Brunei national rugby union team

Rugby team
country =Brunei


imagesize= 128px
union = Brunei Rugby Union
manage = Stuart Alpe
coaches = Tim Lian (Backs), Shafeek Kamalie (Forwards)
captain =
caps =
top scorer =
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pattern_ra2 =
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first = Brunei 3 - 22 Singapore
(1999-05-08)
bigwin = Brunei 32 - 17 Laos
(2006-06-27)
bigloss = India 73 - 8 Brunei
(2005-12-15)The Brunei National Rugby Team represents Brunei in international rugby union. They have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. The governing body of rugby in Brunei, the Brunei Rugby Football Union is still in its infancy, being admitted into the Asian Rugby Football Union in 2004, and more recently, into the International Rugby Board in 2005.

History

The Brunei Rugby Football Union registered officially as a society in November 2004, and has been formally admitted as an associate member of the Asian Rugby Football Union. It was granted full membership in the game's controlling body,the International Rugby Board in late 2005.

Rugby Union, which is played in 105 countries around the world, has already been played in Brunei since the 1950s. According to the archives of the Royal Brunei Yacht Club, a 'Town Rugby Football Team' played a team from the Seria district in 1957. In the mid 1970s, rugby in Brunei grew in popularity with the influx of expatriates from Britain and active participation from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), Brunei Shell Recreation Club, Royal Brunei Yacht Club, the Panaga Club and the British Garrison in Seria.

The Brunei Rugby Football Union was set up in 1977, affiliated to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) of Twickenham. From then on, Brunei regularly sent teams to participate in regional 'Sevens' competitions, particularly the SCC Sevens in Singapore and the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens.

A domestic competition took place from 1978 to 1993, involving regular teams from the Panaga Club, the Royal Brunei Yacht Club, the British Garrison, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, the Royal Brunei Police and Pirates RFC.

Numerous clubs also organised Rugby 7s and 10s competitions from time to time, but the large number of British and Commonwealth expatriates leaving the sultanate in the late 1990s led to a decline in the number of such tournaments.

Despite the fact that the Brunei Rugby Football Union has been around since 1977, it was never officially registered with the Registrar of Society until the November of 2004.

Since joining the Asian Rugby Union, the Brunei Rugby Team has taken part in a number of international competitions. Although presently recording a rather unfavourable Win-Loss ratio in the international rugby scene, Brunei rugby is continually improving with efforts being concentrated in the development of youth players through the Under-19 Squad.

Under-19 Squad

The Under-19 National Rugby Squad of Brunei is seen as a platform from which the Brunei Rugby Football Union seeks to develop young players for the Senior team. Currently, the Under-19 squad has played in two Asian Under-19 Rugby Tournaments (as of September 2007) in Lahore, Pakistan and Taipei, Taiwan respectively.

The first ever Brunei Under-19 Rugby International was played against the Pakistan Under-19 Team at the Fortress Stadium in Lahore. Brunei emerged victorious with a scoreline of 14-5 in their favour - an upset considering the comparative populations and rugby history of the respective countries. Former Fiji National coach George Dreadon Simpkin commented on the impressive pace of the Bruneian backline whilst spectating the encounter. The free-running style of open, fast-paced play has become a trademark of the Bruneian team, although is has come under heavy criticism for sacrificing form and discipline in the favour of quick, energy-consuming tries.

The members of the first ever Brunei Under-19 Squad selected for the 2005 Asian Under-19 Rugby Tournament are as follows:

Manager: Stuart Alpe

Coaches: Tim Lian (Backs), Shafeek Kamalie (Forwards)

Players: 1. Muhd Khairuddeen bin D.P Haji Hamzah2. Hj Mohd Azmiee Hj Mohd Sunnylai3. Adrin Anak Salanjat4. Yeo Hock Wee5. Mohd Halim Mustaffa6. Emmanuel bin Surat 7. Mohd Zulfadhli bin Haji Md Jali8. Abd Amir bin Matjaneh9. Ak Abd Muiz Pg Hj Abd Rahman 10. Muhammed Raushan Mohd Yuzer 11. Lim Shen Quan 12. Md Isa bin Haji Mohamad13. Dinlee Ak Apo14. Faridzul Daud Ak Dumi15. Rangga Ak Tinggi 16. Christian Daniel (Didi) Wong Kim Him17. Md Hanafi Yusof18. Mohd Farhan Hj Ismail19. Mohd Sallihen Hj Bujang, 20. Muhammad Aziman bin Awang Nasir21. Ak Muhd Zulhilmi (Bulu) Pg Suhaimi 22. Samuel Tan Yon Xiang

External links

* [http://www.bruneirugby.wordpress.com] Official Site
* [http://www.bruneirugby.wordpress.com/ Brunei Rugby Football Union]
* [http://www.pakistanrugby.com/home/brunei_teamprofile.php] on pakistanrugby.com
* [http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Jan05/150105/bb_sports01.htm] on brudirect.com
* [http://www.pakistanrugby.com/home/schedule.php] on Pakistan rugby.com
* [http://www.rugbydata.com/brunei/teamsplayed] on rugbydata.com