KUALA LUMPUR: The national men’s rugby 15s team refuses to throw in the towel and is set to face Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) heavy favourites, Hong Kong, at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, tonight.
Head coach, Lee Nyuk Fah said the players look confident after they got a much-needed experience against South Korea, last week where they suffered a 10-35 defeat.
“The match against Hong Kong will be challenging because we haven’t faced them in a while. During that time, the gap wasn’t as big as when we played Korea but since then we’ve progressed and that is why we’re playing at the ARC.”
“Malaysia should be proud and this is an honour, to be playing ARC for the first time. Our hope is just to give Hong Kong a tough match despite them being the heavy favourites,” he said.
Nyuk Fah added it’s vital the players reduce the number of mistakes they make during the match and has put his faith on his substitutes after finding himself with a long list of players sidelined due to injuries sustained from the South Korea match.
Last week, five national ruggers were reported to have sustained injuries which included Nathanial Tan (broken jaw), Amirul Aqil (concussion), Rosmanizam Roslan (fractured ankle), Sofian Mohd Kamil (torn hamstring) and Mohd Nur Ikwan Nordin (torn left cheek, received seven-stitches).
