Singapore national rugby union team
Encyclopedia
The Singapore national rugby union team represents Singapore
in international rugby union
. They have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup
, though since the 1995 Rugby World Cup
, Singapore have been participating in qualification competitions.
, taking part in the Asia qualifiers. Singapore played out of Group B in Round 1, though they lost their three fixtures and did not advance to Round 2. Singapore attempted to qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup
in Wales
also; playing in Round 1 of Asia, but losing both of their fixtures against Sri Lanka
and Thailand
.
Singapore finished second in the final standings of Pool A of Round 1 in attempting to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup
in Australia
, and did not advance to Round 2. They finished second in their group in qualification for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
in France as well, losing one match and winning one.
Singapore's first rugby national team was started in 1971, when an expat team of NZ & British servicemen and 2 Asians were assembled to play against a visiting All England team at the Jalan Besar stadium. The same day also saw the birth of the Under-23 Singapore national team when it played a friendly against Malaysia in a curtain raiser match to the England game. The Under-23 team was made up of all national local boys from the Armed forces, Police force, local clubs and schools.
This was indeed the birth of Singapore Rugby. In 1972 Singapore Rugby Union under the presidency of ASP Niaz Mohd Shah took part in the 3rd Asian Rugby Union Tournament held in HK. The team was represented by full local national boys from the various clubs in Singapore. The 1972 team was led by captain, Leow Kim Liat who played at fly-half and coached by Englishman, Mike Jeffries from the SCC. Singapore finished a credible 4th placing in that tournament behind Japan, S Korea and Thailand.
Singapore rugby progressed on and Singapore participated in the 1975 SEAP (South East Asian Peninsular Games) held in BKK, where only 3 countries took part then. However Singapore lost to both Thailand and Malaysia, emerged 3rd with a bronze medal. In 1977 Singapore Rugby team took part in the SEA Games held in KL, Malaysia and once again there were the same 3 countries (Thailand, Malaysia & Singapore) as in 1975 taking part. This time round Singapore went one step better than their 1975 performance by winning the silver medal after beating hosts Malaysia, but losing to Thailand in a rain sodden finals match.
In 1978, Singapore rugby achieved its best ever performance in their history annals under Mr Howard Cashin's presidency and coach Mr Natahar Bava. Singapore won a historic MRU Cup victory in the annual MRU (M'sian Rugby Union) tournament after 44 years of participation under the label of Singapore Civilians which was actually the national team made up of local boys from the 1977 SEA Games squad. The Singapore team beat the RNZIR (Royal New Zealand Infantry Battalion) Singapore based team in the semi-finals on the way to the finals and that game was termed as the "epic final" in the eyes of all true rugby followers. Later that same year Singapore took part in the 6th Asian Rugby tournament again held in KL and emerged with their best ever result to this day with a 3rd placing behind powerhouse, Japan and S Korea when they beat Thailand in a cliff hanger 16-15 3rd placing game. This was the best showing ever by an all local Singaporean team! The 1978 team was led by ASP Jarmal Singh of the Police Force as the captain. This was the highest ranking Singapore had ever achieved in Asia to this present day.
For its efforts and achievements SNOC awarded Singapore Rugby with the Sportsman of the Year 1978 award to pack leader, Song Koon Poh, Coach of the year to Natahar Bava and the entire 1978 team as the Sports Team of the year. This was a "Grand Slam" sweep of all 3 major awards in the sports accolades except for the Sportswoman award. The Singapore team went on to repeat another MRU Cup triumph under coach Natahar Bava in 1982, but 1978 was indeed the year Singapore achieved rugby history by being 3rd in Asia first time ever and winning the MRU Cup after 44 years.
Singapore also excelled in the 7s game during this period. The team under Natahar Bava again achieved its best ever 7s game results during 1978/1979/1980 in the ever popular HK 7s tournament. In 1978 an all Asian Singapore 7s squad lost to an all expats Middle East champions, Bahrain 0-10 in the Plate Finals, but Singapore's best ever rugby 7s results was in 1979 when it qualified for the top 8 teams Cup quarter finals losing out eventually to Western Samoa 4-16, with her try in that game scored by the flying Sikh, Jarmal Singh. In 1980 again Singapore lost out in the Plate Finals to Japan by 0-40 in a flooded rain sodden game.
