The history of cinema is full of underdog stories. From Rocky and The Karate Kid to Kung Fu Panda, everyone loves the inspiring tale of those who emerge victorious against all odds. Korean television is also full of these stories, especially in sports dramas like SBS’s Racket Boys, ENA’s Like Flowers in Sand, and SBS’s impeccable Hot Stove League. The latest title to join this category is SBS’s popular The Winning Try, which came to a close last Saturday.
Directed by Jang Yeong-seok and penned by Lim Jin-ah, The Winning Try tells the story of Ju Ga-ram (Yoon Kye-sang), a former rugby superstar whose career has fallen apart after a doping scandal. He spends the following three years away from sports and from his loved ones until the principal of Hanyang High, his own alma mater, invites him to coach its rugby team. With an endless streak of losses and no more than seven students, the team is at risk of disappearing altogether. Ga-ram accepts the challenge, promising to transform the Hanyang High rugby team into the next National Sports Festival champions.
The Winning Try is an inspiring story about resilience, dedication, and teamwork that succeeds thanks to its passionate protagonist and the unbreakable bond he develops with his students. While the narrative gets a bit lost in its subplot of political intrigue, this is the perfect example of a series that possesses such strong emotional resonance that its flaws become background noise in the face of its characters’ triumph.
This review contains some spoilers. Read it at your own risk! If you’d rather save our spoiler-free summary, you can find our pin at the bottom!
The Two Facets of The Winning Try: The Underdog Story
The narrative of The Winning Try unravels through two different layers. The first and most important one is the sports drama in which Ga-ram leads us through a classic underdog story.
The Winning Try actually follows the underdog playbook to a tee: Ga-ram is introduced to the Hanyang rugby team, whose captain, Yun Seong-jun (wonderfully played by Kim Yo-han), refuses to accept his authority. After all, how could a juicer ever help them improve? The boys seem to like one another, but their relationship is shallow and fragile.
As players, we soon realise how terrible they are: their previous coach abandoned them, they haven’t won anything for years, and they practice without really knowing exactly what they are doing. Ga-ram sets them a very clear goal: they will win the next National Sports Festival.
When one of their players transfers to a better, stronger school, Ga-ram then brings in a hidden gem: Moon Ung (Kim Dan), a complete rookie who seems to have been born for the game. Overcoming all sorts of hurdles, Ga-ram not only sharpens their rugby skills but also encourages them to bond. Under Ga-ram’s guidance, the Hanyang rugby team becomes family.
Finally, we get to the big, phenomenal climax: Hanyang reaches the finals of the Nationals and, of course, against all odds, they become a miracle (which is the original title of the series, 트라이: 우리는 기적이 된다, meaning “Try: We Become Miracles“).
You can apply this structure to all underdog stories that you know. There’s nothing revolutionary to The Winning Try, but it still works (just like all the other thousands of underdog films and shows). The reason is quite simple — we’re bound to respond to the struggles of these characters. We all know what it is like to lose and to struggle. We all know what it is like when others don’t believe in our potential, when we feel cornered, abandoned, and hopeless.
What Makes It So Compelling, Then?
What makes The Winning Try special is the kindness, perseverance, and selflessness of our protagonist, played with undeniable charisma — and superb mischief — by Yoon Kye-sang. Ga-ram is incredibly talented, and he honestly believes in his rugby team, a group of seven kids that slowly become “his boys”.
Ga-ram illustrates the role of a mentor with grace and compassion. He fosters hope, self-confidence, and teamwork among his students. He teaches them to trust — him, each other, and their own selves. Most importantly, he invites his players to reconceive the main goal of a sport.
Is sport only about winning? Not at all, Ga-ram teaches them. Playing a sport is all about getting to know who you are, what you want to achieve, and growing into a better version of yourself. It’s about respect for the sport itself and for your fellow players. It’s about honesty, effort, and dedication. Ga-ram believes in the value of losing with decency, learning from your losses, and moving forward with your head held high.
Towards the end of The Winning Try, the Hanyang rugby team aren’t just better players. They are more confident, more hopeful, and more self-aware. They can stand up for what they believe with dignity and honour, they rely on each other wholeheartedly, and they know that they can overcome any hurdle together.
The last episode celebrates this growth and newfound union, using, with elegance, a rugby technique to visually illustrate their synergy and togetherness. They win their final game using a maul, with the entire team working as one to achieve their goal (or “try” in this case). Beyond the good ol’ montage, the final game sequence is particularly moving as it symbolises their entire journey and leads them to the well-earned result of their dedication.
The Winning Try bustles with life not because of its comical sequences, but because of the intense chemistry and sincere care that mark the dynamics between Ga-ram and his students. Their relationship shines bright as the show’s strongest quality and the main reason why we naturally fall in love with these characters.
