MAN TO WATCH: Iowane is expected to power SDRU to victory.

SIBU: Defending champion Sibu Division Rugby Union (SDRU) is gunning for a record 16th title in the Sarawak Rugby Union (SRU) President Cup when the tournament kicks off on June 15 at SMK Sacred Heart.

The Sibu team is expected to be joined by three other teams in the 2-day championship: Kuching Division Rugby Union (KDRU), Miri Division Rugby Union (MDRU) and Bintulu Division Rugby Union (BDRU).

SDRU chief coach Michael Ting has admitted that it would be an uphill task for SDRU to retain the title this year.

“We only have the service of one Fijian, Iowane Sovatabua Taukeisalili, 26, this time round, unlike in previous years when there were four Fijians to power the team.

“Moreover, other teams are coming up strongly and they are eager to wrest the title from SDRU,” he said when contacted.

Ting specifically mentioned MDRU, saying the team would not be coming just to make up the numbers this time round.

“MDRU have also engaged the service of a Fijian to boost its chance to win the title. All eyes will therefore be on the two Fijians when the tournament starts.”

Nevertheless, Ting is hoping that his team – with its potent blend of youth and experience – will rise to the occasion when it matters most.

Ting said SDRU would not be complacent, saying they would continue to put in efforts to ensure that SRU’s President Cup remains with SDRU.

“We have been champions for 15 times and we do not see any reason why we should not retain the title yet again this year.”

Ting said he had already assembled a strong team for the championship and they were doing their practice runs and training at SMK Sacred Heart rugby field.

The SRU President Cup had been organised for the past 18 years. SDRU was champions for 15 times, with KDRU taking the titles on two occasions.

Outstanding players will be shortlisted for the annual Agong’s Cup in Kuala Lumpur in late September.

It was nonetheless a day to remember for New Zealand, who had already secured an 11th World Series title by reaching the Cup semi-finals with victory over Argentina.

Their success over the South Americans was enough to give them an unassailable lead in the standings.

England, who host the final leg of the series next week, fell to South Africa in the last four, but took third place after Sam Edgerley came off the bench to secure a last-gasp 24-21 victory over Wales.

The United States, Australia and France also lifted silverware at Scotstoun Stadium.

The USA won the Plate, which they had also won in Tokyo, after Nick Edwards scored his eighth try of the tournament in a 17-7 success against Argentina.

Australia took the Bowl with a 12-5 success against Kenya in the final, which ensured that Michael O’Connor’s side finished the second day with a 100 percent record.

The Australians had beaten Portugal 36-0 in the quarter-finals and then overcame Samoa 17-12 in the last four, with Cameron Clark scoring his 10th World Series try.

France fell 22-7 to Kenya in the Bowl quarter-finals but bounced back to beat Sevens World Cup hosts Russia 21-12 in the Shield final.

Russia had put paid to Portugal in the semi-finals, with Igor Galinovskiy scoring two of their seven tries, after a hat-trick by Paul Albaladejo had helped them defeat Spain. — AFP

Lions and Wales coach Warren Gatland on Tuesday named a Welsh-heavy 37-man squad for the tour from June 1, skippered by Wales flanker Sam Warburton.

Deans said the Six Nations champions deserved their dominant representation, with 15 players heading to Australia compared to 10 from England, nine from Ireland and just three Scots.

“I don’t think there was too many surprises. They’ve gone back to what they know, which isn’t surprising,” Deans said.

“You go back two years when the Welsh (first) picked up the (Six Nations) title, everyone anticipated that the nucleus of the team would be Welsh.

“Then they hit a little bit of a flat patch but came back and responded very well in the last outing and retained the title,” he added, referring to Wales’ 32-3 rout of England in this year’s Six Nations decider.

“Particularly given the nature of that performance, it was complete, so it’s not surprising that Warren has looked very much to his own.” The Welsh contingent is the largest for the Lions in 36 years since fly-half great Phil Bennett was the appointed captain for a losing tour of New Zealand.

Warburton becomes the youngest Welsh Lions tour captain in history, with the 24-year-old preferred ahead of England skipper Chris Robshaw who missed out along with English great Jonny Wilkinson.

With the Lions squad full of big forwards and big backs, Deans said he was preparing for a physical encounter that would be like none his team had experienced before.

“The best insight of what this series is going to be like was that final Six Nations fixture. It was brutal and it was relentless for 80 minutes,” he said.

“It will be a contest that our blokes have never experienced. Some of our blokes have experienced World Cup rugby, but I tell you the ante goes up even further.

Australia are due to name their squad on May 19 ahead of the Lions beginning their 10-match tour against the Barbarians in Hong Kong on June 1. They play the first of three Tests against the Wallabies on June 22.

John Eales, the last Wallaby to lead Australia to victory over the Lions, in 2001, said he believed Gatland had picked a dynamic squad that would be highly effective.

“I think Warren Gatland is a very experienced coach who is not going to make decisions on players because of favouritism,” he said.

