Brunei close in on semis

THE national 7s rugby team won their first game in a major International Rugby Board (IRB) tournament when they beat Laos 31-0 in yesterday's Brunei 7s.

The second leg of the inaugural Asian Rugby Sevens Series, the two-day competition comes to a close at the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas today and will see Brunei face India in their last round-robin stage match at 12.45pm.

With only five teams competing in the tournament and Laos having lost all three of their games yesterday, Brunei's berth in today's semi-finals is virtually a surety.

Despite the landmark victory against Laos yesterday, Brunei failed to impress in their other two games, falling 35-0 to the Philippines in their first game and losing 52-0 to Malaysia in their third.

Richard Chu scored the first try in the game against Laos after running to the right-flank following a line-out, though vice-captain Petrus Tuan failed to convert.

Chu bagged his second try a minute later when he intercepted a pass in the centre of the park and raced to the try-line, with Tuan making no mistake this time.

The hosts would score straight after the kick-off through Muhammad Ziyad Hj Ramlee on the left flank to set the scores at 19-0 at half-time after Tuan converted.

Laos never really got into the match in the second half, with Tuan taking less than a minute to add to their misery when he passed the ball to Muhammad Ziyad, who went on to score again on the left flank after running half the length of the field.

Cassidy Enggu scored the team's fifth try after evading a couple of tackles and running half the length of the field to score, with Tuan once again trusty with his boot.

"Of course, I am very, very pleased that we won our first major international game," said the national coach Zakaria Hj Hamzah.

"The boys were really into the match, and they were able to coordinate their movement and defence," he added.

Looking forward to today's game against India, the 38-year-old coach who is also the captain of the 2009 Darussalam Cup and Kamaruddin Cup champions Belait Pythons said that rest would be key.

"It is good that we have no injuries and the team can prepare mentally for the game against India. It will be a 50/50 game," said Zakaria.

"It is now up to the team to play. They need some good rest and some ice to be prepared for tomorrow (Sunday)," he added.

India lost 14-12 to the Philippines and 31-5 to Malaysia but picked up a 38-10 win against Laos in their third game.

The Brunei Times