Eagles cruise 38-5 over OSCA Warriors
KOTA KINABALU: The Eagles Rugby Club cruised to victory over the Sabah OSCA Warriors in the opening match of the East Malaysia Premier Cup Rugby Tournament here two days ago.
The Eagles scored six tries and four conversions to notch a comfortable 38-5 victory at the Sukma field in Likas.
Brad Mika’s boys dominated the first half with three tries and three conversions to lead 19-0 at the break. When the game resumed, they continued to punish their opponent; leaving just a tiny gap for the Warriors to pull one past the lines midway in the second half.
However, the Eagles quickly responded to live up to their billing as Super Cup champions.
Victory has set the tone for a title defence as the Eagles gun for another win when they meet the KK Sharks on Saturday, while the Warriors face the same opponent in another game this afternoon.
All matches are set for kick-off at 4pm at the same venue.
Meanwhile, Sabah Rugby Union deputy president, Dr KH Tan, said the winner of the tournament will face the winner of the Malaysian Rugby Premier League in the Super Cup showdown on April 15.
Tan said the Eagles have traditionally qualified for the Super Cup and that their performance on Tuesday showed no tendency of breaking the trend.
He said aside from preparing the players for the big stage, the threecorner tournament also helps coaches to stay on their toes.
According to Tan, Eagles said head coach Brad Mika is keeping an eye on his charges to ensure that the players selected for the Agong’s Cup squad are the right ones for the task.
“Even though Mika has made his selection for the Agong’s Cup, he will still keep an eye on them (players) to make sure they are the right ones for the job,” Tan said.
The Agong’s Cup is the most prestigious rugby tournament in the country and it will be held in July and August in the northern state of Terengganu this year.