Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A 32-strong Indonesian rugby squad flew to Cambodia on Sunday to compete in the 6th division of the Asian Rugby Championships.
Team spokesman Geoffrey Atkinson said the team, which is made up of Indonesians and expatriates, would face Cambodia, Laos and Brunei Darussalam during the weeklong championships starting Sunday.
Atkinson said they had little knowledge of their opponents. ""We have never met them before. We don't know which teams will be the strongest contenders,"" Atkinson said.
Winger Fikri Muhammad Al-Azhar said he was looking forward to the challenge.
""All the team members are in good shape and we have enjoyed good training,"" Fikri told The Jakarta Post before the departure.
The squad, under the coaching of Frenchman Nico E. De Ribas, underwent a three-day intensive training.
Fikri was hopeful that his team could sweep its matches. ""We are a solid team."" he said.
Indonesia is a newcomer to the Asian Rugby Football Unions (ARFU) organization. It joined late last year along with Iran, Laos, Brunei, Macau and Cambodia.
This will be the second international outing for the Indonesian team, nicknamed the White Rhinos, following an exhibition competition during the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines last December.
Eight of the team members are expatriates who are eligible to play for their adopted country since they have been living here for at least three years, as required by the rules.
The expatriates include three Englishmen, three Australians, one South African and one Papua New Guinean. English prop and hooker Dave Keefe, 50, and Australian tighthead prop Rod Bridges, 49, are the oldest players on the national team.
Two overseas-based young Indonesian players, prop Dwikie Pinotoan, 17, and flanker Kurt Arundale, 19, have been called home to shore up the team.
Dwikie, who is the youngest on the team along with flanker Daniel Rahadian Nugroho, currently studies at a university in Dubai and plays for the Dubai Exiles club. Kurt plays for MMU Cheshire club in England where he is studying.
The team had a discouraging warm-up last week. It was beaten 17-10 by a visiting team from Macau in a friendly game at the ISCI club rugby field in Ciputat, South Jakarta.
