Kuala Lumpur (27 February, 2016): In a show of strength, defending champions Hong Kong Sports School marched into the quarterfinals in this sixth edition of the MCKK Premier 7s Rugby Tournament in Kuala Kangsar today.
Joining the ‘Hong Kong Dragons’ in the last eight are two-time champions Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI), 2014 winners Scots College New Zealand, and 2013 champions and hosts The Malay College Kuala Kangsar who maintained a perfect record with three consecutive wins in the preliminary stage.
Scots College have been ranked No 1 going into the quarterfinals despite sharing 129-equal points with SSTMI. The Kiwis go into showdown with Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah; Hong Kong Sports School take on Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman, SSTMI faces Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Intergrasi Gombak and MCKK go up against English College.
The hallowed ground of the 111-year-old Malay College also known as the ‘Eton of the East’, has once again been a cheerful playground for all four seeded teams who pulverised their opponents with clinical performances while not letting their feathers ruffled in the process.
“We are in the right direction here,” said Hong Kong head coach Fan Shun Kei, a former half-back who featured in three Hong Kong Sevens with his last outing in 2011. “But I believe we face tough matches on Sunday. SSTMI, MCKK and Scots College are above the rest of the teams here.
“The weather has been good today (Saturday) and very windy unlike Friday and my boys really enjoyed their matches. But when we take on the stronger teams on Sunday we need to change our game plan and go into attack mode,” he added.
Hong Kong Sports School opened their campaigned with a 26-0 win over Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah in Group A; nailed Taiping’s King Edward VII 21-5 before wrapping up their last match 48-0 over SM Sains Hulu Selangor to top the group with nine points, scoring a total of 95 points against five.
Scots College enjoyed long periods of dominations in their 38-0 victory over Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Kuantan before crippling Sabah College Kota Kinabalu 43-0 and thrashing SM Sains Pokok Sena 48-0. The Kiwis amassed 129 points and locked in a tie with SSTMI.
Malcolm Bradshaw, head coach of Scots College, agreed with his Hong Kong counterpart: “It has been a good start for us in all three matches. We were less under pressure and made great breakthroughs. But the games will change as we step into the quarterfinals as I reckon MCKK and SSTMI are the only local teams far more polished.
While Hong Kong boys and Kiwis showed their mastery, MCKK All Blacks and SSTMI banked on experience and resilience in dominating possession and territory in Group C and D matches respectively.
The All Blacks head coach, Khusainy Ishak, said: “Our target remains a spot in the final. The boys are playing well with no injuries and we are very motivated at this stage. Results in the preliminary round are very encouraging.”
MCKK captain Wan Mohammad Farhan Wan Mohd Fadzil, who aspires to be a doctor but for now aims to emulate the success of the 2013 team, led his side to 36-0 victory over Malacca’s Kolej Yayasan Saad and 39-7 against Australia International School. The All Blacks pooled 111 points and conceded seven.
In contrast, SSTMI punctuated SM Sains Selangor 55-0 – the highest score in past two days of the tournament, wrecked SM Haji Othman Abdul Wahab hopes 36-0 and triumphed 38-0 over Selangor’s SMK Taman Kosas.
The MCKK Premier 7s 2016 Rugby Tournament under the patronage of His Royal Highness the Sultan of Perak, DYMM Paduka Seri Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Al-Maghfurlah is co-organised by Malay College Kuala Kangsar and All Blacks Revival (ABR) Committee of The Malay College Old Boys’ Association (MCOBA).
Telekom Malaysia Berhad is the Title Sponsor of the MCKK Premier 7s 2016 Rugby Tournament while the major sponsors are Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Ranhill Bhd, Cyberview Sdn Bhd, Scomi, Ernst & Young, Casuarina Hotels, RF Empire Resources, Proton, Modenas, KPJ Healthcare Bhd, Aimar Resources (Carisbrook), Supreme Landmobile & Wireless Corporation, SA Cargo Sdn Bhd, Disitu Holdings, Milo, New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd and Big Tree Outdoor Sdn Bhd.
Results (Saturday, Feb 27) – Group A: Hong Kong Sports School 26 SAS 0; Hong Kong Sports School 21 SM King Edward VII 5; Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah 17 SM Sains Hulu Selangor 14; Hong Kong Sports School 48 SM Sains Hulu Selangor 0; Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah 29 SM King Edward VII 0.
Group B: Scots College NZ 38 Intek 0; Scots College NZ 43 Sabah College Kota Kinabalu 0; INTEK 14 SM Sains Pokok Sena 10; Scots College NZ 48 SM Sains Pokok Sena 0; INTEK 34 Sabah College Kota Kinabalu 7.
Group C: MCKK 36 Kolej Yayasan Saad 0; Kolej Yayasan Saad 22 Australia International School 0; Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Intergrasi Kubang Pasu 19 Australia International School 12; MCKK 39 Australia International School 7.
Group D: Victoria Institution 24 SM Sultan Yahya Petra (1) 0; MRSM Kuala Terengganu 10 Victoria Institution 7; STAR 26 SM Sultan Yahya Petra (1) 5; STAR 29 Victoria 5; MRSM Kuala Terengganu 17 SM Sultan Yahya Petra (1) 5.
Group E: English College 26 SDAR 0; SMK ABI 7 SDAR 5; English College 10 Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Intergrasi Gombak 5; English College 17 SMK ABI 0; Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Intergrasi Gombak 33 SDAR 19.
Group F: SSTMI 55 SM Sains Selangor 0; SM Sains Selangor 22 SMK Taman Kosas 5; SSTMI 36 SM Haji Othman Abdul Wahab 0; SM Sains Selangor 26 SM Haji Othman Abdul Wahab 7; SSTMI 38 SMK Taman Kosas 0.
Quarterfinals draw: Scots College NZ v Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah; Hong Kong Sports School v Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman; SSTMI v Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Intergrasi Gombak; MCKK v English College.
Issued by: Malay College Old Boys Association (MCOBA)
For further information, please contact
ShekhinahPR
Christopher Raj
6012 – 216 1881 (chris@shekhinah.my)
