Malaysia in demotion battle against Philippines

WITH much at stake, Malaysia will approach their third place-cumrelegation playoff against hosts Philippines in the Asia Rugby Under-19 Championships (ARC) Division One with much caution in Manila tomorrow.

Malaysia have lost three automatic starters for the match — right winger Hafizuddin Amin Mohd, openside flanker Arif Asyraf Shamsuddin and blindside flanker Zikrie Amin Zulkiflie, who all picked up knocks in the 34-14 loss to UAE in the semifinal on Wednesday.

Despite Philippines losing 27-6 to favourites South Korea in their semi-final, national team manager Azlan Ishak is aware of the threat they pose.

“We have been analysing their game through video replays of their match (against Korea) and have a decent idea of what to expect,” said Azlan today.

“Philippines’ forward play has been very good and their hooker and number eight have been among the best in the tournament so far.

“Their standoff and centre have also been outstanding. It will be a bit tricky as we have lost three starters but we have identified what we need to do.

“The focus for us is to play a fast game and fix all the weak areas we showed in the first game (against UAE).”

Azlan added that the team have spent the past two days preparing themselves both mentally and physically.

“We had a little break yesterday and took the boys to see Fort Santiago among others to help the them calm down a bit after the loss to UAE. We also discussed together our plans for tomorrow’s match.

“We got back on the practice pitch today and worked everything out.”

UAE will play South Korea in the final tomorrow for a spot in the championship division next year. Fadhli Ishak