High five: The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) involving three nations to host the Women’s 15s Championship.
PETALING JAYA: While much of the rugby world continues to focus on the fast-paced 7s format, the Southeast Asia Rugby Federation (SEARF) are taking a bold step forward by launching the Women’s 15s Championship.
The inaugural edition will feature three countries Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, with Malaysia stepping up as host.
The tournament is set to take place in Selangor, in February next year. The idea behind the tournament is to provide a dedicated platform for the women’s 15s format, which has seen limited competitive opportunities in the Southeast Asian region.
Despite having just three teams in its debut edition, the championship promises to be a competitive outing, with matches expected to be played in a round-robin format.
As part of early preparations, Malaysia have already begun scouting efforts to assemble the best possible squad for the home tournament.
"On behalf of Malaysia Rugby, we’ve already begun working closely with relevant parties and preparations are underway,” said Malaysian Rugby council member, Shahizam Tukiran.
"Team selection is already in progress and some of the players are competing in the ongoing Selangor League.
"With six teams participating, I’d especially like to thank the new team from Sarawak, who have shown great commitment by travelling to Selangor each week. Their involvement is a strong step towards developing state-level rugby in Sarawak," he added.
The Philippines women’s rugby team, for example, have not played in any competitive matches since 2019, while Singapore is still in the process of building its 15s squad.
Singapore Rugby council member Angelina Liu described the tournament as an important starting point for reviving the 15s format, which had long taken a back seat due to the dominance of 7s rugby.
"With this tournament, girls who aren’t suited to the 7s style now have a proper platform to grow and contribute to the sport’s development in Southeast Asia," she said.