“Now his reputation is on the line as much as the players, so he wants to pick the team that he trusts to be able to beat the Wallabies in a couple of months’ time.” — AFP

IRB chief executive Brett Gosper also said he had moved to clamp down on clubs preventing players from smaller nations attending the tournament, although he admitted it was a difficult problem to solve.

Small nations complained bitterly during the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand that the timetable was skewed towards the game’s traditional superpowers because their matches were scheduled at the weekends to maximise television audiences.

This gave them six or seven days to recover, while the less high-profile sides often had to play midweek and weekend matches, giving them as little as three days between matches, before a longer break.

Gosper said the timetable for the 2015 tournament in England, due to be released in late April or early May, had been altered to fix the problem.

“There’s very strong fairness in terms of rest periods and so on. It will be the same for all teams,” he told reporters.

“It will be far more equal compared to the last World Cup.”

New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew backed the move, saying it was a question of fairness.

“We asked for it,” he said.

“We thought that it was unjust that the small unions were asked to play a critical event with shorter (rest) times than our games, so tier one nations made that request at the end of the last World Cup.”

Gosper said the IRB was also working to address concerns raised by smaller nations, particularly in the Pacific, about European clubs preventing their players from participating in world cup tournaments.

He said the IRB recently held a meeting on the issue, attended by representatives from the English and French leagues, and warned clubs they were obliged to release players and could face sanctions if they refused to do so.

But the IRB chief admitted it was a difficult issue to enforce, despite assurances from the clubs that they would abide by the regulations and not hold back players from international duties.

“It’s a bit like tax-dodging, there are always going to be around-the-fringes issues,” he said.

“Maybe things will happen behind our backs that we can’t quite control. All we can do is make sure that the intentions behind regulation nine are imposed as best as they possibly can be and made as robust as possible.” — AFP

UNDER SEIGE: SMK Bako’s players withstanding SMK Tabuan’s assaults in the MSSM Zone C U-17 Football Championship at SMK Tabuan Jaya Mini Stadium yesterday. SMK Tabuan Jaya defeated SMK Bako 2-0.

KUCHING: After competing in the recent Zone A Under 17 MSSM Inter-School Football Championship held at SMK Tabuan Mini Stadium, the top six teams from the three zones will compete in the knock-out stage to be held at the same venue on April 17 to 18.

In Zone A and B final match played yesterday, SMK Tabuan beat SMK Bako 2-0 while SMK Matang Jaya edged SMK Setia Raja 2-1.

SMK Tun Abdul Razak won Kuching Zone C after they defeated SMK Lundu 4 – 1 in the final played recently at Padawan Mini Stadium.

The victory steered SMK TAR to their first event football title after trying for over 25 years.

However, Wilkinson – who turns 34 on May 25 and has been playing top level rugby since he was 17 – added he had changed his mind and convinced himself he could still play another season of Top 14 rugby next term.

Wilkinson is now on the verge of signing a year’s extension to his Toulon contract which will keep him at the club for the 2013/14 season.

“In November, I was hesitating as to whether I should extend my contract or not,” said Wilkinson, who is the leading Top 14 points scorer this season.

“Mourad (Boudjellal, the Toulon president) said that was not upsetting for him if I hadn’t yet made my mind up and that helped me a lot.

“I took the time to reflect on it and to ask questions of others in helping me reach the right decision.

“I am not going to hide the fact that sometimes I woke up in the morning thinking I should stop and then the next day I changed my mind.

“It is vital never to panic and also not to decide anything too quickly.”

Wilkinson, forever remembered for kicking the match-winning drop goal in the last minute of extra-time in the 2003 World Cup final victory over hosts Australia, said he had had to convince himself he still had what was necessary to play at this level.

Also he was mindful that playing at fly-half he was depriving former Wallaby number one Matt Giteau and present controversial French first choice Frederic Michalak form playing in that position.

“I was afraid of making it a season too many. The worst thing is not if you don’t win the title because all the teams have the same ambition and at the end of the season there is only one that can do so.

“No the worst would be if I played for a year too long, and I didn’t bring anything positive to the team. That would have annoyed the other players and that I do not want to do.

“I have said throughout my career the worst thing is to be in a team for the wrong reasons.

“If I play, it is because I think I can have a positive influence around me”.

Wilkinson, who moved to Toulon from Newcastle Falcons in 2009, said that the extension had not been signed yet but it was progressing nicely towards that end.

“We are presently discussing it. Everything is going very well in that regard and I hope that it is all signed and sealed very quickly.

“For the moment, though, I am mainly thinking about the big matches ahead for the club than about extending my contract.”

The first of those big matches comes this Sunday when Toulon play English giants Leicester Tigers in the European Cup quarter-final clash. — AFP

There was already an Olympic buzz at this weekend’s Hong Kong Sevens, as training and team selection is being tailored to 2016 ambitions.

England coach Ben Ryan made it clear that the Games is now a determining factor in his team’s development.

