Malaysia Trounce Philippines To Clinch Sea Women's XV Rugby Title

PETALING JAYA, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia mauled the Philippines 78-0 to emerge as champions in the inaugural tri-nation Southeast Asia (SEA) Women's XV Rugby Championship at Padang Astaka here on Saturday.

Coach Raimi Mohd Yusof's players had earlier drawn 15-15 with Singapore in their opening tie on Feb 8. Singapore, meanwhile, handed the Philippines a 51-0 hammering on Feb 11.

Raimi said he never expected his players, who stormed into a 38-0 first-half lead against the Philippines, to score such a big win today.

"We learned from our mistakes against Singapore. We knew the Filipinas had the advantage in size, so we made sure we had a strong defence. We also capitalised on our speed,” he told reporters after the match.

-- BERNAMA