GIVE BUNGA RAYA 15'S SQUAD AT LEAST SIX-MONTH CENTRALISED TRAINING - DUGRO

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- Former national professional rugby player K. Dinesvaran says a centralised training programme of at least six months can do wonders for the national 15-a-side (15's) rugby squad before playing in a major tournament.

Dinesvaran, better known as Dugro, said that length of time is enough to prepare a team to compete with the might of regional champions.

“I have been dwelling on this for a long time, I think we need centralised training over a period of six months, not six months straight, but we can start with gathering the players in January maybe, followed by an ice-breaking session. From there, we will be able to form a compatible team.

“So, six months is good for the players. If we do that, I think we can keep the standard high in this Premier League,” he told a press conference after the launch of the Royal Selangor Club (RSC) Rugby Academy here today.

Last Friday, the national team ended its run in the 2024 Asian Rugby Championship (ARC) campaign with a 19-62 defeat to the host team UAE at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai.

Prior to that, the Bunga Raya 15's squad lost 5-55 to South Korea before losing 6-70 to Hong Kong in the four-nation Asian top-tier tournament.

Commenting further, Dugro, a former player of Japanese rugby club Yamah Jubilo and Hino Red Dolphins, said preparing a team within a very short period of time would be a difficult task for any coach.

“Even if we bring in a coach from the All Blacks and give him six weeks to train the team, he couldn’t possibly weave his magic too as he would also want the players to be really match-ready.

“Six weeks of gruelling training, players will be at high risk of injuries. They will not be ready, so six weeks is near impossible, it must at least be six months,” said Dugro, who was the first Malaysian to play with the Chicago Hounds in US (United States) major league rugby.

In the meantime, Dugro, who is director of the RSC Rugby Academy programme, said his fervent hope is to share his knowledge and experience with players at the grassroots level to produce as many top players as possible who can make the country proud.

“I think just playing abroad is not enough (for me) to contribute to the country, so I thought of sharing it with young players, to raise the standard of rugby even more," he said.

-- BERNAMA