SANDAKAN – The defending champions of the Borneo Sevens, the Borneo Eagles, will be going all out to defend their title at the Eagles Rugby Club here this weekend.
However, the team are not taking it easy as they expect to face a stiff challenge from the Briars from Australia and the Cavaliers from New Zealand.
Borneo Eagles team manager Iskandar Wasli said the team, led by New Zealander Kaleb Emile-Vaoga, want to put up an even better showing than last year.
“We want to defend the championship title and play better than last year,” he said.
Last year’s champions in the women’s category, Sabah NZ 7s, are going by the name Borneo Flyers this year and they will be led by Dhys Faleafaga, who has represented the New Zealand women’s rugby union side, the Black Ferns.
Noor Shaidan Sa’ad, manager for the Borneo Flyers, identified India and Uzbekistan as their strongest opponents, with the latter being a familiar contender.
The team aims to retain the championship title, aligning with the aspirations of Velayuthan Tan, who heads both the Sabah Rugby Union and the Eagles Rugby Club.
Day one of the Borneo Sevens concluded with the Borneo Flyers maintaining their lead in the women’s category. The tournament kicked off with the team securing a triumphant victory against DKI Jakarta, scoring 31 points while keeping their opponents scoreless.
After three games each, both the Borneo Flyers and Uzbekistan have emerged top of the standings on nine points, having won all their matches of the day.
The Eagles RFC Select from the Philippines, BAC Singapore and Briars Australia concluded the day with three points each. Meanwhile, DKI Jakarta were winless and failed to secure any points.
In the men’s category, defending champions the Borneo Eagles top pool A with nine points from three wins. The Briars, who won two of their three matches, collected six points while Malaysia Uni are in third place with three points from one win. The Belgium Barbarians have yet to secure a win.
Pool B was topped by the NZ Cavaliers with six points, closely followed by Uzbekistan, also securing six points. The Delhi Hurricanes collected three points with one win from three matches while DKI Jakarta did not win any of their matches.
Despite challenging weather conditions, all teams exhibited commendable performances on the first day of the tournament.
Matches will start at 8am tomorrow with the Borneo Flyers taking on Uzbekistan, followed by DKI Jakarta and BAC Singapore going against Eagles RFC Select. The remaining matches will be played at 11am with the finals for the women’s category scheduled for 4.49pm.
The first quarter-finals of the men’s category will be played at 9am with the finals scheduled to kick off at 5.10pm.
The Borneo Sevens sees 14 teams, including six women’s teams, contending for the prestigious title of the Greenest Sevens in the World at the Eagles Rugby Club today and tomorrow.
The champions of the tournament in both the men’s and women’s categories will each take home a challenge trophy and US$5,000 (RM23,425) in cash. The runners-up of both categories will each receive US$2,000 cash. – March 9, 2024