South Korea scored late in the match to take a narrow 14-13 lead against UAE and hold on for the last few minutes of the game to claim victory in the 2016 Asia Rugby U19s Division 1 Championship held in Manila.
South Korea qualified for the final beating the Philippines 26-10 earlier in the week while UAE edged past Singapore 14-10 in another tight, competitive game.
The final was also a very closely contested and thoroughly entertaining game played in good spirit throughout and could have gone either way right up to the final whistle.
UAE took an early lead in the game with a successful penalty kick in the second minute followed by a stunning breakaway team try in the 16th minute against the run of play from deep in their own half combining great support play and passing resulting in the try of the tournament.
South Korea struck back with a try of their own from some strong forward play and the half-time score was 10-7 to UAE.
The second half was an even tighter affair with both teams looking to add to their points tally and UAE moved on to a 13-7 lead with another penalty midway through the half.
At that point it looked as if South Korea’s option to run several kickable penalties earlier in the game might come back to haunt them as the clock ran down but they kept their nerve and were rewarded with another forwards’ try several minutes from the end and a successful conversion taking them to a 14-13 lead and eventual victory.
Photo Credit: Raymond Braganza
s: www.raymondbraganza.com
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m: +639227425210 a: Paranaque City, Philippines