“We’re part of a collective for Great Britain and our job is to make sure the players coming through the England system are good enough to get themselves on a plane to Rio, and good enough to qualify Great Britain to get on a plane to Rio,” he told AFP.

Players from the 15s game are now considering crossing over to sevens, spurred on by the chance to win an Olympic medal — former All Black Sonny Bill Williams has said he is tempted to make the switch for 2016 and All Black Liam Messam has said he wants to compete for gold.

But legendary New Zealand sevens coach Gordon Tietjens says those coming into the game will have to work hard to make the grade.

“To be good at this game you’ve got to be playing and training it — we’ve got some All Blacks that have expressed an interest but they’ll have to play in some World Series tournaments and we’ll gauge from their performances whether they make the team for the Olympics,” he told AFP.

Training players for the explosive sevens game will take time. “It’s going to require six or seven months of conditioning and training,” says Tietjens

Twelve teams will qualify for the Olympics in a three-stage process. Four will be taken from the 2014-2015 World Series and six from a qualifying event across the International Rugby Board (IRB) regions.

The remaining spots will be filled through a final tournament, with one slot available if Brazil has been granted an automatic place and two if it has not.

Despite being hosts, as a fledgling side Brazil need to put in some work to secure a free pass into the Games.

“We’re looking at what performance criteria we can set for Brazil over the next two years to see if they can automatically qualify,” Mark Egan, head of development at the IRB, told AFP.

“We want Brazil to be strong and we’re working closely with them — I think for the success of the tournament you’d want to see Brazil in both the men’s and women’s events, whether they qualify on merit or get an automatic position.”

With Brazil making an impressive debut at the Hong Kong Sevens pre-qualifier this weekend, team captain Fernando Portugal has high hopes.

“Without a doubt I would like to play in the Olympics — it would be a dream come true,” he told AFP.

Though rugby is little-known in Brazil, he believes the players’ commitment and the Olympic stage will go a long way to changing that.

“Our passion for rugby is contagious for the Brazilian people, and we think in the coming years they will support us more and more,” said Portugal.

Speaking before the Hong Kong Sevens, Sebastian Coe, who was chairman of the highly praised London 2012 Olympics, said the inclusion of sevens in the Games would be good for the sport as a whole.

“Rugby sevens will help the globalisation of the game and the number of countries that will play it,” he said.

For Tietjens, it’s the chance to cap an illustrious 20 years in the sevens game.

“I’ve been to four Commonwealth Games and I’ve enjoyed every one of those tremendously,” he told AFP. “The pinnacle of my career is taking the team to the Olympics.” — AFP

HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT: The CIMB Foundation KRFC team with Zulkuranainhisham (left) and Azian (left, back row) posing with Azlan (centre, back row) and voluntary coach Zamzy Abdul Rahman (right) upon the team’s return to Kuching at the Kuching International Airport on Tuesday. — Photo by Harry Ilias

KUCHING: The trip to Colombo, Sri Lanka for the CIMB Foundation KRFC last week for the 6th Zahira Rugby Sevens has proved very worthwhile as they returned with the Plate Challenge trophy to Kuching last Sunday.

CIMB Foundation KRFC, the only school team from Malaysia in the tournament, lifted the title by blanking Carey College 34-0 in the Plate Challenge final.

Although they lost 10-14 to Kolej Nalanda in the opening game, CIMB Foundation KRFC bounced back with a 12-5 win over host Zahira College 12-5 in the Plate quarterfinals.

The Malaysian team went on to thump Isipathana College 32-7 in the semi-final at the Zahira College grounds last Saturday.

It was also a historic achievement as CIMB Foundation KRFC were the first team from Sarawak and Malaysia to win the Plate Challenge trophy in the 12-team contest.

They also achieved their mission of bettering their last year’s result where they emerged runner-up in the Plate Challenge.

The victory was even sweeter with Christopher Joshua being named the Most Outstanding Player of the competition.

“The boys did really well to win all the matches after losing the most important first match which determined the spots in the Cup semi-finals,” said coach Zulkuranainhisham Sarbini when contacted yesterday.

He reckoned that had his team won the opener, they could have gone on to beat Zahira in the semi-finals and beat eventual Cup champions Vidyartha College from Kandy in the Cup final.

“I feel very proud of the strong commitment displayed by the players and although many of them were injured during the competition, there was no lack of good fighting spirit and they took on their opponents with great courage and sportsmanship,” he added.

The coach said the event organisers were also impressed by the strong challenge that CIMB Foundation KRFC posed in the competition.

He has also identified some of the players as potential members of the Sukma XVI shadow team.

Meanwhile, Kuching Rugby and Football Club (KRFC) president Azlan Borhan Mohd hoped that more corporate bodies would come forward as sponsors for the association’s activities.

Azlan, who was at the Kuching International Airport on Tuesday to welcome home the team, said the team needs more exposure and play in more tournaments especially in Semenanjung Malaysia.

“Our team which was sponsored by CIMB Foundation have proved that they can compete at international level when given the chance.”

