Brunei Women’s Rugby team make their International debut at the Asia Rugby Women’s Seven Trophy being hosted by Brunei Rugby.
Asia Rugby had a chance to speak to Brunei Coach Joanne Marshall:
AR: How are you preparing for the upcoming tournament?
JM: “We have been training weekly and taking part in local competitions in Miri, Labuan.”
AR: What are you expecting to achieve in the upcoming tournament?
JM: “We are hoping that after this, Women’s Rugby will be recognized and respected in Brunei and also around the Globe.”
AR: What would it mean to win the upcoming tournament?
JM: “To win the tournament would be amazing but we are realistic if we win one game that is still an achievement for women’s rugby as we have never played an international match before. We have grown from a small squad to a considerable squad of nearly 18-20 players. The more rugby is recognized in Brunei the more players will come”
AR: What does rugby mean to you?
JM: “Rugby means a huge amount to me. I started playing in my early 20’s and captained the South of England Students for 3 years. I also played for the London regional squad. Everywhere I have worked, we have been involved in either youth, women’s or men’s rugby so to see and be a part of Rugby development in Brunei has been an honor”.
Ten teams will compete in the “Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Trophy” over the Weekend. With a place on the main series up for grabs, all 10 teams will be looking to be a part of the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens series in 2019 and play a part in Olympic qualification.
The event is to be held at the Panaga club, Seria, which is a very picturesque setting, located midway between Kuala Belait and Seria in the south of Negara Brunei Darussalam.
Brunei is in Pool A With Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos and Guam.
The tournament starts at 09:30 local time on Saturday 20th of October as hosts Brunei take on last year’s hosts Laos.
More details about the Tournament can be found on the Asia Rugby website https://www.asiarugby.com/, the trophy is to be streamed live and all matches can be viewed Live on the Asia Rugby Facebook page and YouTube Channel.
Brunei Women’s Rugby team
1 Kala KARWANAMURTHI 2 Hilal Munirah KAMIS 3 Hennastsha Abdul LATIP 4 Marie LATIP 5 Siti Nor Aziqah Haji AHMANSABRI 6 Nicole JONES 7 Nuranisah Haji LAMAT 8 Christina DEWGLAS 9 Marie PEREZ 10 Siti Nor Aziqah Awang OMAR ALI 11 Fify SULAIMAN 12 Suhaina RAZALI
MANAGER Thomas MARSHALL
COACH Joanne MARSHALL
ASST COACH Davin JONES
PHYSIO Nathan WHITE
