After months of drills, scrimmages, and sweat, the Rugby and Touch Rugby teams traveled to Jakarta to compete against the other IASAS schools.

Over the three month season the teams have had the chance to bond as friends and teammates, which showed in their game strategy. Julian Shih (12), one of the captains of the Girls Touch Rugby team said, “ We really developed as a team rather than simply individual players.”

Unfortunately, due to multiple injuries from both, the teams weren’t able to play as well as they hoped. Warren Brantingham (12) said, “I wish there were no injuries”, had it not been for the unforeseen injuries that left many players on the sidelines watching their teammates, the teams might have brought home a medal like they hoped.

However, the girls still proved their talents many times. “The 5th and 6th place game against ISKL – we played cohesively as a whole and showed the crowd that we’d deserved to play in the consolation game/finals” said Julian.

Though they might not have brought home medals, the teams brought back memories that will last a lifetime. For many, the best part was simply playing rugby “The highlight was playing the game. Even though we lost it was fun since we got to play against kids our own age” said Warren.

For others, it was the friendships that were most memorable. “I’m glad I got to meet so many people from other schools, and I plan on keeping in touch with them” said Mandy Chow(10).

Even with all of their accomplishments, the teams still wish things could have been different. Julian said it would have been better to have “more fitness trainings since the IASAS teams were generally accustomed to extreme weather and therefore fitter than we were”.

After four days of non-stop matches and excitement, the teams are settling back into the routines of high school, with homework, tests, and quizzes to make up. Even so, the memories, tan lines, and sun burns are reminders of Rugby and Touch Rugby IASAS 2010.