“They have shown a very high level of commitment and I can see that they can go further with more exposure and consistent training,” he said, adding that Sarawak can become a rugby powerhouse in Borneo.

The team, managed by Azlan’s brother Azian, comprised Christopher Joshua (Kolej DPAH Abdillah), Muhammad Syafiq Afiq Saini (captain) and Syed Abdul Aziz Wan Halami from UiTM, Robbie Stephen (SMK Tebedu), Shahiddan Hazlan, Seman Julai and Abang Aswandi Abang Sawli (ex-SMKA SHOAW), Dilip Sian Daniel and Kamaruddin Padin (ex-SMK Asajaya).

READY TO ROAR: The CIMB Foundation KRFU players together with their team manager, Azian Borhan (centre) who left for the Zahira Sevens Rugby in Sri Lanka yesterday posing for a group photo.

KUCHING: CIMB Foundation KRFU is looking to improve their performance in this year’s Zahira Sevens Rugby that will be held at Zahira College in Colombo, Sri Lanka starting tomorrow.

Its team manager Mohamad Azian Borhan Mohamad said they are hoping to finish among the top three teams in the 12-team competition.

“We finished runners-up in the Plate category last year and fourth overall in the tournament. We have high hopes for this team to do better this year and I believe the boys can do it,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

His confidence was based on the fact that five of the players from last year’s squad were retained in this year’s line-up.

“They have been undergoing a one-week intensive training under coach Zulkaranainhisham Sarbeni at Song Kheng Hai Rugby Ground and have played in inter-schools, inter-division and MSSM meets for the past few months.

“They look fit and ready for the challenge,” he added.

The team comprises Christopher Joshua (Kolej DPAH Abdillah), Muhammad Syafiq Afiq Saini (captain) and Syed Abdul Aziz Wan Halami from UiTM, Robbie Stephen (SMK Tebedu), Shahiddan Hazlan, Seman Julai and Abang Aswandi Abang Sawli (ex-SMKA SHOAW), Dilip Sian Daniel and Kamaruddin Padin (ex-SMK Asajaya).

The team’s trip is sponsored by CIMB Foundation.

The defending champions beat MRSM Mukah 27-5 in the final and won the right to represent Sarawak in the  Milo Under 15 MSSM Championship in November together with the losing finalist.

SHOAW also had nine members in the squad that helped Kuching win the Under 18 title at the MSSS Rugby Championship.

They were Mohd Farridzuan Iqmal  Husaini, Mohd Nor Farizwan Ali, Muhd Aiman Hazwan Hamad, Fiqrulhakimie Mohamed, Azali Aluwi, Mohd Zulhilmi Yakup, Muhd Zarrin Ishak, Hafizulnudin Seidi and Muhammad Aiman Aidin.

Seven players from SHOAW have also been selected for the Sarawak squad for the MSSM Rugby Championship in Perak from March 25-30.

They are Muhd Aiman, Azali, Mohd Zulhilmi, Fiqrulhakimie, Hafizulnudin, Muhammad Aiman and Ardiff Luzman  Apendi.

SHOAW chief coach Zulkaranainhisham Sarbini was happy to note that his players had done well in both the Kuching Inter-School and the MSSS meets.

“Kuching has done extremely well in the MSSS Under 18 competition with big wins, 102-0 over host Betong, 36-0 over Sibu and 35-7 over Samarahan,” said Zulkaranainhisham as he extended his congratulations to the coaches and players for a job well done.

“But we still need to work very hard to improve ourselves in order to at least qualify for the quarterfinals in the national meet in Perak next month,” he pointed out.  Zulkaranainhisham, who is also the state technical committee chairman, felt that the Kuching squad has some areas for important for improvement.

“Hopefully, the inclusion of nine new players from other divisions will help strengthen the Sarawak team,” he said and added that the national Under 18 competition has always been tough.

He said that Sarawak need to be match fit and possess good stamina besides being individually skillful and able to gel well in unit play, attack and defence.

“We will try to get a good result,” he said.

Apart from being involved in the MSSM Rugby Championship,  SHOAW players will be participating in the MCKK Premier Sevens for the third time from Feb 22-24 in Kangsar, and probably in the Cobra 10s in Kuala Lumpur in May.

This will be followed by Sukma XVI in Kuala Lumpur from June 28 to July 7.

In the second semester, the activities lined up will include the Curtin Sevens in Miri, and the King George V (KGV) 10s in Seremban.

“We are competing in a lot of tournaments outside Sarawak as this will provide a very good exposure for our players,” Zulkaranainhisham concluded.

BACK IN ACTION: File photo of SM Sains (in red) and Kolej DPAH Abdillah in action during the recent Kuching Inter-School Rugby Tournament last week. The two schools are among 12 teams competing in the U-15 category of the Inter-Division MSSS tournament which starts today.

KUCHING: The Sarawak State School Council (MSSS) Inter-Division rugby tournament kicks off today at the MRSM Betong.

