The Winning Try

Positive role models, healthy fun boys, no alcohol and parties but clean FUN

This drama is so cute and positive, I love this HEALTHY VIBRANTLY ALIVE bunch of boys. I love that there is no alcohol and getting ditzy and drunk and vomiting like in most kdramas. These are really really really FUN boys. I loved their dancing to celebrate. I think this is a great new role model for korean society, which ranks super high in drinking and alcohol problems. No wonder their birth rate is doing down, with so many ppl drinking, it is jus tnot healthy

I think these boys are a new hope for the future

And yeah there is romance but ever so slightly. My favorite is when the boys are teasing the captain about synergy LOL Or the bluberry smoothie and having to sit down LOL

The drama focuses on their professional growth as rugby players and what kinds of personal inner demons and external corruption demons they had to conquer to keep improving and growing. But they are not trying to become better people just bc they want to be better ppl. They want to be better players and that requires teamwork and that is their motivation for self improvement. They are not .... saintly people :)

So it is really about personal growth for the purpose of accomplishing a high level in sports, for the love of the sport as well as for the winning.

FYI This drama is not about rugby, if you want to see that, just go watch some rugby matches lol THIS DRAMA IS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO PLAY RUGBY AND THE WHOLE BACKGROUND OF "PRE-PROFESSIONAL" SPORTS

I think the part that is glossed over is that this is a DANGEROUS contact sport and that many people get really messed up injured, esp since they are playing this without any helmets. Knees, elbows, etc... are going in this sport. And even worse.
American football is probably even worse - super super dangerous, everyone comes down with torn shoulders etc. I know so many older people who say they wished they never played it as it injured them for life.

So dont gloss it over, this is not really a sport, there is a lot of fight in this, esp tackling, do NOT sugarcoat the dangers of this.

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Try, try again - A Miracle in Us

I think I spent half an hour trying to come up with a catchy hook that could perfectly describe The Winning Try in one sentence - and based off of this preamble you can see I failed. That's because this drama invoked so many different feelings and emotions in me, joy, nostalgia, sadness, anger, frustration, ecstatic overload, hope, several of them together, and sometimes all at once.

I always say it's the miracle of sport, to feel these many emotions in a short span of time.. I've never seen anything else do it quite like sport does.

The Winning Try follows Ju Ga Ram and the rugby team from his alma mater, Hanyang High, as they begin a new year with a new coach in the form of Ga Ram, and all the chaos he brings with him. They are shaken up, first, because no one expected Ga Ram to return to rugby after a doping scandal three years prior, when he was a player - but most of the shake ups come when the rugby team realizes that their coach is smart, passionate, determined, and maybe just a bit of a dork.
Suddenly, the man who was once treated as an outsider even by his own team, is an integral part of the proceedings, he is their heart and soul.

He's bringing in new players, techniques, pulling all his cards to ensure his boys get the best possible chances of being miracles (something they say, I did not make this up), miracles that are going to win the national championship.

The lives of the rugby team aren't the only ones shaken up by Ga Ram's arrival - the entire school, including his ex, his former coach, former principal and former friend, all feel the impact.

I love this series. I love it. But there were so many things I didn't love about it. As a collective, I've rated it high, but honestly, the high rating is only because of the rugby team.

I love those guys. Along with Ga Ram, they are the heart and soul of this series. Again, so much emotion, so much at stake for each of them, but they learn how to put everything aside - just to come together as a team for their dreams. By the end of the twelve episodes, I was in awe of how much each of them had grown. And we did get to see all of them, this wasn't a situation where one of them is the star player, no one else matters - no, no. They were a team. They fought, argued, threw punches, felt jealous, but all that was just one percent of everyone they went through together.
This is why I seek out sports dramas - the human connection formed through teamwork and bonding is something else. I loved every single minute the rugby team was on screen.

However, the further we went into the story, the less focus they got? My rating just for the rugby storyline is high, maybe even a 10, but if I factor in all the other filler scenes we got that actually took away from the team's screentime? My rating would be much lower, lower than my current rating.

These scenes added no real depth or value for me. The entire shooting storyline for example. Half of the characters were not required for the plot at all. We had Bae I Ji, shooting coach, player and Ga Ram's ex. It should've stopped there. Instead we had another shooting coach, two players, a corrupt vice principal and a corrupt education minister (?). And their roles were relevant to the plot when they were hindrances to the rugby team, but soon it branched off into its own, unnecessary storyline.

