Jason Thomas
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Their first international outing, the highlight of their International Rugby Board (IRB) tournament was the pair of wins against underdogs Laos in the second leg of the inaugural Asian Rugby Sevens Series.
Beating the Laotians 31-0 in their second round-robin game at the Balapan Track & Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas on Saturday, the Bruneians made it a double when they disposed the same opponents 27-10 in the battle for fourth to book their ticket to the semi-finals on Sunday.
While the national team have won Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) matches, the result against Laos on Saturday was their first win at a major IRB tournament, and there were pats all around.
But when it came to facing eventual champions Malaysia and runners-up the Philippines, the gulf in skill between the teams meant the hosts were never really in the running.
Brunei fell 35-0 to the Philippines and lost 52-0 to Malaysia on Saturday.
Their 12-5 loss to India in their final round-robin stage match the next day did not signal the end of the road for them though, and their win against Laos saw them into the last four.
Losing 47-0 to the Malaysians and relegated to the Plate competition, the national side were handed a 34-5 defeat in the fight for third.
Considering the team only trained for less than two months and had to convert from playing 15s to 7s, their finish in the tournament was nothing to be ashamed of.
Their coach was not going to let the losses get to his players either and felt that the outing would provide them with a good first taste of international 7s.
The team will be competing in the third leg of the series this weekend, the Borneo 7s in Kota Kinabalu, and Zakaria Hj Hamzah said that continuity would be key to future success especially with the team also competing in the Sri Lanka 7s in late November.
“I can say that over the two days the team did their best. I am proud of them,” said Zakaria on Sunday.
“This is their first time playing at an international tournament and for the most of them it was their first introduction to 7s.
“The team just need to train more and be together more often, and they have to make full use of their ability,” he added.
Captained by Ahmad Faez Anuar, Petrus Tuan who picked up a minor knee injury during the game against Laos and was left out of the squad that faced India served as the team’s vice-captain and is a doubt heading into this weekend’s competition.
The other members of the team were Aji Hussin, Augustine Mulok, Cassidy Enggu, Christian Danial Wong, Damien Donavan, George Pyrgos, Lim Chee Chang, Lim Shen Quan, Muhammad Ziyad Hj Ramlee, Nobel Lee and Ronny Tarang.
No disrespect to the players, but it is fair to say that this is not the best squad Brunei has to offer.
Sadly, certain teams failed to send any of their players for try-outs, and work commitments also played a big part in deciding the team.
With many of the players’ employers refusing to give them time off or paid leave, the issue is something the Brunei Rugby Football Union (BRFU) should look into if it really wants to find the best dozen or so players for the squad.
On the pitch, one of the areas the team will have to work on is their tackling and getting the ball to the flanks to exploit their pace.
Fitness is probably another aspect of their game that they have to improve on, evident by tired legs during the Plate final against India where they committed numerous missed tackles.
They will be up against the likes of China, Japan and South Korea in Kota Kinabalu, and more training will be needed if they want to keep the scores respectable.
Providing the team with more match exposure will also be crucial, with the national side only getting on the pitch for their first real game during the Oct 10-11 Curtin 7s in Miri where they won the Bowl competition.
With the Indian team playing three friendlies against Scotland and training with the South African side before arriving in Brunei, the national team must realise why playing against top class opposition will only improve their level which is exactly what the Brunei 7s has done for them.
Latest by The Brunei Times:
- BDFone to unveil 3 phone models
- Winner plans to market software to local artistes
- 18 youths detained in ‘Operasi Lepak'
- India's Independence Day flag hoisting on August 15
- TAP counters operating hours in Ramadhan
