THE Malaysian 7s won the inaugural iRB Asian 7s Series Tournament by defeating the Philippines 7s in a ‘clash of the titans’, 28-7.
The championship trophy was presented by Haji Muhammad bin Haji Abd Rahman, Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports.
“The Malaysian team played very well in the opening matches on Oct 24 but drained most of our boys. But today we have seen them recuperate and the boys won the tournament,” said Mr K.H Tan, the Malaysian team manager.
“Focus is the main target for the tournament. We want to take our time on the field and take every stage one at a time”.
In other matches yesterday, hosts Brunei 7s defeated Laos for the second time to qualify for the Plate Final match against India.
With India having an advantage in size and physique, Brunei lost in a very compelling match, 5-35.
“I’m very pleased with the overall performance our boys have shown in the tournament. As you can see, there is a `big pool’ of players in the tournament and I hope the boys have gain something valuable today,’ said Coach Zakaria Hj Hamzah from Brunei Sevens.
“There are more good things to come for the Brunei Sevens, as the team now comprise of new players who are used to play 15s rugby.
“I also hope that by hosting this tournament, we want to see a lot more of the Bruneians will take up rugby,” said the Brunei coach.
Clifford Chin, Brunei Seven coach agreed with this statement and urged rugby fans in Brunei to “keep playing rugby and keep watching rugby”.
According to the team manager, the Brunei 7s will start to hit the gym to prepare the boys in the next leg at the Borneo 7s tournament next week where the Malaysian 7s team will also be competing.
“An advantage playing with bigger teams such as Malaysia is that our team can gain more experience and exposure to the game of rugby.
“I would like to say thank all the fans and spectators who have turned and kept supporting the team since day one,” he added.
The Plate Final was presented by Dr Hj Kamaruddinbin Dato’ Paduka Haji Talib to the Indian 7s.
Latest by Aziz Idris:
- Over 100 twitter users engage in 'Fab February Tweet-Up!'
- MoH declares dodgy slimming products a risk to public health
- Picture perfect in Guilin
- Brunei Edutainment Wonderland begins
- Who's Got Talent finals tonight
