SINGAPORE – The Singapore nationwide rugby sevens group narrowly missed out on first place on the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy problem in Thailand on Sunday (April 10), however turned in a stellar efficiency a lot to the satisfaction of interim nationwide coach Suhaimi Amran.
Playing in their first worldwide event in greater than two years, the Republic have been edged out 22-17 in sudden demise in an exciting final in opposition to top-ranked United Arab Emirates (UAE), after the match had ended in a tie in regulation time.
“I’m gutted, especially since we were within reach of winning the tournament but I am not disappointed, the team turned in really good performances right through the weekend, that included a win over UAE in the first round,” he informed the Straits Times.
“We have to remember that the UAE is one of the top teams in Asia, and apart from that performance, we also defeated Thailand, whom we lost to at the 2019 Southeast Asia Games, we have laid the foundation for the season, and we are going to build on this.”
Apart from the defeat by UAE in the final on the Surakul Stadium in Phuket, the Singapore nationwide group have been undefeated in the opening spherical on Saturday, claiming victories in opposition to Thailand’s Team A, Chinese Taipei and the UAE.
Team captain Declan Martens stated he was happy with the group particularly coming off an extended hiatus with out aggressive rugby.
“We did really, really well on the first day, taking out teams who play at a much higher level than us, and we won in a way that builds confidence with the squad, it’s unfortunate we came up short in the final,” Martens stated upon touchdown at Changi Airport on Monday afternoon (April 11).
Martens stated the group have been given a while off however will resume coaching in about three weeks to start out preparations for the subsequent event someday in August.
The 29-year-old stated the group will possible have to work on tightening up their defence, particularly after going up in opposition to a number of the UAE gamers.
He stated: “We just missed too many tackles and that is what let us down in the final, because the UAE had some really big players and we just did not put them down in the way we needed to, like in the first game.”
Interim coach Suhaimi stated the tweaks to the group weren’t main, and famous the necessity for higher recreation administration and adaptableness. The group had misplaced first-team starter Maurice Wong, who was unable to play after testing constructive for Covid on arrival in Thailand, he added.
“Nothing major, we just need to work on being more adaptable and raising our level of tournament fitness, which we will do as we play more tournaments,” stated Suhaimi.
“But we have laid the foundation we can be hopeful of having a good 2022 season.”
The group wish to earn a spot for September’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, however might want to persuade the Singapore National Olympic Council.
Meanwhile, in the ladies’s competitors, the Republic completed fourth after dropping 17-7 to Thailand B in the third-place play-off. Thailand A defeated the UAE 22-5 in the final to win the five-team event.