So many scenes that could have been devoted to the rugby team - instead I would say around one-third of the story focused on all the wrong details. My rating nevertheless remains high.. but oh.. so much I wish they'd done instead of what we actually got.

The acting on all fronts, nevertheless, was brilliant. I sound like a broken record, but, especially Ga Ram and the team. Haven't even mentioned their names yet for all the times I've referenced them, and here they are - Yoon Seong Jun, Oh Yeong Gwang, So Myeong U, Do Hyeong Sik, Kim Ju Yang, Pyo Seon Ho and the maknae, Mun Ung. All seven of them were played by actors who gave performances of a lifetime, so much passion and heart, so good. And Yoon Kye Sang.. my god. No one else could've portrayed the bold and enigmatic Ga Ram better. All the actors were simply brilliant.

The production value was obviously high, and the music! So good! Felt very refreshing and pleasant to the ears.

I love this drama - and highly recommend it. Absolutely do. I was moved to tears almost every episode if that says something. Because sport really does move you, doesn't it?

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episode 1 rugby team > writing team

I should have left this the second that the rules of the game were steamrolled over for vibes. referees ignoring dangerous tackles and everyone treating the victim as if they're at fault rather than sending off a player who should know better than launch into a neck-breaking tackle? leaving a player with a potential concussion or spinal injury on the floor and letting the game continue while they're unattended? schoolboy rugby is an inherently dangerous sport and the complete disregard for the most basic precautions was laughable and decades out of date.

then we have our superstar, the noble idiot. his idiocy is also decades behind. does he not have insurance? did he not read anything on the internet about his own sport and players from other nations? are the sport administrators completely divorced from reality? with that fundamental issue on which the story is based making no sense, the rest of the plot is very much the roof of a very shaky house of cards.

this is a story that should have been great. an underdog coach in an underdog sport takes on a bunch of underdog high schoolers to take over the world. but the flaws in the storytelling are just too huge to overlook.

I detested every single adult character. the kids were there doing their job, being kids, and every single adult was either a lying sack of trash, weak, incompetent, violent, or psychologically abusive. and at the core was the principal, a person who was so weak that her pending retirement surely also was decades behind.

worse, almost none of their motivations even made much sense. by halfway through, most of them were just doing evil by numbers. the plot demanded a movement in a certain direction so fetch the magenta crayon of evil for that.

if I have a good thing to say it's that the team was entertaining, well-characterised and, along with Seo Ujin, contained the only actors to come out of this with merit. there are moments where the sun just peeked through the clouds of tropes, unintentional parody and plot devices, but they were simply too rare to make this more than mediocre.

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I really enjoyed this work. The main actor’s performance was very good, and the actress, even though her character was a bit unlikeable, played it perfectly.

Honestly, the love line between them wasn’t strong enough for the story’s circumstances. I even skipped many of their scenes.

The story is good, but it lacked balance. It focused too much on the coach, his lover, and the rugby captain, while other players and rival teams didn’t get enough attention. That bothered me in many scenes.

I know most dramas can’t give every character a fair share, but if you look closely, there’s a gap. Training scenes and the struggle of athletes were pushed aside, even though the summary said it’s about the addicted player trying to return as a coach. They leaned more on addiction, healing, and deception, not enough on sports itself.

Maybe the short number of episodes caused some of these flaws? I’m not sure, but I think it had a big effect on parts of the story and characters.

I may sound harsh, but I truly enjoyed it and don’t regret watching.

The story is beautiful, the acting was excellent, and the young athletes’ struggles (archery leader and rugby captain) were shown with real emotion. The family pressure on them was very clear.

I really liked all the main characters and their scenes. I strongly wished for a second season because I enjoyed it a lot.

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Only a KDrama can spark my interest in Rugby ?

I really NEVER expected to like this drama that much!!! From the characters, to the setting, it was quite well done. I liked how all the Rugby boys had such very different and unique characters. Also, unlike Racket Boys, it was not all just Badminton but for example the girls were in the shooting team. So I learned a little bit about shooting as well and wow it does look like a very cool sport.
I also really likes the othet adult characters. The intrigues school politics and all the unfair things going on really fired me up even more and made it harder to stop and take a break.
I just really love a good underdog story! And KDramas about sports usually don’t disappoint.

