RI clinches title at Asian rugby tourney

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 07/20/2007 11:31 AM

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia made history by clinching its first title in the Asian Nations Series Division 6 rugby tournament in Brunei Darussalam after defeating host Brunei late Wednesday, 28-15.

The performance was very satisfying for Coach Ismail, with the team running in three tries by Hastono, Smalberger and Andarias Safiembolo with three penalties and two conversions from Kirk Aditya Arundale.

The action-packed match was watched by a large crowd, which included the Indonesian Ambassador and an enthusiastic group of cheering Brunei-based Indonesians.

After dominating the first 15 minutes, the Indonesian national team -- known as the Rhinos -- opened up a 21-3 lead at halftime with powerful forward drives and penetrating backline moves.

The Rhinos' line out play improved tremendously and even under pressure in the scrums the backline tackled strongly to deny Brunei any advantage.

The second half was played in torrential rain but the Rhinos adapted to the conditions, closed the game and kept the hosts under pressure. Despite a brief spirited comeback from Brunei, the Rhinos maintained control of the game.

""This is a great reward for us, all our hard work has paid off. We are so proud to see Indonesians play rugby and win at an international level,"" Indonesia captain Fikri Al Azhar said in a statement.

The national team earlier defeated Laos, 17-3 and last year's victor Cambodia, 11-10 in the annual tournament for developing nations in Southeast Asia.

By beating Brunei, Indonesia secured the first annual Borneo Darussalam Cup, which recognizes both cooperation in the sport of rugby and peaceful relations between the two nations, which share the island of Borneo (with Malaysia).

The tournament coincided with the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) meeting of the 26 Asian rugby playing nations, including Japan, Malaysia and China.

At the Brunei meeting, an Indonesian representative was elected to the executive committee of the ARFU. A new tournament structure for Asia, tentatively titled the Asian Five Nations, which Indonesia will participate in at a tertiary level, was also approved.

Japan's Rugby Union delegate Koji Tokumasu said; ""In a short time, Indonesia has developed far beyond what anyone could have expected. We are quite pleased to see Indonesia take its place among the rugby playing nations of Asia.""

Indonesia's bid to host next year's tournament was approved at the ARFU meeting. The competition will take place in July 2008, in Jakarta.

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