The Singapore team also holds the record for the biggest loss in an international test match ever. This was a 164 - 13 loss to Hong Kong in 1994, in what was a Rugby World Cup qualifying match.
After the Rugby Union met with the 9 players to resolve the issue, the Singapore Rugby Union agreed to address some their concerns and also to implement a "balance" in the ratio of local to expatriate players in the team. In final team selections, Rong Jing Xiang was subsequently dropped from the team.
It is also interesting to note that the national team is made up largely of expatriate players. The 2009 training squad consisted of 17 expatriate players, and 13 local players. The captain, Ben Wheeler, who took over captaincy from Rong Jing Xiang (Singapore's most capped player with 45 appearances), had only 2 caps at time of his appointment. Some critics are beginning to wonder if this move by CEO Ian Bremmer is the right move for the development of rugby amongst the locals in Singapore, and if the Singapore National Rugby team is headed into the same direction as Hong Kong's National Rugby team, which is dominated by expatriate players. Other critics, however, have cited the team under Bremner as dynamic, motivated and dedicated.
Head Coach: Des Thornton
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in international rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. They have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
, though since the 1995 Rugby World Cup
1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....
, Singapore have been participating in qualification competitions.
History
Singapore first tried to qualify for a World Cup for the 1995 tournament in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, taking part in the Asia qualifiers. Singapore played out of Group B in Round 1, though they lost their three fixtures and did not advance to Round 2. Singapore attempted to qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
also; playing in Round 1 of Asia, but losing both of their fixtures against Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka national rugby union team
The Sri Lanka national rugby union team represents Sri Lanka in international rugby union competitions. Sri Lanka have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. They have the longest tradition of organised club rugby in Asia, dating back to 1879, which was just 8 years after the founding of...
and Thailand
Thailand national rugby union team
The Thailand national rugby union team represents Thailand in international rugby union. Thailand have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup, but have been playing in qualifying tournaments since the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales.-History:...
.
Singapore finished second in the final standings of Pool A of Round 1 in attempting to qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and did not advance to Round 2. They finished second in their group in qualification for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
in France as well, losing one match and winning one.
Singapore's first rugby national team was started in 1971, when an expat team of NZ & British servicemen and 2 Asians were assembled to play against a visiting All England team at the Jalan Besar stadium. The same day also saw the birth of the Under-23 Singapore national team when it played a friendly against Malaysia in a curtain raiser match to the England game. The Under-23 team was made up of all national local boys from the Armed forces, Police force, local clubs and schools.
This was indeed the birth of Singapore Rugby. In 1972 Singapore Rugby Union under the presidency of ASP Niaz Mohd Shah took part in the 3rd Asian Rugby Union Tournament held in HK. The team was represented by full local national boys from the various clubs in Singapore. The 1972 team was led by captain, Leow Kim Liat who played at fly-half and coached by Englishman, Mike Jeffries from the SCC. Singapore finished a credible 4th placing in that tournament behind Japan, S Korea and Thailand.
Singapore rugby progressed on and Singapore participated in the 1975 SEAP (South East Asian Peninsular Games) held in BKK, where only 3 countries took part then. However Singapore lost to both Thailand and Malaysia, emerged 3rd with a bronze medal. In 1977 Singapore Rugby team took part in the SEA Games held in KL, Malaysia and once again there were the same 3 countries (Thailand, Malaysia & Singapore) as in 1975 taking part. This time round Singapore went one step better than their 1975 performance by winning the silver medal after beating hosts Malaysia, but losing to Thailand in a rain sodden finals match.
