24 teams vie for honours at NRDP rugby tourney

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The MRSM Kuching girls are hoping to put on a strong showing in the Girls U16 category of the NRDP School 7s.

KUCHING: The second edition of the National Rugby Development Programme (NRDP) East Malaysia School 7s tournament kicked off at Song Kheng Hai Rugby Field yesterday with 24 teams in action.

The tournament was organised by National Sports Council and Youth and Sports Ministry in collaboration with NRDP, Malaysia Rugby, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, Sarawak Rugby union and the Sarawak Education Department

It is divided into three categories, namely Boys U14 (six teams), Boys U16 (12 teams) and Girls U16 touch rugby (six teams).

Teams in Boys U14 category are SMKA SHOAW B, MRSM Kuching, Kolej DPAH Abdillah, SMK Tarat, SMK Asajaya and SMKA SHOAW A.

Those vying for top honours in Boys U16 are SMKA SHOAW A, SMK Wira Penrissen, Kolej Vokasional Matang, MRSM Kuching, SM Teknik Sejingkat, SMK Tebedu, SMK Tarat, SMK Asajaya, SMS Kuching Utara, Kolej DPAH Abdillah, SMKA SHOAW B and SMK Hajjah Laila Taib.

As for the Girls U16 touch rugby competition, the teams are in contention for the title are SMK Muara Tuang B, SMK Tarat, MRSM Kuching A, MRSM Kuching B, SMK Asajaya and SMK Muara Tuang A.

The main objective of the competition is to unearth new talents in East Malaysia with the hope that those players will impress the talent scouting team from NRDP.

Meanwhile, a referee course for match officials MO 7s Level I and a masterclass coaching was conducted on Friday by four NRDP panel coaches to assist the participating teams.

These coaches are assigned to respective teams and mentor them throughout the competition.

The challenge trophy and prizes are sponsored by SRU and the NRDP is financed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

All finals will kick off from 3pm with the prize presentation expected at 4.45pm.