Teams are competing in three age groups: Under 12, U-15 and the U-18.  A selection process will be conducted after the completion of the U-12 and the U-18 competitions.

Speaking to The Borneo Post yesterday, Sarawak MSSS rugby technical and development chairman Zulkaranainhisham Sarbini revealed that the selections committee intend to select 12 players for the U-12 category and 25 players for the U-18 category.

The selected players will represent Sarawak to compete in the inter-state rugby meet in Perak in March.  The U-12 and U-18 titles will be contested by four divisions namely Kuching, Samarahan, Betong and Sibu.

As for the U-15, the competition will be school-based. Among the 12 school teams from around the state that have registered for this age group are Kolej DPAH Abdillah (Kuching), SMKA SHOAW (Kuching),  SM Sains (Kuching), MRSM (Kuching), SMK Tebedu (Samarahan), SMK St. Luke (Sri Aman), MRSM (Betong), SMK Kedit (Betong), SMK Saribas (Betong), SMK Agama Saratok (Betong), SM Sacred Heart (Sibu) and MRSM (Mukah).

All final matches are scheduled to be played on Thursday (Jan 31).

THREE IN A ROW: Kolej DPAH Abdillah players and coach Zamzy (right) celebrate their victory as Christopher receives the challenge trophy from Norlela (third right) during the prize presentation.

Kolej DPAH Abdillah beat SMKA SHOAW 14-0 to lift Kuching title

KUCHING: Kolej DPAH Abdillah continued their reign as secondary school rugby kings when they defeated arch-rivals SMKA SHOAW 14-0 in the final of the MSSM Kuching Inter-School 15 A-side Rugby Championship.

This was the third consecutive year that the Kolej boys have won the event and they brought home the challenge trophy.

The game was affected by the soggy pitch which made running difficult as both teams struggled for an early lead.

It was Kolej who broke the deadlock in the 24th minute when Ronald Sulau made a try after charging through the SHOAW lines.

State player Christopher Joshua converted the try to put Kolej 7-0 ahead.

Six minutes later, Christopher scored a try and Zainul Adha Kipperawi converted to double Kolej’s lead to 14-0.

SHOAW worked very hard but found the Kolej defence a hard nut to crack.

After the breather, both teams continued to attack each other relentlessly but failed to score more points.

Christopher had a penalty kick in the 45 minute but failed to convert. The scoreline remained until the last whistle.

Kolej coach Zamzy Abdul Rahman was proud of his boys for achieving a hat-trick of wins and congratulated them for their excellent performance.

“It was a good game and we had a good fight from our opponents and my boys had played their hearts out to win,” he said.

Zamzy felt that it could have been a better game if not for the poor condition of the pitch.

“We couldn’t play a running game as the pitch slowed down play,” he added.

The coach attributed his team’s success to good teamwork and committing less errors.

Despite losing to Kolej, SHOAW coach Zulkaranainhisham Sarbini was still happy with the performance of his team, saying they played well and had managed to defend well.

“We had our share of attacking but we failed to convert the attacks into points. On numerous occasions, our boys were only one or two metres away from the touch line and failure to score caused much frustration among the players,” he said.

“Overall, it was a good game and we congratulate Kolej for winning the title for the third consecutive year,” said Zulkaranainhisham, promising that his team will come back a stronger team next year.

Earlier, in a lop-sided play-off match, SM Sains Kuching demolished SMK St Joseph 19-0 to finish third in the championship.

The score at half-time was 14-0. SHOAW principal Norlela Bujang gave away the prizes.

This event was jointly organised by SHOAW and the Sarawak Education Department and was aimed at selecting players for the MSSM Inter-Division meet to be held in Betong in Jan 28-31.

The heavyweights simply steam-rollered over their opponents in yesterday’s semi-finals, with Kolej DPAH Abdillah trouncing SM Sains Kuching 78-0, which was the championship’s highest score, and SMKA SHOAW blanking SMK St Joseph 44-0.

While SMKA SHOAW are looking to wrest the title from Kolej DPAH Abdillah, the latter are targeting to win their third title in a row.

“It will be a 50-50 game tomorrow and I believe the team that have the better mental strength and commit the less mistakes will win the final,” said Kolej DPAH Abdillah coach Zamzy Abdul Rahman.

“Both teams have their own tactics and strategies, their strengths and weaknesses and other factors like game temperament, crowd support, pitch condition and the weather will affect the outcome of the game,” he added.

Zamzy said he would not put too much pressure on his boys but instead let them play their game.

“It will be a good game and we’ll give them a good fight to defend the title,” he said.

On the other hand, SHOAW coach Zulkaranainhisham Sarbini feels that today’s final would be a very interesting game although Kolej have the upper hand as most of their senior players are still in the team.

The SHOAW team is made up of seven form five students, eight form four students and ten form three students.

“As I have said earlier, we are now rebuilding our team and our present team is still developing. But they are doing well and most of my forwards are from form three. Out of the 10, six have started in the first 15,” he said, adding that he hoped his boys could spring a surprise.

