Kiwi players just happy to be on tour of Malaysia

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THE visiting Kiwi side Paraparaumu Rugby Football Club (RFC) went down in two encounters of the triangular Under-13 challenge at the Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar in Mantin, Negri Sembilan recently.

For the visitors, it was not an inspiring five-day visit to Malaysia as far as the results on the rugby pitch were concerned.

However, it was not all lost for the youngsters from New Zealand who managed to soak up the local culture and well as experiencing the warmth Malaysian hospitality.

The winners: The SM Sains Selangor Under-13 line-up were unbeaten in the recent triangular series against visiting Kiwi side Paraparaumu from Welllington and Klang Valley based Bintang Rugby Club.

Currently, Paraparaumu have 44 trainees aged between six and 13 going through the paces under their training programme and the tour has been a reward for their charges graduating from the age-group.

Paraparaumu RFC spokesperson Kerry Schreiber said the touring group comprising 18 juniors and eight parents had an enjoyable time during their stay here.

“Previously, we visited Japan for the past three tours. We decided to travel to different destinations visiting Malaysia and Singapore because of the earthquake in Japan early this year.

It was great that our boys had the chance to interact with the expatriates and local families. - Kerry Schreiber

“It was great that our boys had the chance to interact with the expatriates and local families who provided them with enriching home stay experience,” he added.

In the mini tournament over the weekend, the formidable SM Sains Selangor line-up were the winners as they remained undefeated in both friendly matches.

En route to chalking up a successful weekend, the local side guided by Raja Idris Raja Ali registered an untroubled 32-5 win over Paraparaumu and overcame Bintang Rugby Club (BRC) 28-17 victory.

In the 20 minutes each way match against the New Zealanders, SM Sains Selangor crossed the touch line on five occasions including two conversions and slotted a penalty attempt.

Raja Idris praised his young charges comprising a majority of Form One students for stepping up the challenge.

“We are delighted with the encouraging results today. The young squad rose to the occasion and lived up to our expectations,” the long-serving coach said.

The friendly hosts BRC were also not as generous on the pitch and fended off the resistance from Paraparaumu before prevailing with a hard-earned 21-19 win.

As a lead up to the tour, Schreiber said they were excited about going on the trip and conducted several fundraising initiatives.

“Coming from a nation with strong tradition in rugby, we were surprised with the level of competitiveness shown by the local junior sides in Malaysia. We are impressed with the ongoing programmes at grassroots to groom the children to learn the 15-a-side rugby game here,” he added.

Sweet treats: The junior rugby players chilling out after their matches.

The visitors ended their stint here without a win when they lost their opening match to Negri Sembilan Sports School and their final match-up against Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak (SDAR) from Seremban.

Following their matches over the weekend, the Kiwi visitors had a splashing time cooling down in the pool at a club in Petaling Jaya.

They also saw France book their place for the World Cup final edging Wales with a narrow 9-8 victory as well their favourite side All Blacks thumping the Wallabies with a convincing 20-6 win to advance to the championship match.

They also featured in two friendly matches against Singapore’s junior sides as they wrap up their recent tour.