KUCHING: The Song Kheng Hai (SKH) field in Padungan shall be upgraded into a better rugby field, assured Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah. Speaking at the closing of the two-day Brother Columba Under- 20 Memorial Cup held at the Song Kheng Hai field on Sunday, he said the preservation of the field was decided in view of its popularity among rugby enthusiasts who seemed, of late, to be very active in the rejuvenation of the game which was popular during the 1950s.
Apart from that, the State Government had also decided to have another rugby field to be built within the vicinity of the Sarawak Sports Complex in Petra Jaya to cater for bigger tournaments, especially in preparation for the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in future. He commended Sarawak Rugby Union (SRU), the organiser of the Brother Columba Cup, for their commitment in the revival of the game in a very dedicated manner.
The honour given to Brother Columba, who was a very significant figure in the promotion of rugby in the 50s and 60s, while in his capacity as the principal of St Joseph School, was very appropriate, Karim added. “Brother Columba was known to have groomed up lots of leaders, be it in education or sports and was indeed an exemplary figure,” he added.
The State Secretary, Tan Sri Morshidi Ghani, who is also SRU Patron said Sarawak was poised to make the state team as the rugby champions in the forthcoming Sukma in Perak next year. SRU president Richard Song Swee Jin said the union was set to develop rugby to be Sarawak’s powerhouse and was inspired by the success of the lady team from Miri who produced three bronze medallist rugby players recently.
A book on the history of rugby would be published by SRU soon, he said. At the function, Karim handed over the prizes to the winners. Wolfpack A team from Kuching were champions of the tournament after beating Saint Development A team from Sibu 12-7.
WORC A team beat Miri Piranhas 12-0 to finish third while WORC B team won the Plate Final after beating Kuching Rugby Football Club (KRFC) 7-0. Wolfpack B team also beat UiTM 19-0 to win the Bowl Final. Also present were the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sarawak Sports Corporation, Dr Ong Kong Swee and the president of Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA), Dato Patrick Liew. The Rubik’s Cube solver calculates the rotations to sove the unsolvable cube.
