TUESDAY, 07 MAY – The Student Representative Council (MPP) and the Sport Science Programme students of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in collaboration with S. M. La Salle had recently organised Contact Rugby Championship for the first time.The Championship themed ‘How Far Can You Go’ was held at S. M. La Salle field and had attracted 12 entries with six women teams and the rest were men teams.
The women teams were divided into two groups; Group A consisted of Sains Sukan (SS) UMS A, Michaelian Bulldozers and IPG Keningau whereas Group B consisted of SS UMS B, Penampang Pengait and SMPO II. For the men’s teams, Group A comprised SS UMS A, Ranau Titans and OSCA whereas for SS UMS B, KK Sharks and IPG Keningau were in Group B. Seven referees were engaged in the championship and were headed by International Rugby Board (IRB) evaluator Dr. Mohamad Nizam Nazarudin who is also a lecturer with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
The Women’s Bowl Category saw a stiff fight between SS UMS B against Michaelian Bulldozers. However, SS UMS B emerged the winner with a 2-1 aggregate win. Ranau Titans took the lead for the Men’s Bowl Category with an aggregate win of 2-0 against SS UMS B. As for the Plate Category, the women’s team Penampang Pengait lost to IPG Keningau with 0-1. KK Sharks however trounced SS UMS A thus grabbing the champion title with a 1-0 win in the final Men’s Bowl Category whilst SMPO II emerged the winner for the Women’s Cup Category and IPG Keningau for the Men’s Cup Category.
Meanwhile, Senior Assistant of S. M. La Salle, Safri Jeffri said that the combined efforts of La Salle and UMS had successfully inculcate a strong friendship among the players and helped enliven the event. He added that the cooperation had helped to revitalise the rugby sport in the state. The prize-giving ceremony was done by the Sports and Recreation Exco of UMS MPP, Pang Ngiap Ting. – FL
Source: Dr. Mohamad Nizam Nazarudin, SPPS
Information and Media Section, Corporate Relations Division
