Singapore rugby to groom local talent, rely less on foreigners

[SNAblog]

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3E7DA0T820110210

Rugby-Singapore to groom local talent, rely less on expats
Thu Feb 10, 2011

By Tan Jinhe

SINGAPORE Feb 10 (Reuters) - The coach of Singapore's national rugby team plans to groom more local players and rely less on expatriates, local media reported on Thursday.

Singapore reached the finals of the second-tier Division One tournament last year with nine expatriates in the starting 15 but narrowly missed out on promotion to the Asian Five Nations, the continent's premier rugby competition, after losing to Sri Lanka.

"That's not the balance that I want," national coach Des Thornton told the Straits Times newspaper. "I'd be much happier if the ratio was reversed."

International Rugby Board rules permit players to represent a country after three years of residency, but the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) wants to focus on developing local talent since only citizens are allowed to compete in major sporting events such as the Olympics and Asian Games.

SRU President Low Teo Ping said the union was looking to reduce Singapore's dependency on expatriate residents and encourage local talent.

"But this is about going through a period of evolution, not revolution," he said. "Much will depend on the talent pool available and this has to start from the grassroots level."

Singapore will face Malaysia in this year's Division One semi-finals in June and a pool of some 45 players comprising of mainly locals will be called up for training later this month.

South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines are competing in the tournament, with the winner being promoted to Asia's top flight next year.

 

[streetsmart73]

hi there

1. honest, why sheep is going the hussle again.
2. simple, just go out and purchase.
3. rather than having local sheep, injured and losing out to ft again.
4. every sheep is doing it, sru!

 

[singveld]

what is rugby? useless sport, if you want to smash head, at least do amercian football, if you dun want to smash head, play soccer.
is it in olympics?? no i guess.

 

[Leongsam]

No sinkie can take on these sorts of characters. They'd be dead by the end of the game. Johah Lomu could easily drag the whole Singapore team from one end of the field to the other.

​

 

[johnny333]

No sinkie can take on these sorts of characters. They'd be dead by the end of the game. Johah Lomu could easily drag the whole Singapore team from one end of the field to the other.

They can't buy these kind of people since rugby is not popular in China or Indonesia

 

[mayliewwan]

Those Yankee sissies are wearing BMX style helmets. So how to smash head? Also, a bunch of fatties wearing extra body padding to soften the blows and ended making them look even fatter

what is rugby? useless sport, if you want to smash head, at least do amercian football, if you dun want to smash head, play soccer.
is it in olympics?? no i guess.

 

[Ramseth]

American Football is for overgrown giant sissies trying to pretend to be men. Helmets and paddings? Yawn. Rugby is alright but when you go ask your fellow Singapore guy friends to play rugby, they'd most probably think you mean Chinese rummy (a version of the gin rummy card game but commonly pronounced as raaby in Singapore).

 

[borom]

The 'problem' with rugby in Singapore is that it is not played by the masses unlike say football.

It is not even played by most schools.The traditional rugby playing schools ( RI,
St Andrews, ACS ect2) are the elite schools where students are so pressurised nowadays that they have little time for sports.Once they finished schooling, careers take over.

If they are serious about improving rugby, they should popularise it amongst the neighbourhood schools(the rougher the students the better) and Poly's.
It should also be made compulsory in elite units of the SAF/Police-where you can see whether the guy has courage/can take knocks in the field-if not how to make it in combat.

I often see Poly students engaging in fights and these are the types that should channel their excess energy into rugby-instead of slashing each other at Downtown East.

 

[red amoeba]

The 'problem' with rugby in Singapore is that it is not played by the masses unlike say football.

It is not even played by most schools.The traditional rugby playing schools ( RI,
St Andrews, ACS ect2) are the elite schools where students are so pressurised nowadays that they have little time for sports.Once they finished schooling, careers take over.

If they are serious about improving rugby, they should popularise it amongst the neighbourhood schools(the rougher the students the better) and Poly's.
It should also be made compulsory in elite units of the SAF/Police-where you can see whether the guy has courage/can take knocks in the field-if not how to make it in combat.

I often see Poly students engaging in fights and these are the types that should channel their excess energy into rugby-instead of slashing each other at Downtown East.

===

unlike rugby, you can play football almost anytime, anywhere...just a ball is all that is needed...sometimes, you can kick a drink can around...you can play with a small piece of open area, field, void deck...even on the plane like that turkish airline advert.

Rugby? No...u need a field...that already limits the potential of being accepted. And Rugby is the most contact sport after wrestling...another limitation...

We used to play touch rugby in school..with the girls...if it is full blown rugby..wow...i am sure the birth rate won't be so low in Singapore ...

 

[melzp]

its played in ite n poly BUT not in the army(for fear of injury).
The only place in SEA where rugby is not in this sissy army,
unlike yesteryears. The whole SRU committe must be re-vamped.
The people inside are all having a cushy time; being sponsored
generously n blindly by Std Charted.
Sissyporeans are not tough anymore to take up this game. From young,
its introduction rugby, to teens school glamor rugby and STOP AT ADULT RUGBY>

 

[tua lam pah]

what is rugby? useless sport, if you want to smash head, at least do amercian football, if you dun want to smash head, play soccer.
is it in olympics?? no i guess.

obviously you have never seen a real rugby international

its an awesome game were real men at willing to put life and limb for their country....
its also a very intelligent and tactical game, most people get the misconception that its just a game where idiots bash each other up,

 

[no_faith]

...real men at willing to put life and limb for their country....

the issue is new gen sinkie cant even take on ns and behave like gu niang.
how to groom them to put life and limb for this tough game.

when dey see the real rugby player, dey might flee.