File photo shows Song (centre) giving advice to players during the recent tournament for the Br Albinus Cup in Sibu.
SIBU: Sarawak Rugby Union (SRU) president Richard Song is expected to officiate at the opening and closing ceremony of the SRU President’s Cup 15-a-side Championship here on Aug 31 and Sept 1.
Four teams – Betong, Miri, Kuching and Sibu – have qualified for the 15-a-side tournament.
Sibu will take on Miri while Betong will face off with Kuching on the first day.
The final is at 2pm on Sept 1.
Kuching is the defending champion while Sibu won the 2017 edition.
Meanwhile, Sibu Division Rugby Union (SDRU) chief coach Michael Ting said it is an honour for Sibu to host the event.
He was all praise for the “very committed” Song who has been president since 2016.
Song, he revealed, has been “so keen and instrumental” in sustaining the tournament as the way forward for the development of the sport in the state.
The president, Ting added, gives hope to a great revival for the sport which will turn Sarawak into a powerhouse for rugby.
He cited the example of Song being very vocal in pushing for a rugby pitch in Sibu.
Recently, Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sport Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah advised SDRU to liaise with Sibu Land & Survey Department in find a suitable piece of land for the field.
Besides announcing a RM30,000 MRP grant and RM10,000 from Sarawak Sports Corporation for SDRU to organise activities, the minister also pledged to help source funding to build the facility once the land is identified. Sibu took over the task of hosting this year’s President’s Cup due to the haze situation in Miri.
Song will personally hand over the Challenge Cup to SDRU patron Dato Sri Bartholomew Wong on Aug 31 to be witnessed by SDRU president Jeffery Ting and chairman Anthony Ting.