The only downside and critique about this drama I have is how powerless everyone was, including the president of the school. It was a bit too much for me seeing those two annoying men do whatever they wanted and acting like they owned that place. Tbh it seemed a bit unrealistic to me. Also, Bae I-ji was so mad at Garam at the beginning but where was that anger towards that disgusting Shooting Coach? He was way more terrible to her than Garam ever was… That was another thing that pissed me off.

Everything else, including the amazing Soundtrack, was really a good watch! Finished it in less than a week 😂

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? From Rugby Fields to Life Goals — This Drama Scores Big!

Okay, so first things first—this drama actually introduced me to a whole new sport: Rugby! And wow… what a ride. 🙌

The Winning Try isn’t just about the game; it’s about life, dreams, and the people who push you to chase them. It’s got a perfect mix—humor, emotional depth, cute romantic moments, and those big life choices that hit you right in the feels. One of the biggest takeaways for me was this: sometimes, just one person’s presence in your life can give you wings. 💕 Find someone who pushes you to chase your dreams, who tells you, “Be selfish—at least once—for yourself.”

And can we talk about the teachers in this drama? Absolute gems. It beautifully shows why having a supportive mentor is so important—someone who will fight for your dreams as hard as you do.

If you loved Hot Stove League or even Ji Sung’s Entertainer (2016), this drama definitely deserves a spot on your watchlist. Honestly, it didn’t disappoint me one bit. 🎬🏆

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The Winning Try: Rugby, Romance, and the Weight of Dreams

The Winning Try is one of those rare kdramas that makes you fall in love with the journey even if you already know the ending. Sports and romcom dramas share a certain comforting DNA, and this series embodies that perfectly. Both genres have predictable beats—you know the underdog will rise, that love will bloom, that triumphs and heartbreaks will land exactly where they’re supposed to—but what makes them truly magical is how those beats are orchestrated. There’s a rhythm to it, an emotional pulse that carries you along whether you’re cheering on a winning try or swooning over a quiet, tender moment between two people who have been through the storms of life together. I find these dramas to be my ultimate comfort watch because they provide that perfect mix of tension, heart, and payoff without needing an artificial twist to hijack my emotions. And The Winning Try manages this with masterful ease.

At the heart of the series is Yoon Kye-sang as Ju Ga-ram, a former rugby star turned coach whose life has been marked by both tragedy and scandal. Kye-sang balances comedy and pathos with such seamless grace that one moment has you laughing at his quirks, and the next has you quietly weeping for the burdens he carries. He is the tragic clown in the truest sense—someone whose light makes everyone else shine a little brighter, even while the weight of his own world threatens to crush him. Beside him, Im Se-mi plays Bae I-ji, Ga-ram’s ex-girlfriend and the assistant coach who is both fiercely competent and heartbreakingly tender. Their reunion is never forced; the romance grows naturally out of shared stakes and history, a gentle blooming amidst the chaos of training, tournaments, and the high pressures of youth. One of the quietest yet most powerful moments is when I-ji comforts Ga-ram with a simple, “I got you,” stroking his back with care that is at once intimate and steadfast. Beyond romance, I-ji’s story of sacrifice—from star athlete to mentor—adds depth to her character and grounds her care in lived experience, making her more than just a love interest.

Supporting characters elevate this drama from excellent to extraordinary. Kim Yo-han as Yoon Seong-jun, the rugby team captain, carries a narrative weight that rivals Ga-ram’s. Seong-jun is perpetually under the shadow of his twin brother, a celebrated football player in Spain, and struggles with the constant need to prove himself, not just to his parents but to the world. The drama carefully unpacks his pressures, showing how his leadership, his insecurities, and his vulnerabilities all collide as he navigates the final season with his team. Kim Yo-han embodies this duality with subtlety and intensity, making Seong-jun’s victories—and small personal triumphs—feel hard-won and deeply resonant.

On the other end of the spectrum is Mun Ung, portrayed by Kim Dan, a rugby prodigy whose brilliance is as fragile as it is dazzling. This being only Kim Dan’s second drama, his performance is startling in its raw emotionality. Ung contends with a father who forbade him from playing rugby, fearing the cycle of disappointment that once shaped his own life. He also carries a deep trauma that prevents him from tackling other players. The drama’s depiction of his internal struggle, particularly in the tense scenes confronting Ga-ram, is both heart-wrenching and electrifying. Watching him slowly reclaim his courage is a masterclass in storytelling through character, and you forget for a moment that this is a fresh actor finding his footing in the industry.

