GETTING ALL BLACKS’ HELP

MRU seek Mika and Cocker to coach Malaysia

FORMER All Blacks Bradley Mika and Edwin Cocker could be enlisted to coach Malaysia’s rugby team on a full-time basis in the near future.

Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU) president Datuk Shahrul Yahya hinted on the possibility but declined to confirm as both Mika and Cocker have other commitments to fulfil.

“They are now with the Sabah Rugby Union (SRU). We will speak to them to see whether they can coach the national squad. I will discuss this with head coach Lee Nyuk Fah along with Mika and Cocker,” said Shahrul yesterday.

Mika is currently coaching Eagles Rugby Club while Cocker is unofficially the assistant technical director of the Malaysian Sevens. Cocker is also coaching Auckland Sevens in New Zealand.

“We need to look into their schedules. It is not fair to just absorb them from SRU. I will discuss this with SRU president T. Velayuthan soon,” said Shahrul.

Following the collaboration with New Zealand Rugby (NZR), Rugby Football Union (RFU) and International Rugby Academy of New Zealand (IRANZ), MRU will seek more assistance from All Blacks in the near future.

The existing collaboration will also see IRANZ establishing a branch in Malaysia in an effort to prepare the men’s 15s for the Asian Rugby Championship, Premier Division next year.

As part of the understanding, the Malaysian Sevens were in Auckland for a training stint last month.

The men’s sevens are now in Johor to prepare for Kuala Lumpur Sea Games. The two-day rugby event starts on Aug 19 at MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya.

In the 2015 Singapore edition, Malaysia lost to the Philippines in the final.