Their journey together establishes a strong emotional resonance (typical of underdog stories) that provides us with an extremely cathartic finale. Even if there’s a lot to their “miracle” that isn’t particularly realistic, it’s their hope and resilience that stay with us. This sports drama layer is then a mostly character-driven story, in which we invest in our characters’ personal journeys and we root for them to grow and become the athletes they want to be.
The Second Facet of The Winning Try: The Political Intrigue
Clashing with that main storyline, The Winning Try develops its second layer as a plot-driven story. This second layer tries to blend political intrigue, melodrama, and just a pinch of makjang with very little success. As if our underdog story couldn’t provide enough drama and engagement, The Winning Try counts on a subplot in which Hanyang’s vice-principal Seung (Kim Min-sang) and shooting team coach Jeon (Lee Sung-wook) want to destroy the rugby team. For what reason? Apparently, because the shooting team wants to steal their budget, and the vice-principal wants to ensure that he’ll take over the principal chair once the current principal, Ms. Kang (Kil Hae-yeon), retires.
This subplot is developed with all the finesse of a bull in a china shop. The antagonists are written to be inconsistent and superficial, which turns them into petty, exaggerated stereotypes that only seem to steal screen time from the characters that really matter. The events of this storyline become so outrageous that it becomes difficult to even invest in this side of the story.
The narrative piles up conflicts and problems until the very last episode, leaving very little time for proper and logical resolution. Characters who barely had half a dozen lines in the show’s first 11 episodes suddenly turn out to be the key to convincing the baddies of the errors of their ways in episode 12. The story often doesn’t respect its own rules, really stretching the limits of what is really believable. Of course, everything eventually falls into place and the bad guys are brought to justice — but only thanks to a series of simplistic, almost miraculous, solutions.
Character Development Exception: What About I-ji?
Besides this unnecessary and incompatible storyline, The Winning Try also struggles with the characterisation and development of its female lead, shooting player/coach and Ga-ram’s ex-girlfriend, Bae I-ji (marvellously played by Im Se-mi).
I-ji starts as an angry, stubborn, and heartbroken character for understandable reasons. However, there’s very little growth in her character up until episode 7, when she finally learns why Ga-ram disappeared from her life years back. Despite her bravado when facing Ga-ram, she’s often portrayed as a meek employee at work. She’s constantly placed in humiliating situations, being dragged around by her superiors and colleagues. In earlier episodes, her behaviour comes across as hypocritical and cowardly at times.
Despite her talent as a shooter, she never gets to fulfil her dream as an individual. Her character learns to find contentment as a coach, a decision that the narrative forcefully offers her in the last episode. Even though we can interpret her character arc as going from a helpless, aimless employee to an empowered professional who can make her own choices, The Winning Try doesn’t provide I-ji with the nuance and consideration she deserves.
Talking about I-ji: Romance & Visuals in The Winning Try
I-ji and Ga-ram make for a welcome romantic subplot that, albeit underdeveloped, brings a dose of charm to the series — alongside Seong-jun’s romance with shooting team captain Seo U-jin (Park Jung-yeon). Both couples are very cute and could’ve benefited from more screen time had the series reduced or eliminated the political intrigue storyline instead.
Director Jang knows exactly how to frame his subjects, using his compositions both to highlight the story’s more comical scenes and to inject drama and dynamism into its rugby training and playing sequences. While the editing can be fairly flawed (often misusing parallel editing), The Winning Try is colourful and cheerful — also thanks to its visual identity. Kihyun delivers the perfect theme song with Surf, reminding us of Gaho’s catchy Start Over in JTBC’s Itaewon Class.
Should You Watch The Winning Try?
Bursting with life and energy, The Winning Try gives us a lovable cast of charismatic, persistent characters that you can’t help but root for. Finding its heart in Ju Ga-ram’s passion for rugby and his ability to foster a strong sense of trust, hope, and togetherness in his students, this is a story that reminds us of the obstacles that block our own journeys and the determination we need to overcome them.
Who knew that rugby could be such an inspiring sport? In an interview with Soompi, writer Lim shared:
[I chose rugby as the focus of the story because] the rule that you can’t pass the ball forward was very appealing to me. Rugby is the roughest, yet most human, sport. It was impressive that even as players crash into each other, they constantly have to watch where their teammates are. It’s a sport that absolutely depends on teamwork. (…)
I wanted to talk about ‘moving forward despite everything.’ In life, everyone faces countless tackles. We may stumble, fall, or struggle to get back up right away. But even so, continuing to move forward without giving up—I think that’s how we play the game of life.
A catchy theme song, a talented cast, and a classic — and effective — underdog story keep us coming back as we observe a group of hard-working kids chase their dreams. Far from flawless, The Winning Try might be predictable and fairly clichéd at times — but it makes for an excellent watch if you are looking for a series that can fill your soul with optimism and enthusiasm.
You can watch The Winning Try on:
This review is published in memory of the great Song Young-kyu, who we lost last month.
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