SANDAKAN – The eagerly awaited Borneo Sevens 2024 is set to kick off with 14 teams, including six women’s teams, contending for the title of the Greenest Sevens in the World.
The tournament will unfold at the Eagles Rugby Club on March 9 and 10, offering two days of thrilling matches from top-notch teams.
Organising chairman Velayuthan Tan said the tournament, which had started 23 years ago, has gone a long way from a simple local tournament to one of the premier club Sevens in Asia today.
“This is especially meaningful to the rugby fraternity in Malaysia; you don’t get as many foreign teams to come year after year, and we managed to do that, and we hope to continue doing so in many years to come,” he said at a press conference, here today.
Velayuthan said that other than promoting Sandakan’s sports tourism, the tournament serves as a platform to expose local rugby players to international professional players, and to improve their standard of play.
“The best of the best will be playing alongside our players. This is part of our effort to slowly professionalise our players. It cannot be done overnight.
“For the next couple of years, we hope we can have high standards for Sabah rugby. We set our benchmark high for them (players) to learn and analyse, aspiring them to play like that (professional players).
“Then, the discipline and training (methods) will follow,” he said, adding that the foreign competing teams include some of the best teams from Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.
The tournament will see the men’s category’s eight teams divided into two pools with defending champion Borneo Eagles, Briars, Belgium, and Malaysia Uni in Pool A.
Pool B is comprised of the Cavaliers, Uzbekistan, Delhi Hurricanes, and DKI Jakarta.
The women’s teams will be playing in a round-robin format and the teams competing for the title are Borneo Flyers, Uzbekistan, Philippines Eagles RFC, Briars, BAC Singapore, and DKI Jakarta.
Champions of the Borneo Sevens 2024, both in the men’s and women’s categories will take home a challenge trophy and US$5,000 (about RM23,000) cash, respectively. The runner-up in both categories will receive US$2,000 (about RM9,400) cash.
Eagles Rugby club house captain Jonathan Tan said the tournament’s concept this year is different from previous years as it will see a carnival-like environment to attract a wider audience.
The carnival will include activities such as a car show, and performances by local artists, Chinese opera performances, and more.
He added that the event included a two-day coaching clinic session conducted by the Borneo Eagles and the Cavaliers involving 200 local children.
“We will also have the veterans 10s tournament on Friday, which we hope to be able to hold annually to attract players who are above 40 years old,” he said.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh is expected to be present for the tournament’s launch on Sunday.
The tournament is the only international sports event that is organised in Sandakan annually. – March 7, 2024