SBS's Friday-Saturday drama "The Winning Try" (written by Lim Jin-a, directed by Jang Young-seok) kicks into high gear as Hanyang Sports High School’s rugby squad, newly locked in as one team, barrels toward a dream of taking the national crown. With the show sprinting into its back half, here are the high-stakes beats to watch.
First up: Can the perennial cellar-dwellers from Hanyang Sports High actually win the National Sports Festival? Coach Ju Garam (Yoon Kye-sang) has made it clear―only a Nationals title will open college rugby doors for seniors Yoon Sung-jun (Kim Yo-han), Oh Young-gwang (Kim Yi-jun), and So Myung-woo (Lee Soo-chan), while also keeping the program alive with new recruits. The team crashed out in the first round of the President’s Cup, but since then, Moon Woong (Kim Dan) conquered his fear of tackling with help from Garam and his teammates, and the squad has finally clicked, trusting one another and playing as a true one-team unit. After vowing to "make our own miracle," all eyes are on whether Hanyang Sports High can actually hoist the trophy at the National Sports Festival.
Adding to the tension is Garam’s battle with myasthenia gravis, which has relapsed―the same illness that pushed him to retire from the national team and disappear from the spotlight. The condition can lead to respiratory failure, yet Garam is postponing surgery for the sake of his players. He’s keeping it under wraps, too―if word gets out, he could be removed as head coach. In Episode 8, Bang Heung-nam (Jung Soon-won)―the aerobics coach, Garam’s old classmate, and longtime rival―broke into Garam’s room and greeted him with a loaded look, hinting he may have uncovered the secret. Will Garam’s illness derail the season, and how far will this secret ripple through the team?
Meanwhile, the shooting team’s coach, Bae YYi-ji (Im Se-mi), is stepping into the spotlight. In the Episode 8 finale, star shooter Seo Woo-jin (Park Jung-yeon) vowed to expose head coach Jeon Nak-gyun (Lee Sung-wook) for an admissions scheme―only to be knocked down by Nak-gyun and seriously injured. Witnessing it, Yi-ji stood in his way, facing a make-or-break moment to overcome her own yips as a coach. Now awakened as Woo-jin’s true mentor, can Yi-ji protect her athlete and stop Nak-gyun from playing puppet master with students’ futures?
"The Winning Try" airs Fridays and Saturdays at 9:50 p.m. KST on SBS.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)