Eagles Rugby Club defend title in 18th Labuan Rugby Carnival
LABUAN: Eagles Rugby Club Sandakan withstood all-round pressure to defend the men’s title, beating Sabah Osca Warriors 29-0 at the 18th Labuan Rugby Carnival 2018 held in Labuan Square on Sunday.
A total of 46 teams, including those from Brunei, Kuala Lumpur, Sabah and Sarawak, took part in five categories of the two-day event on September 29 and 30.
The categories included the Girls U-17, Women, Veteran, Boys U-17 and Men.
Panaga Crocs won the Veteran category (Cup Champion) by beating Tawau Oldboys 17-7, while the Sabah Angels Warriors emerged the Cup Champion by defeating the KK Sharks 19-0 in the Women category.
The Labuan rugby squads, Labuan Development A and B, also made the island proud after winning on home soil when the boys’ team emerged the Plate Champion, beating Limauan Panthers 17-10, while the girls’ team won the first runner-up place in the Girls U-17 category after being edged by SRU Academy U17 14-24.
Labuan Rugby Association president Abdul Rashid Adlie said the annual event was overwhelmed by the huge number of young and professional players who took part in the championship.
“It was a tough game to win for all teams as there were old and new faces in the team. Nonetheless, I’m proud of our boys and girls, they were a bit down after a shaky start but rebound shortly after.
“SRU Academy U-17 put our girls under a lot of pressure early...there was a lot of running and it was a good test match, just not the result we wanted,” said Rashid.
The event was refereed by Malaysia Rugby and the Sri Lanka Rugby Referee Association.