“It is going to be a cracker where both teams are playing rugby technically and tactically in the right way. This should be the way that other schools play rugby.”

“If we can contain their key player Christopher Joshua and tighten up our defence, we may have chance of winning the final,” said Zulkaranainhisham.

For the record, SHOAW had dominated the championship since 2000, winning the event 11 consecutive times until they lost to Kolej in 2010 and 2011.

Zulkaranainhisham said SHOAW and Kolej were always in the final because both have good training programmes and committed coaching staff.

“We do our training all-year round and we also competing in a number of exposure tournaments in Semenanjung Malaysia like MCKK Premier 7s, Curtin 7s, Cobra 10s and KGV 10s,” he added.

This event is jointly organised by SHOAW and the Sarawak Education Department and aimed at selecting players for the MSSM Inter-Division meet to be held in Betong from Jan 28-31.

SECOND STRAIGHT WIN: Kolej DPAH players celebrate with their coach, Zamzy Abdul Rahman (left) after they defeated SM Teknik Sejingkat 57-5 in a Group A match of the MSSM Kuching Inter-School 15 A-side Rugby Championship at Song Kheng Hai Ground yesterday.

KUCHING: Tournament favourites Kolej DPAH Abdillah secured their semi-finals ticket after registering a second successive win in the preliminary round of the MSSM Kuching Inter-School 15 A-side Rugby Championship at Song Kheng Hai Ground yesterday.

Coached by Zamzy Abdul Rahman, the defending champions outclassed SM Teknik Sejingkat 57-5 in a lop-sided match in Group A.

The score at half-time was 24-0.

On Wednesday, Kolej DPAH Abdillah opened their campaign with a 58-0 trouncing of SMK St Joseph and with the two wins, they are now at the top the table standings with six points.

SM Teknik Sejingkat will take on SMK St Joseph today at 10:30am to decide tomorrow’s semi-finalist.

In Group B, after blanking SM Vokasional Matang 42-0 on Wednesday, last year’s runners-up SMKA SHOAW had no problem in defeating SM Sains Kuching 50-0.

SMKA SHOAW had also won twice and are now the top team in Group B with six points.

They will play next with SMK Petra Jaya today and are assured of a place in the last four if victory is on their side.

“The boys have done very well in the tournament so far and I am quite confident we can beat SMK Petra Jaya to make the semi-finals,” said SMKA SHOAW coach Zulkarnainhisham Sarbini.

He said the present team may not be as strong as their arch-rivals Kolej DPAH Abdillah as most of their players are studying in form four.

“We are still in the process of team rebuilding but in the next two or three years you will see a much stronger team,” he assured.

“We shall try our best to win and wrest the crown from Kolej DPAH Abdillah who have been the champions for the past three years,” he added.

Today’s other group match is between SM Sains Kuching and SM Vokasional Matang with both teams looking for a win to stay in contention in the competition.

The semi-finals will be played on Saturday and final is scheduled on Sunday.

This event is jointly organised by SMKA SHOAW and the Sarawak Education Department and aimed at selecting players for the MSSM Inter-Division meet to be held in Betong from Jan 28-30.

TOUGH AND ROUGH: KRFC Seniors’ Asian Bormann is tackled by Backchats Juniors defenders before he gets to the touchline. Backchats juniors beat KRFC Seniors 27-8.

KUCHING: Blackcatz Juniors avenged their last year’s defeat to KRFC Seniors by beating them 27-8 to lift the Louis Simon Peter Cup rugby tournament at Song Kheng Hai ground on Saturday.

The encounter dubbed as the ‘Doomsday Battle”, started sluggishly in the first 10 minutes, erupted to life when Blackcatz Juniors’ fly-half Zamzami sprinted from quarter field for the touchline and added the score with a perfect conversion. Other Blackcatz Juniors’ players that wrote their name on the score sheet were Dickson Anga, Victor Singku and Awangku Zainal with tries in the first half.

After the breather, the KRFC Seniors staged a comeback to reduce the deficit with tries from Asfhar Rahman and Azian Borhan.

Speaking to The Borneo Post, Louis Simon Peter whom the cup is named after revealed that this is the Seniors’ first defeat since it kicked-start in 2005.

“I think age is catching up with the Seniors whose average age is 35 to 45, as compared to the juniors’ average age of 19 to 23, and they have been regularly playing for their clubs recently while the Seniors were promptly grouped to form the team before the competition. Rugby, like any other sports, needs a lot of hard work and dedication in it, and hard work pays off,” he added.

Louis revealed that the contest, apart being a closure to the state rugby annual calendar would also serve as extension exposure to competitive situation matches for juniors players who are mostly in the state rugby development programme.

SCRUM TIME: Louis Simon Peter (third right) playing as hooker at training session recently. The annual year end Louis Simon Peter Cup rugby tournament will be held at Song Kheng Hai ground at 4.30pm tomorrow.

KUCHING: Kuching Rugby Football Club (KRFC) will hold the 7th edition Louis Simon Peter Cup at Song Kheng Hai ground at 4.30pm tomorrow.