The drama’s layered storytelling extends to Seo U-jin, the shooting team’s prodigy, played by Park Jung-yeong. U-jin seems cold and unapproachable at first, but as the episodes unfold, we see the crushing expectations imposed by her mother, her relentless drive, and the personal cost of being at the top. Her friendship and eventual romance with Seong-jun feels both inevitable and incredibly earned, offering a counterpoint to Ga-ram and I-ji’s mature, patient love. Both couples navigate pressures in their respective arenas—one team and one sport—but their struggles intersect in universal ways: the weight of expectations, the loneliness of high achievement, and the quiet, tender moments of connection that remind them—and us—that no one should endure these trials alone. I noticed, quietly, how lonely it can be for both of these people while standing at the top, at the end of their respective games.

The narrative unfolds beautifully across twelve episodes, and while the story is predictably satisfying in its beats, it’s in the journey where the drama truly excels. Ga-ram’s secret illness, the underdog rugby team, the pressures on U-jin and the shooting team—all these threads are interwoven with grounded logic, never straying into contrived plot twists. Every setback, every triumph, feels earned, and the drama’s focus on resilience is unwavering. By the final match, when the rugby team executes their winning try, or when U-jin finds her footing both in sport and life, the payoff hits with an emotional resonance that feels both immediate and lasting. And yes, the villains get their comeuppance, which is satisfying in a way that many kdramas neglect, rounding out the story with a sense of karmic justice.

Visually, the drama serves its story well without being showy. Rugby matches are captured clearly and effectively, close-ups during moments of personal struggle hit the right notes, and while it’s not a feast of cinematography, the visuals always support the emotion and action at hand. It’s in the audio that the series truly flexes its muscles—the OST selection is a triumph. Slow ballads like Hold Me Tight, If, and When I See You underscore moments of intimacy and desperation, while upbeat tracks like Touchdown, SURF, and Rise Up electrify the tournament scenes. One particular rap track moved me to tears—a first for me—and the team’s rendition of the main theme, Try, adds a layer of charm and authenticity that completes the immersive experience.

If there is a flaw, it is only that the rugby matches could have been shown a bit more, and that I long for a season two to explore the universe that this drama so meticulously built. But these are minor notes; they exist only because the world of The Winning Try is so inviting, so emotionally complete, that you ache for just a little more.

In the end, The Winning Try is a healing watch. It reminds me why sports and romcom dramas are my ultimate comfort zones: both thrive on heartbeats, on laughter and tears, on victories both large and small. Watching it, I felt joy, relief, and the quiet thrill of witnessing characters earn their moments in ways that feel simultaneously inevitable and breathtakingly real.

If you need a drama that balances emotional depth, grounded storytelling, and the intoxicating pull of both competition and human connection, The Winning Try will welcome you in like a warm cup of tea on a chilly autumn day—and leave you wishing you never have to leave its world.

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Road to glory

Blood, sweat and tears - a rugby team's journey to glory. The winning try is definitely not your run of the mill drama, but instead a sports drama that utilises rugby to talk about second chances and leadership. A disgraced former star (Yoon Kye-sang) returns to his old school as coach, where he rebuilds both a team and himself—with help and friction from ex-flame Bae I-ji (Im Se-mi) and captain Woo-jin (Kim Yo-han).

What makes the drama work is its balance of grit and warmth. The training sequences carry weight - mud, sweat, collisions you feel in your bones - yet the show's core is in the locker-room banter and those tiny moments of trust.

Tonally, the drama sits in that feel-good sports lane—think classic underdog beats—yet it sneaks in sharper notes: institutional politics, the cost of hero worship, even health and dignity in sport. Dare I say, this drama beats even the likes of Hot Stove League and Racket Boys, each amazing in its own right.

Whether or not you care about rugby, this drama is a must watch!!

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Try, try try until you Win!!!!!

I would just say one thing, the story did justice to the title, Beautiful story line and direction. The way the story was revolving not only around a single star success player but the story of how an athlete actually faces the world despite their condition and the choices that they have to make to keep their team together. He didn't let his past mistakes come in while being the most dynamic coach ever to exist. The way he taught them to motivate and try until they succeed is the best learning and moral. Try until you win but also accept your defeat with grace.
While you're in your field be a team player always and have the guts to accept the result no matter what

I have no words for acting, everyone killed it :)
Worth watching <3

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