The HSBC Asian 5 Nations Rugby Series 2010 comes to a close this Saturday with the 29th match played in Asia over the past 11 weeks. Fittingly for what has been a tremendously successful campaign marked by a continuous improvement in the quality of rugby and increasing parity amongst the teams, the HSBC A5N 2010 will come to a close with a finely poised clash between defending regional champion Laos and hosts Cambodia.

The A5N Southeast Asian regional tournament features Laos, Brunei and Cambodia in a Round-Robin Tournament format. The first matches were played on last Sunday (20 June) and Wednesday (23 June).

Brunei and Cambodia opened the action on Sunday with a tense battle that saw Brunei edge home over the hosts 10-9. Brunei scored the only try of the match in the 13th minute through centre Jainak with the successful conversion coming from Bruneian flyhalf Petrus Yuan. Brunei added a penalty through winger Ak Moiz PG Ismak late in the first half to bring its tally to 10.

Throughout the match, Cambodia was paced by diminutive playmaking flyhalf and captain Ratana Pich, who scored all of his team’s points through three well taken penalties. At halftime the score was Brunei 10, Cambodia 6.

Despite facing a physically larger Brunei side that was itself adjusting to integrating 10 new players in the 24-man squad, Cambodia had a good grasp of the match with the sense that it could close the narrow gap in the second half. Unfortunately for the hosts, two Cambodian players were sin-binned in the opening moments of the second stanza.

Although Cambodia held the line for the sin-bin period, the effort proved too sapping in the long run as the hosts could only manage one more penalty in the second half (again through Ratana Pich). Pich’s successful effort brought his team within one point for the final 15 minutes of the match. But despite the frenzied exhortations of the 500-strong home crowd, the Cambodians could not close the gap and bowed out by a single point. The opening win put Brunei on the top of the table with 5 points before its crucial match against defending champions Laos. Cambodia figured with one bonus point after a loss within seven points.

In the second match on Wednesday (23 June), Laos showed why they are the defending champions, routing Brunei 23-5. Laos was paced throughout by the metronomic kicking and stabilizing performance of flyhalf Chris Mastoglio. Mastoglio would finish with six penalties on the day, three in each half to keep Laos ticking over nicely. Mastoglio’s three penalties came regularly in the opening half at the 7th, 15th and 30th minute of the first half to give Laos a 9-nil lead at the break. In the second half, Brunei mounted a comeback scoring the game’s first try and Brunei’s only points through hooker Haji Ali Mohd Aimanuddin in the 7th minute after a sin-binning to the Laos hooker early after play resumed.

But that man Mastoglio again made Brunei pay for every bit of indiscipline, scoring his first of three second half penalties moments later to push Laos ahead at 12-5; moments later he slotted his 5th of the day to push Laos further out at 15-5. Laos then scored its first try of the tournament through prop Phanavanh Boutthavong to pull away for good at 20-5. Mastoglio’s sixth penalty of the day put paid to the Brunei comeback for good with Laos running out convincing winners 23-5.

The results see Laos top the table with five points for their convincing opening round win with a game in hand on Brunei who are tied-first with five points from their opening win over Cambodia. At present the hosts Cambodia are in third with one point for a loss within seven points. If Cambodia can stop Mastoglio and come away with a clear win without conceding a bonus point to the visitors, Cambodia can still manage a home victory in the tournament. But that challenge will seemingly be a stiff one for the hosts on Saturday.

Laos and Cambodia will face off in the final match on Saturday at 4.00pm Phnom Penh time. Entry is free and all are welcome.

As title sponsor of the A5N, HSBC is committed to the development of rugby throughout Asia. HSBC aims to bring positive social change to different cultures and communities through its diverse rugby sponsorships across the world. HSBC Rugby invests in over 30 different countries from the very pinnacle of the elite game through to the development of emerging rugby countries through the Asian 5 Nations. Each of HSBC’s rugby sponsorships share one common aim of uniting people and cultures through the positive values of rugby union.

HSBC is also a long-term sponsor of the Penguins International Rugby Club, which is represented by 30 nations and has provided coaching sessions to local communities in 62 countries. In partnership with ARFU and the HSBC Penguins Coaching Academy, HSBC supported a series of rugby coaching clinics throughout Hong Kong in the lead up to the A5N tournament. The commitment to grassroots development continued throughout the duration of the HSBC A5N with Youth Rugby Festivals reaching thousands of youth in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Dubai, Bahrain, Jakarta, India, Cambodia and Nepal. Led by former Scotland head coach Frank Hadden, the clinics are supported by a team of HSBC Penguins and HSBC A5N coaches as well as team stars from several Asian nations.

Match 1 Scoring:

Brunei (10): HJ Rezaimin Zam Jainak (1T), Petrus Yuan (1C), Ak Moiz PG Ismak (1P)

Cambodia (9): Ratana Pich (3P)

Match 2 Scoring:

Laos (23): Chris Mastoglio (6P), Phanavanh Boutthavong (1T)

Brunei (5): Haji Ali Mohd Aimanuddin (1T)

 

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