With the challenge trophy sponsored by club member Louis Simon Peter, the year end event promises to be an interesting encounter between the Senior team and the Juniors.

“For the Seniors, winning the encounter will add colors to their winning momentum and stamp their authority while the Juniors on the other hand, will not want to lose and rest assure it will be a bruising but entertaining match to watch. Both teams will pit their skills to lay their hands on the Challenge Trophy and individual prizes,” said Louis who was the club’s former president.

“The Seniors are made up of veteran players of the club combining with some players from our development program where as the juniors are made up of our current players and for the record, the seniors have won four out of six encounters with the juniors. It is obvious that age is not a factor that decides the outcome of the match. With vast experience under their belt, it is certain that the juniors know that the match will not be a walk in the park for them,” he said of the event first introduced in 2005.

The Seniors team are expected to parade veterans like Louis himself, Thomas Jacques, Jackson Lim, Philip Aso Dreba, Lawrence Tan, Jim Lee, Francis Sim, Hasnu Mohd Noor, Badren Suni, Jackson Maxwell, brothers Vincent and Patrick Siqueen, Ismawi Mohd Noor, Abang Azman, Khairul Azizi, Haji Asri, Haji Basri Bolhassan, Haji Bujang Sepawi, Syeed Mokhsen, Faizal Salim, Lakia, Azlan Borhan and his younger sibling Azian, Alfred King and Zainudin Drahim.

Meanwhile KRFC president Azlan expressed the club’s gratitude to Louis for the sponsorship of the event and said that it augurs well for the development of the game which enables players to gain exposure.

Organised by Bintulu Rugby Club (BRC) and Sarawak Rugby Union (SRU), this will be the first time for annual event to be held at the new venue.

The teams competing in the two-day event are namely BRC, UPM Dolphins, Sibu Swans, Miri Rhinos, Politeknik Mukah Falcons, Kuching RFC Blackcatz, SHOAW Old Boys, Barbarians as well as two new additions from SMK King George V from Seremban and MLNG Rugby Club from Bintulu.

“Most of the players are combination of the seniors and newcomers, and over these past three years the local rugby scene is definitely going strong,” said Hilman Syazwan, a member of BRC.

According to him Bintulu is fielding three teams in the event which was won by the Sibu Swans for the second consecutive time.

Hilman said the challenge this year is expected to be tougher as teams such as Politeknik Mukah and SHOAW Old Boys are fielding combining their seniors and juniors players.

“Teams like Bintulu Rugby, MLNG Rugby, Miri Rhinos and Kuching Blackcatz trained days and nights to prepare for the tournament and UPM Dolphins are expected to unleash their new intake students who might be a surprise package in the tournament,” he said.

Lesser known teams like SMK KGV are also worth mentioning because it was one of the semi finalists in the recent national inter-school premier rugby championship.

“This year’s winner stands to win the champion’s trophy, medals and also cash prize. Medals will be awarded to the runners-up, Plate winner and Bowl winner respectively,” added Hilman.

Meanwhile BRC has been keeping busy by hosting the Rugby Clinic, Miri Rugby Tour, competed in this year’s SRU Presidents’ Cup and won the Bowl title of Baram Trophy rugby tourney in Miri.

BRC was the Plate champion in SRU 10’s held in Sibu, Plate runner-up in Kuching 7’s while at the same time it had also organised regular trainings at Kelab Kidurong Bintulu and Padang Dewan Suarah.

“The success of these tournaments would not be possible without Maysville Sdn Bhd as the main sponsor, as well as other sponsors like Crescent Engineering Sdn Bhd, Bintulu Development Authority, Madli Satay Restaurant, Vaie Voice Entertainment Services, Semerak Shipyard and Maritime Engineering Sdn Bhd,” said Hilman.

FOR YOU: Assistant Minister of Sports, Datuk Lee Kim Shin Lee (second right) presents mock cheque to Miri Division Rugby Union (MDRU) president, Antonio as association treasurer Bunyamin Matnor (left) and deputy secretary, Sylvia Lian look on.

MIRI: Miri Division Rugby Union (MDRU) is need of a proper rugby field to implement its long-term goals and development programme.

Its president Antonio Kahti Galis said the association needs the facility to produce good players and champion teams.

“Normally, we conducted our tournaments at the football field of Ministry of Social Development and Urbanisation (KPSU) Miri office,” he told the media during the cheque presentation ceremony with Assistant Minister of Sports Datuk Lee Kim Shin held at Miri Resident office yesterday..

“Since Curtin Sarawak had their owned rugby field, some of the games were held at the university. However, we still conducted our training at KPSU’s field as we do not wanted to interrupt the daily routine training of the Curtin’s rugby team,” he added

In view of that, Lee has asked MDRU to submit a proper and comprehensive proposal on the request to the ministry and said every effort will be made to support the request made.

The minister who gave away a RM3,000 grant to the association suggested perhaps the intended facility could possibly be built at Permyjaya new township.

