fixture between a SMU side that is trying to fill up their cabinet with a 3rd trophy and a NTU outfit who have steamrolled NUS in the NUS 7s. Both NTU and SMU are expected to be tournament favourites.

With the stakes so high, NTU assistant player/coach Qing was in a surprisingly chipper mood when he faced journalists at the team's hall in a late-night press conference there.

"It didn't matter who is organising the 7s, we are going to get a good side. We are probably one of the favourites for the tournament," he said.

"It's an exciting challenge for us, we lost to SMU in the NUS 7s last year and it's exactly what we need at this point, to regain some pride and to show that we can also dominate in 7s competitions."

When asked about facing NUS in the SMU 7s,

"It's probably better to get NUS in YCK than NUS in NUS, it's going to be a great week."

Qing said the NTU coaches had been keeping an eye on SMU since they won the NUS 7s tournament nearly a year ago, aware that SMU were on course to become a force to be reckon with in 7s.

NTU have beaten SMU in each of their last 2 meetings in 15s, mostly by handsome margins.

However, Qing said the SMU rugby teams had the sort of athletes and skill level capable of mounting a serious threat.

"On their day they can beat anybody, they've proven that time and time again," he said.

"We've been fortunate against them a few times but thats in 15s."

"If you get too far ahead of yourself, you end up packing your bags and going home. We don't want to be doing that."

One of the great mysteries heading into the match will be the level of crowd support for both teams.

A healthy chunk of NTU supporters are sure to have booked tickets on the assumption the NTU would face either SMU or NUS in the finals.