Commitment Is Key To Success Of Malaysian U-18 Rugby Squad

SEPANG, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- The high commitment and cooperation shown by players paved the way for the national under-18 squad to defend their Asia Rugby Under-18 Boys Sevens title on Sunday. Chief coach, Wan Norsyahmi Wan Daud said the players were brilliant in playing according to instructions to come from 0-10 down at half time to record 14-10 victory over hosts, China in Kunming. "When we were trailing, we made a tactical switch to the first eleven and it proved to be effective. The players displayed unflinching commitment to secure the win,” he told Bernama upon returning at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2). Earlier, the squad were received by Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, National Sports Council director-general Ahmad Shapawi and Malaysia Rugby president Shahrul Zaman Yahya. Wan Norsyahmi also welcomed the announcement of the minister that the squad would be rewarded in the form of development programmes and participation in more tournaments. Meanwhile, team captain, Muhamad Faiq Aslah Mohd Satar said it was much more difficult defending the title this time compared to last year when Malaysia hosted the event. "This year, only three players from last year's squad were retained while nine others were new players selected via local championships. Besides other countries are also sending their strong team especially China to make competition more intense. “All players in the team are very talented and they gave their full commitment and cooperation to the games. I hope we would continue to improve to raise the country's rugby standard,” he said. -- BERNAMA