SM St Michael clinch East Zone Rugby 7s trophy
KOTA KINABALU: Team manager Gideon Gadit hailed the SM St Michael (SMSM) Penampang under-16 rugby squad for returning with the East Zone Rugby 7s trophy in Kuching, Sarawak recently.
Gideon contributed the victory to the players’ commitment and discipline, which saw them crowned champions.
They did it in style as well by beating Kolej Abdillah Sarawak 22-0 in the final of the tournament, which was organised under the National Rugby Development Programme (NRDP).
“All credits to the players for their commitment and high discipline level on and off the pitch...it was one of the factors that led us to the title.
“They (players) listened to instructions from head coach Josephine Jospeh and assistant Deidre Daryl Daisin and it worked wonders in the final where we dominated for much of the game,” he said here yesterday.
The tournament, which was held with collaboration with the Malaysian Rugby Union and Malaysia Education Department, is one of its programmes aim at identifying rugby talents at the grassroots level.
Sixteen teams took part in the inaugural tournament including from Sabah, Federal Territory Labuan and hosts Sarawak.
It was also learnt that several Sabah talents have been identified from the tournament to be part of the national squad taking part in friendly matches in Perth, Australia in November.