In 1978, Singapore rugby achieved its best ever performance in their history annals under Mr Howard Cashin's presidency and coach Mr Natahar Bava. Singapore won a historic MRU Cup victory in the annual MRU (M'sian Rugby Union) tournament after 44 years of participation under the label of Singapore Civilians which was actually the national team made up of local boys from the 1977 SEA Games squad. The Singapore team beat the RNZIR (Royal New Zealand Infantry Battalion) Singapore based team in the semi-finals on the way to the finals and that game was termed as the "epic final" in the eyes of all true rugby followers. Later that same year Singapore took part in the 6th Asian Rugby tournament again held in KL and emerged with their best ever result to this day with a 3rd placing behind powerhouse, Japan and S Korea when they beat Thailand in a cliff hanger 16-15 3rd placing game. This was the best showing ever by an all local Singaporean team! The 1978 team was led by ASP Jarmal Singh of the Police Force as the captain. This was the highest ranking Singapore had ever achieved in Asia to this present day.
For its efforts and achievements SNOC awarded Singapore Rugby with the Sportsman of the Year 1978 award to pack leader, Song Koon Poh, Coach of the year to Natahar Bava and the entire 1978 team as the Sports Team of the year. This was a "Grand Slam" sweep of all 3 major awards in the sports accolades except for the Sportswoman award. The Singapore team went on to repeat another MRU Cup triumph under coach Natahar Bava in 1982, but 1978 was indeed the year Singapore achieved rugby history by being 3rd in Asia first time ever and winning the MRU Cup after 44 years.
Singapore also excelled in the 7s game during this period. The team under Natahar Bava again achieved its best ever 7s game results during 1978/1979/1980 in the ever popular HK 7s tournament. In 1978 an all Asian Singapore 7s squad lost to an all expats Middle East champions, Bahrain 0-10 in the Plate Finals, but Singapore's best ever rugby 7s results was in 1979 when it qualified for the top 8 teams Cup quarter finals losing out eventually to Western Samoa 4-16, with her try in that game scored by the flying Sikh, Jarmal Singh. In 1980 again Singapore lost out in the Plate Finals to Japan by 0-40 in a flooded rain sodden game.
The Singapore team also holds the record for the biggest loss in an international test match ever. This was a 164 - 13 loss to Hong Kong in 1994, in what was a Rugby World Cup qualifying match.
2009 boycott by local players
In March 2009, nearly half of the national team went on strike citing nationality bias by the management, as well as not addressing some issues and concerns with training. Ex-captain and incumbent backrower Rong Jing Xiang was also part of the players who went on strike.After the Rugby Union met with the 9 players to resolve the issue, the Singapore Rugby Union agreed to address some their concerns and also to implement a "balance" in the ratio of local to expatriate players in the team. In final team selections, Rong Jing Xiang was subsequently dropped from the team.
It is also interesting to note that the national team is made up largely of expatriate players. The 2009 training squad consisted of 17 expatriate players, and 13 local players. The captain, Ben Wheeler, who took over captaincy from Rong Jing Xiang (Singapore's most capped player with 45 appearances), had only 2 caps at time of his appointment. Some critics are beginning to wonder if this move by CEO Ian Bremmer is the right move for the development of rugby amongst the locals in Singapore, and if the Singapore National Rugby team is headed into the same direction as Hong Kong's National Rugby team, which is dominated by expatriate players. Other critics, however, have cited the team under Bremner as dynamic, motivated and dedicated.
Current Squad
- Suhaimi Amran (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Thomas Burns (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Jonathan Chen (Bedok Kings RFC)
- Kevin Loo Yu Cheng (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Alex Chew (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Benjamin Goh (Bucks RFC)
- Nicholas Groen (Bedok Kings RFC)
- Daniel Marc Chow (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Matthew Head (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Alan Kent (Singapore Cricket Club)
- ´Harresh Krishnan (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Sidney Kumar (Bedok Kings RFC)
- Gabriel Lee (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Jonathan Lee (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Peter Mcfeely (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Zaki Mahmood (Bedok Kings RFC)
- Ashraf Mohamed Nasser (Blacks RFC)
- Riady Perdana (Bedok Kings RFC)
- Azmi Suliman (Bedok Kings RFC)
- Gaspar Tan (Bedok Kings RFC)
- Melvin Tan (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Erik Vis (Bedok Kings RFC)
- Marc Warburton (Singapore Cricket Club)
- Leonard Yap (Wanderers RFC)
Head Coach: Des Thornton
External links
- Singapore Rugby Union
- Singapore on IRB.com
- Singapore on rugbydata.com