Cobras ready to strike in the mud

KUALA LUMPUR: It is going to be a wet, slippery and muddy 49th edition of the Cobra 10s rugby tournament as rain is predicted throughout the tournament which begins at the Petaling Jaya Stadium in Kelana Jaya.

But the enthusiasm of New Zealander Clayton McMillan (pic), who is in charge of the host team for the first time, is far from dampened. In fact, he is all excited about the tournament.

The Cobras (Combined Old Boys Rugby Association) have won the tournament five times since its inception in 1967 and the last they won it was in 2008. This year, McMillan has 14 New Zealand province players and two local players and believes they can put up a solid performance to lift the Cup again.

The 45-year-old McMillan, who arrived with the 14 Kiwi players on Nov 1, has 15 years coaching experience and has coached professionally in New Zealand, France and Japan.

He is also head coach of the Maori All Blacks.

With their coach having such credentials,

Cobra can be confident of a good showing.

“Cobra are one of the top rugby clubs in Malaysia and I will do my best to help them in the tournament.

“There are some good and strong clubs taking part in the tournament but we are all ready for it,” said Mcmillan, adding that the wet weather would pose a challenge for teams.

“You need good skills to play on a soggy and muddy pitch. We have been training in these conditions and should give the others a strong challenge,” said Mcmillan.

A total of 12 teams will feature in the twoday tournament and Cobra are drawn in Group C with West Coast Sharks 1, Bali Development of Indonesia and RMAF Blackhawks.

Group A comprises Auckland Varsity Vipers of New Zealand, Brimbank Bucks of Australia, West Coast Sharks 2 and KL Saracens while NNK Northlink of South Africa, Global Lions of New Zealand, NS Silverbacks and Polis Bersatu are drawn in Group B.