Episode 7 of "The Winning Try" kicks off with a poignant flashback to the turbulent events surrounding the doping scandal, a chapter that transpired three years prior. Ga-ram, amidst a storm of controversy, announced his decision to retire, a move that sparks a heated altercation with his lifelong friend, Sang-gi, within the confines of their locker room sanctuary. As Ga-ram storms out, his path crosses with the coach, who, in no uncertain terms, orders him to depart and never darken their doorstep again.
Concurrently, I-ji, on the brink of joining the tryouts, receives the shocking news of Ga-ram's retirement. Impulsively, she decides to abort her tryout plans and rush out in search of him. Meanwhile, Ga-ram, driven by an urgent need to see I-ji, finds himself at the shooting range. However, just as he inches closer to her, a harrowing relapse strikes, causing him to collapse in a heap. Ironically, I-ji passes him by in a taxi, oblivious to his plight just meters away.
In the present timeline, Ga-ram awakens in a hospital bed, with I-ji by his side, her eyes reflecting both concern and awareness of the doping scandal's ties to his deteriorating health. A poignant conversation ensues with the doctor, who solemnly declares that surgery is imperative to arrest Ga-ram's declining condition. Unyielding in his dedication to the rugby team, Ga-ram steadfastly refuses the surgery.
The doctor, compassionate yet firm, prescribes medication to buy him three more months of manageable health. I-ji, incensed by his reckless disregard for his own life, storms out of the room in frustration. Upon returning to school, the rugby team is thrown into a tizzy, having lost sight of Ga-ram for nearly a day. Summoned to the principal’s office, Ga-ram finds himself cornered by Vice Principal Jong-man and his entourage, who seek to expel him on health grounds. Ga-ram conjures a feeble alibi about dozing off in a sauna, only to be swiftly debunked by Heung-nam, who reveals the ambulance's involvement in his departure.
With Ga-ram on the brink of being pushed over the edge, I-ji steps in, generously shouldering the blame. She feigns an injury to her arm, necessitating emergency hospitalization. I-ji, confirming her own battle with the 'yips,' finds Ga-ram pledging to help her conquer her struggle. remains unable to shoot. Undeterred, Ga-ram dives into exhaustive research, devising a tailored routine aimed at rejuvenating I-ji's skills.
I-ji faces an arduous task: to complete 300 laps around the field and integrate herself into the rugby team's rigorous training schedule as they gear up for their highly anticipated match against Daesung, spanning ten relentless days of nonstop preparation.
As the team boards the bus en route to the venue, Seong-jun attempts to claim the seat next to Woo-jin, only to be summarily rejected with a firm shove. Enter Ung, arriving fashionably late, who seizes the opportunity to sit beside Woo-jin without affording her the chance to protest. Seong-jun seethes with frustration, becoming the butt of endless jokes among his teammates.
Meanwhile, Ga-ram finds himself seated next to Heung-nam, as I-ji turns down Heung-nam's plea to join her. Heung-nam confesses his resentment towards Ga-ram, who seems to effortlessly attain everything, in stark contrast to Heung-nam and I-ji, who must laboriously strive for their opportunities. Earlier, during an intimate drinking session with Jong-man and Nak-gyun, Heung-nam discovers that Nak-gyun had attempted to persuade I-ji to fix the qualifying match, a revelation that left her with a paralyzing case of the yips.
Upon their arrival at the venue, Coach Kim endeavors to intimidate Ga-ram and the team, but Ga-ram, ever the quick-witted retaliator, is ready with a sharp rejoinder. The team is set to confront Tae-pung for the first time since his defection to Daesung. Later that evening, Seong-jun's mother pays him a visit, bearing snacks. Seong-jun, mistakenly believing she had come to witness his game, is disheartened to learn that her visit was solely to inform him of the family's potential relocation to Spain for his brother's sake. She even suggests he join them and pursue a career as an agent, ultimately serving as his brother's assistant. Woo-jin, inadvertently eavesdropping on their conversation, overhears every word.
Later, Woo-jin encounters I-ji awaiting her in the hotel lobby. I-ji, observant of Woo-jin's declining performance despite consistent training, deduces that the culprit might be Woo-jin's changed footwear. Offering her assistance, I-ji reveals she possesses several pairs of shoes in Woo-jin's size and helps her try them on, perfecting her shooting stance in the process.
The moment of truth arrives: Hanyang's showdown against Daesung. Coach Song, who once mentored Ga-ram during a doping scandal, makes an appearance to watch the match, curious about Ga-ram's mysterious request to sit out the finals. A poignant flashback unfolds, revealing the events that transpired in the days leading up to that fateful championship game.
Ga-ram's health took a turn for the worse, prompting him to implore his coach to bench him from the game. Yet, deaf to his pleas, the coach was engrossed in the quest for victory, a victory that would pave the way to the Olympics. Despite his ailing condition, Ga-ram struggled to stay afloat during the match, resorting to the doctor's prescribed medication to alleviate his muscle strain. To this day, Ga-ram's reliance on Androl, the very medication that aided him then, has cast a shadow of doping allegations over him.
As the game commenced, Ga-ram beseeched his coach to let bygones be bygones and redirect his focus onto the players. Hanyang kicked off with a flourish, notching up seven impressive 7-point tries in quick succession. Meanwhile, on Daesung's side, Tae-pung nursed a knee injury and requested to sit out, but Coach Kim was unyielding, insisting that his involvement was crucial to conserve the energy of their star players slated to play later.
Daesung attempted to provoke Hanyang's players into losing their composure, a tactic that had often worked in their favor before, but this time, it fell flat. Another twist emerged during the game. As the episode drew to a close, Ung froze in his tracks when confronted with the task of tackling a Daesung player bearing down on the try line for the winning score. Ga-ram mentally replayed the play and realized that Ung had been shirking his tackling duties.
