Rugby returns to SE Asia Games

Rugby has not traditionally been a major sport in many of the 11 nations that are members of the games federation, and the return of the sport to the Games is a sign of how much rugby is growing in the region.

Five nations have entered the women’s competition which will be one of the Games earliest events. All five also took part in the last year’s Asian Games where Thailand were the highest ranked women’s team, finishing fifth, just ahead of Singapore.

Home advantage means that Singapore are targeting gold in both the women’s and men’s competitions. However, Thailand will be tough to beat and other teams relatively new to rugby are still travelling with expectations of success. "We are confident that the team will win a medal," said Philippine Rugby Football Union head Aaron Briddon on Wednesday despite the fact that this will be the first time their women's squad, coached by Australian Shirley Russell, has been to the Games.

"These girls have been training for 10 weeks, and I have been an involvement for eight weeks," said Russell, a former national team member and coach of the Australian women's national team that won the inaugural World Cup Rugby Sevens in Dubai.

"The girls have trained very hard and (they are) very determined. They have a passion for the game," she said. "We expect our team to be competitive. We should medal."

Play begins on Saturday morning (local time) with the women’s and men’s competitions both being played  in the Choa Chu Kang Stadium. The schedule for women’s tournament is:

6thJune

11:15 Laos v Malaysia

11:40 Thailand v Singapore

13:45 Laos v Philippines

14:10 Malaysia v Singapore

16:15 Laos v Singapore

16:40 Thailand v Philippines

7thJune

11:15 Thailand v Malaysia

11:40 Singapore v Philippines

13:45 Laos v Thailand

14:10 Philippines v Malaysia

15:25 Bronze Medal Match

16:15 Gold Medal Match