| Syazwani Hj Rosli & Fadhil Yunus |
A TOTAL of 12 local rugby players of the Brunei National 7s yesterday left for Singapore to participate in the inaugural Southeast Asia Sevens (SEA 7s) tournament which will be held tomorrow (Friday, 15th April) at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium, Singapore.
The SEA 7s will feature eight men’s teams from Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore with the top two from each group scheduled to compete in the National Stadium on day one of the HSBC World Rugby Singapore Sevens.
Brunei have been drawn in Group ‘B’ alongside Laos, Indonesia and hosts Singapore in the seven-nation tournament which also includes Singapore A, Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines in Group ‘A’.
In an interview, team manager of the Brunei National 7s, Yussuf Flynn said that the team will be facing off strong rugby teams from around the region and hopes that they will perform to win.
12 players of the Brunei National 7s in a group photo prior to their departure. – SYAZWANI HJ ROSLI
When asked about their preparation, Yussof said that the squad has underwent good preparation ahead of the tournament and has recently participated in the Borneo 7s hosted by the Borneo Eagles in Sandakan.
“We had professional teams from around the world that came to play in Sandakan so it gives the opportunity to the players to play in such high level. They did very well and it was a good platform for them. Since then, we have continued training twice a week from last month.
“Being able to play at this level is good for the future rugby. I hope the squad can learn from their experiences,” he said.
Brunei will kick off their campaign in the preliminaries against Laos tomorrow at 12.40pm before meeting Indonesia at 2.40pm and against Singapore at 4pm.
The Brunei National 7s which runs under The Brunei Rugby Football Union (BRFU) aims towards growing rugby as a sport in Brunei and to grow the local rugby talent and give Bruneians as much opportunity and exposure to the international sporting arena.
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