A player jumps ship, sending our head coach scrambling for a replacement. But things never go easily for him. And just when he overcomes one hurdle, another one develops in its place.
Still, with persistence and sincerity, our head coach and his team win the day and gain an unexpected ally.
Bunny S. watches The Winning Try on Netflix
The Winning Try Episodes 3 and 4 Highlights
“We have a player.”
Unfortunately, Tae-pung accepts Coach Kim’s offer and transfers to Daesang, leaving the team with an empty spot and at risk of disbanding. They were already running on a skeleton crew, and now the team won’t be able to train or compete anymore. The vice principal demands the team disband instantly. Yet Ga-ram claims he can recruit another player by the second semester opening ceremony. But it is all bluff. There is no extra player or a plan.
Assessing the remaining players’ skills, Ga-ram concludes they need someone muscular and fast, ak.a the next Ga-ram. He tries to check the admission records. Yet the keys to the data room are with Yi-ji, and she won’t hand them over to Ga-ram. So he steals them. Mistaking him for an intruder, Yi-ji calls the police, and Ga-ram is arrested. Luckily, it is sorted out quickly. But the entire school witnesses that scene.
The next day, Ga-ram goes off the grid, leaving a note for the rugby team to cover for him. When cornered, they hilariously lie that Ga-ram is in the nurse’s office as he has COVID-19. But luckily, the nurse (an old friend of Yi-ji and Ga-ram’s) and Yi-ji play along, and it goes well.
“I submitted the application just for fun.”
Digging through the admission records, one applicant stands out to Ga-ram, Mun Ung (Kim Dan). Heading to see Ung, Ga-ram is stunned to learn Ung’s father is a rugby legend from the 90s whose career was cut short because of a torn knee ligament that left him disabled. Ga-ram is delighted to see the senior he holds in awe, but Ung’s father despises him and calls him a juicer.
Not only does Ung’s father hate Ga-ram but also the whole rugby sport. According to him, playing sports is like gambling, so he doesn’t want his son to walk down that path and screw up his life like he did. Still, Ga-ram doesn’t budge until he has a proper conversation with Ung’s father, which helps him realize the truth.
It wasn’t rugby that caused their downfall, but their greed. Ga-ram didn’t trust himself or his teammates enough and took steroids. And Ung’s father put on many hats instead of working with his teammates, so he got severely injured. Before he leaves, Ga-ram urges Ung’s father to let his son do what he wants. (Ung wants to play rugby but holds himself back for his father’s sake.) Then he hands a bus ticket to Ung, telling him not to be late, as they need to arrive at school before the opening ceremony starts.
Having made peace with the past, Ung’s father allows him to pursue rugby. Ung races to the terminal, but unfortunately, the bus has already left by the time he arrives. No need to worry, though. Ga-ram has a backup plan, and they make it in time for the ceremony.
“If you keep going without giving up, you will find a way.”
Having predicted Ga-ram’s move, the vice principal arranged a counterplan, changing the special admissions process. Each team with an opening will hold a tryout, and Ung has to pass at least half of them. Then, he can choose a team to join among those he passed. Interestingly, this is the same way Ga-ram joined the school 20 years ago. The coaches were vying for him, including the vice principal, back then the track and field head coach. But he chose rugby.
Three teams will hold a tryout: rugby, archery, and fencing. The vice principal knowingly chose two technical sports to add more pressure on Ung. But it isn’t over until it is over. Seong-jun and the guys arrange a strict training schedule for Ung while Ga-ram spies on the other teams, fishing for weaknesses.
Hearing the fencing captain will play against Ung, Ga-ram steals his training notes and has the team analyze them. As for archery, Seong-jun asks U-jin for a favor, training Ung. (She was an archer and switched to shooting 4 years ago.) After some begging, she agrees to teach Ung once. And that is when Ga-ram shares his plan to use sprinkles to make the arrows shake. The archers train to handle rain and wind. But if water soars upward, this will create a variable, and Ung might get an edge.
“I will show you that potential.”
The tryouts day is here. First is rugby, which Ung wins after stunning everyone with his skills, making the rugby team wonder if he is indeed a rookie. Then, the fencing match takes place. Despite losing, Ung scores a point against the captain. Which is quite an achievement given he only practised for a few days. Lastly, it is time for the archery tryout. Except, the vice principal claims the entire team, plus the coach, got food poisoning. (Which is a big fat lie.) So, they have to switch to the next team with an opening, “coincidentally” archery.
Ignoring Ga-ram’s protests that he is playing dirty, the vice principal gives Ung an hour of practice before the match against U-jin. Seong-jun suspects U-jin of snitching on them. Thus offending her. But she is innocent. That was the vice principal’s plan all along. Desperate, Seong-jun pleads with U-jin to lose the match so he can continue playing rugby. He is being unreasonable, but we couldn’t help feeling for Seong-jun when he said he wants to live as a rugby player, not as the brother of his successful soccer player twin.
Assuring Ung it is okay to lose as long as he doesn’t give up, Ga-ram promises to find another way for him to join the team. His words make U-jin waver, and she purposely loses the match. Thus, Ung gets accepted to school. Unlike Coach Jeon, who caters to Seol-hyeon and doesn’t care about the rest of the players, Ga-ram’s sincerity and care for his team touched U-jin’s heart, causing her to make such a tough decision.
In the aftermath, Mr. Na (Seol-hyeon’s father) is mad. But he can’t pursue this matter further since there is a lot of talk about the admission process. For now, they can only hope the team doesn’t do well and gets disbanded next year. As in, scheme to block the rugby team’s path and stop them from winning a medal at the national sports festival.
Earlier, the vice principal offered Yi-ji a three-year coaching contract in return for spying on Ga-ram. But he revokes the offer after the match, arguing he can’t trust a coach who can’t control the players. Not that Yi-ji would accept his offer. Still, Ga-ram overheard Yi-ji rant about it, so we are worried he might unreasonably blame himself. As the week ends, the rugby team is celebrating, but suddenly, Ga-ram experiences a ringing in his ear and leaves abruptly. He is about to faint when he hears Yi-ji’s voice calling for him.
The Winning Try Episodes 3 and 4 Musings
Given the hospital flashback from last week, we expected an illness trope for Ga-ram. But instead of playing out this arc for tension, we hope the drama uses this health scare to teach Ga-ram to share his suffering with others and lean on them. In the past, keeping things to himself and not trusting others cost him his career, so hopefully, Ga-ram will have learned his lesson this time. Yi-ji might treat Ga-ram coldly and badmouth him while drunk, but she will stand by his side when it really matters.
The rugby team dynamics remain our favorite aspect of the drama, and we appreciate how they quickly embraced Ung as one of them. It was touching to watch them root for him with smiles, despite being scared on the inside. Rugby is indeed a sport where one never feels lonely.
Photos and Videos: SBS Drama
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