Latest news with #NationalSevensChampionships
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Kelantan end long wait for National Sevens title
KUALA LUMPUR: East Coast giants Kelantan edged defending champions Johor to claim the National Sevens Championships men's open title in Kuala Terengganu today (July 27). Despite having lost a number of their key players due to injuries during the earlier rounds, Kelantan held their nerve to edge Johor 17-12 in the final at the Tengku Muhammad Ismail Rugby Stadium. Kelantan had earlier in the day beaten hosts Terengganu 26-5 in the semi-finals while Johor downed Selangor 19-12 to advance to the decider. Kelantan team manager Aliff Haiqal Rosli said it was a meaningful victory for them. "Alhamdulillah we managed to regroup after losing a number of our key players and managed to secure the win," said Aliff. "Johor are the defending champions and are a formidable side. We knew we had to be at our best to have a chance of winning. Our goal was to play a fast game. "If I am not mistaken, we last won the National Sevens in 2018 so it means a lot for us to become champions again. Obviously we are very happy." The men's under-21 final saw Johor beating Selangor 15-10. The women's open final saw Selangor defending their title with a 29-0 win over Terengganu. Selangor also defeated Terengganu 29-0 in the women's under-21 final.
New Straits Times
21-07-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
New Selangor rugby coach prioritises 'process over prize'
KUALA LUMPUR: New Selangor Rugby Union (SRU) head coach Suhaimi Amran expects Kelantan and Johor to be among their main rivals at the National Sevens Championships in Kuala Terengganu this weekend (July 25-27). Suhaimi said Selangor experienced Kelantan's quality first-hand during a recent friendly. "We competed in a four-way friendly series with Kelantan, Royal Malaysian Police and Malaysian Universities recently," said Suhaimi. "And I believe Kelantan will be our strongest rivals for the National Sevens, next best is probably Johor. "Kelantan have many national team starters in their side. Their squad is packed with experienced players who are in peak form. "The National Sevens will be a battle of hard work and experience." Suhaimi, who is former Singapore national head coach, joined Selangor in late April and immediately got to work preparing the squad for the national meet. "Preparations have gone well and we managed to win the Perlis Sevens last month," said the Singaporean. "But I am not thinking about whether we can win the National Sevens. From day one, I have asked our players to focus on our day to day performances and tick the boxes so the outcome will take care of itself. "Of course we want to win gold - we train to win - however, we do not want to be derailed from our main objective of being better daily." Suhaimi added that he was pleasantly surprised by the quality of players in the current Selangor squad. "If I was the national team coach I would have a headache selecting players as we have so much talent from just one state (Selangor)," he added. "The question is whether we can develop and fully utilise the talent we have. My goal is to create a high-performance culture at Selangor and help these players flourish."
