Coach Zulkaranainhisham (right) with his lads at the school rugby ground at Matang before a training session.
KUCHING: SMK Agama Sheikh Haji Othman Abdul Wahab (SHOAW) are looking to do well again in the prestigious Malay College Rugby Premier Sevens at the Kuala Kangsar Malay College (MCKK) in Perak from Feb 24-26.
This will be the seventh time that the Kuching school rugby powerhouse are taking part in the Under-17 competition and they have never missed the invitation to play in what some have dubbed as the best school organised rugby sevens in Asia.
“This tourney has been a great experience for at SHOAW and I believe it is a privilege for every invited school to be there,” said Shoaw head coach Zulkaranainhisham Sarbini.
He added that SHOAW’s participation had been quite impressive since 2011 but most importantly is being there to play against the best school teams in the country is an achievement itself.
“In our debut in 2011, we made it to the winners pool to end up losing in the Plate category. We upset Vajiravudh College of Thailand in the group match and that made our presence known since then.
“The following year, we made it to the big time by advancing to the Cup semi-finals only to lose narrowly (17-19) to the Malaysia Sports School SSTMI in the last play of injury-time when we were making surprises leading all the way in that semi-final,” he recalled with pride.
SHOAW were in the Spoon category in 2014 and playing in the losers’ pool Bowl category from 2013-2016.
Zul said over the years, SHOAW count themselves to be lucky for the experience of playing against top teams like New Zealand Scots College where they lost 0-38. Besides that, Shoaw also played group matches against top local school teams like the home team MCKK in 2013 and 2015.
“Thus, this year our target is still to make it happen for us and strive to be our best at group stage and hoping to make the top-two ranking so that we are able to compete in the Cup/Plate category.
“MCKK 7s is an ideal platform for every invited team to excel and SHOAW are of no exception. We will definitely prepare our best team and be at our best although we are considered as an underdog team at this international tournament,” said Zul.
SHOAW, captained by Muhd Syukri Borhan, include Muhd Ashamuddin Naim Aziz (vice captain), Alif Bazli Najmi Mohamad Haimey, Awang Muhd Hafiz Awang Wainee, Amirul Aiman Supian, Azreenal Shah Ismail, Abdul Alif Adam, Nur Zikry Farhan Mohd Zailan, Muhd Haziq Zainuddin, Ahmad Lufti Mohamad Yusuf, Mohammad Qayyum Adinan and Saiful Daniel Mohd Khairi.
The MCKK 7s has attracted 24 teams including four foreign sides — the Australian International School of Singapore, the Hong Kong Sports School of Hong Kong, SMA Durunnajah of Indonesia and Vijarudh College of Thailand.
On the home front, Perak are fielding three teams while Johor are sending three, Selangor (2), Kuala Lumpur (2), Negeri Sembilan (2) and one team each from Sarawak, Sabah, Perlis, Kedah, Putrajaya, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.