At the same time, he also requested for MDRU to work closely with Sarawak Rugby Union (SRU) to develop a centre of excellent for the development of rugby in the state.

“If we start at the very young age, the chances for these young athletes to excel in respective sport field relatively high,” Lee said on efforts to promote and develop good sportsmanship among the young generation must be done at earlier age. Thus, he wanted the MDRU to intensify its existing school rugby programme among primary schools and that the programme must also include development of athletes, technical development, refereeing and coaching.

At the moment, seven secondary schools under the union’s development programme namely SMK Pujut, SM Sains Miri, SM Teknik Miri, SMK Luar Bandar, SMK Baru, SMK Lutong and SMK Dato Permaisuri.

Also present during the function were MDRU treasurer Bunyamin Matnor and deputy secretary Sylvia Lian.

“I told the judge the indictment is baseless… I didn’t do anything,” the 89-year-old Lee told reporters after attending a hearing in the Taipei district court.

Lee was indicted last year on charges of embezzling 7.79 million from the government’s diplomatic slush funds while in office to help set up a private think-tank.

He is the second former Taiwanese president to face graft charges, and his successor Chen Shui-bian is currently serving a jail term of 17 years and six months on two bribery convictions.

Lee still enjoys support from the island’s pro-independence camp and has been a vocal critic of the government’s China-friendly policies.

He has accused the government of “inventing” the charges to persecute a high-profile critic, prompting incumbent Ma Ying-jeou to deny meddling in his graft case.

Lee irked Beijing during his presidency by promoting a separate identity for Taiwan. Beijing fired missiles near the island in 1995 and 1996, triggering a US decision to send two carrier groups to the area. — AFP

In the game last week, they showed that they are not overawed by Club as they did not shy away from taking the game to their club counterparts. Being a new side, playing their third tournament, if I’m not wrong, and their first as a full 15 side, they obviously are still a bit raw around the edges but with enough time between now and the start of the Samarahan tournament, I’m sure they will give their counterparts from Samarahan a good run for their money.

I reckon there will be a number of friendlies in the coming weeks between the schools from Samarahan and club as part of the schools’ preparations.

The latest update on the scene for Kuching is that 15 schools have been invited for the tournament but to date, none have yet to confirm except for SHOAW. The 15 schools that have been invited are the usual cast, with one or two making a return to the scene after a layoff of a few years.

Kolej DPAH Abdillah, being the host and organisers and also defending champions, will be the no. 1 seed, followed by SMKA Sheikh Hj. Othman Abdul Wahab aka SHOAW seeded second. SM Sains Kuching and SMK St. Joseph will be the third and fourth seeds and these 4 schools will be kept separate in the initial pool games.

The seeding are based on last year’s results, with Kolej the champions, SHOAW the first runners up and Sains Kuching and St. Joseph third and fourth. Other schools that have been invited are SMK Agama Matang, Teknik Sejingkat, Maktab Rendah sains Mara aka MRSM, Vokasional Kuching, Vokasional Matang, SMK Penrissen, SMK Siburan, who made their debut last year. Sek Tunku Abdul Rahman aka STAR are also one of the schools invited schools while Tun Abang Hj. Openg aka TAHO and SMK St. Thomas, are making a return after a few years’ absence.

SMK Petra Jaya is another that has been invited. Sg. Tapang has dropped the game from its list of sports and so will not be playing.

These schools can easily arrange friendlies amongst themselves, or against Club or even Politeknik Kuching in the coming few weeks but then again it all depends on the various coaches

Why are SHOAW, Kolej and Asajaya successful? It is because their coaches, Zul, Zamzy and Wan Ahmad respectively, and their assistants, have their charges’ welfare at heart.

They are friendly and close to their charges and in return their charges respect them, and are ready to listen to them. Zul, Zam and Wan sacrificed a lot of their own time, and sometimes even their own funds, to train their players, and so in return, their players are willing to go that extra mile for these coaches.

Wan never really played the game in his younger days yet he has managed to produce winning sides year in, year out for his school even before he went for the coaching courses. And now that after he has done his coaching courses, he has not only built Asajaya into a strong side, he has also gone into other schools in Samarahan to set up rugby teams and now there are 3 schools in the Asajaya area playing, Asajaya, Asajaya 2 and Muara Tuang.

The northern hemisphere’s RBS 6 Nations championship will kick off this weekend with 3 matches, England against Scotland in the opener, France versus Italy today and Wales facing Ireland tomorrow.

The following few weeks will be interesting for all rugby enthusiasts with matches of the championship and the European cup shown on Astro. Most of the teams will be parading teams that are almost unknown to most of us here, as quite a few players have retired after the world cup last year.

There will be another friendly game today scheduled for kick off at 4.30 pm at the Song Kheng Hai ground along Padungan Road and everyone who is interested in running out for a game are most welcome to turn up at the field before 4.30 pm. Jumpers for the game will be provided by Club, so any interested party just need to bring along their own pair of shorts, stockings and boots.