World Cup dream alive
MALAYSIA are well on their way to qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup after retaining their Asian Rugby Championship Division One title for a second consecutive year after beating Sri Lanka 22-9 in the final in Ipoh yesterday.
Through the win, Malaysia will be promoted to the Premier Division where they are due to face tough challenges from Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong in the national team's bid to qualify for the World Cup in Japan.
Malaysia may have won but they didn’t have the greatest of starts in Ipoh as the visitors led 6-5 at the end of the firsr half.
But Lee Nyuk Fah’s men found their momentum through a converted try by Sakiusa Terence Gavidi, his third in three matches to put Malaysia up 12-9. Less than three minutes after Gavidi’s try, Hino Dolphin’s Wong Wye Wye collected his third try of the tournament to collect an extra five points.
Malaysia’s triumph was sealed when they were awarded a penalty kick which was successfully executed by Muhamad Amirul Aqil Kamsol to bring the hosts to a 22-9 win.
Following the win, the Malaysia Rugby Union (MRU) have promised a RM100,000 reward which was announced during the pre-match press conference last week.
Meanwhile, the Philippines beat United Arab Emirates 34-26 to end their campaign in third after only collecting one out of three wins for five points while the UAE were winless in three matches.