Daveta retain Cobra 10s in final that lasted only two minutes

PETALING JAYA: Daveta Rugby Club of Fiji retained their 48th Cobra 10s rugby title after the final was abandoned due to heavy rain and lightning at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Stadium in Kelana Jaya.

The final between Daveta and debutants Global Barbarians of New Zealand was only played for two minutes and 27 seconds when the match was stopped due to bad weather yesterday.

Although the rain stopped at 5pm, the match could not be resumed due to continuous lightning.

Based on the rules of the tournament, the team with the most tries in the two-day competition will be declared champions in the

final should that match be abandoned.

Organising chairman Tan Sri Krishnan Tan said that the final could not be resumed due to lightning.

“As the outcome of the final could not be decided by virtue of the result, it had to be decided by the rules of the tournament – which state that the team with the most num- ber of tries will be declared the winner,” said the former Cobra president.

Daveta skipper Veniona Vuki said they preferred to beat Global Barbarians fair and square to become champions.

“But the match was abandoned due to bad weather and we were declared the champions based on the most number of tries we made in the tournament,” said Vuki, who played for Perak in local tournaments.

“We had the luck to reach the final as we faced a strong challenge from NNK of South Africa before winning 14-12 in the quarter-finals.

“We definitely will be back next year as we love to play in the Cobra 10s.”