Rugby boys finish fifth in China leg of Asia Sevens

PETALING JAYA: The national men’s rugby team achieved their target of a fifth-place finish at the Asia Rugby Sevens Series in Hangzhou, China, but there is work to be done before the final leg in November.

The Hibiscus defeated neighbours Singapore 21-10 in the plate semi-finals before a close 17-12 win against United Arab Emirates in the final at the Normal University in Hangzhou to finish fifth out of eight teams on Sunday.

National team head coach Nik Safuan Ismade Nik Man said the team, who are set to compete in the final Asia Sevens Series from Nov 9-10 in Bangkok, needed to improve on a few areas.

“We are thankful that we got to accomplish our mission but in terms of performance, it is still below par. There are some areas that need fixing,” said Safuan.

“The ultimate target is to prepare a team for the 2025 Thailand SEA Games and 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.”

The national team finished sixth during the opening leg of the Asia Sevens Series held in Incheon, South Korea, earlier this month.

Said the Hibiscus’ captain Anwarul Hafiz Ahmad: “We’ve reached the KPI set by our coach and we are also relieved that there are no serious injuries.”

“I’m very proud of the players because they had given 100% to reach the target. We want to play better and show improvement in the final series.”

In the women’s category, Malaysia won 24-17 against the United Arab Emirates to finish seventh out of eight teams.