KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian 7-a-side rugby team will use the Sixways 7s rugby tournament this Saturday as a last-lap preparation for the Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Birmingham, England from July 28-Aug 8.
The Hibiscus squad, who are in the men's elite category of Group E1, will face the Midlands Mobs, Prostate Cymru, Gogs Raiders and Jagerbombers International at the Sixways Stadium in Worcester, England, at the tournament.
The team, who left early for Birmingham for acclimatisation purposes, will also play a friendly against China at Marlow Rugby Club on July 20.
Head coach Saizal Hafifi said the Sixways tournament would be an important testing ground for his men before the Commonwealth Games.
“We are not setting specific targets for this tournament. Instead, we want to see compatibility between the players and, at the same time, assess individual performances before naming the final squad for Birmingham.
“Our players also have to adapt to playing in cold weather (below 25 degrees Celsius) here,” he said when contacted in England.
He said the warm-up action against the local British clubs was also to test the physical endurance of the national squad when facing local players who have bigger physiques than Asian players.
In the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia, the national squad were eliminated in the group stage when they finished bottom of Group A after being outclassed by rugby giants Papua New Guinea (31-5), Scotland (41-0) and South Africa (43-0).-Bernama