Rugby union in Malaysia is a sport with a long history, and a significant participation. There are 41,050 registered players, and the country is currently ranked 47th.IRB.com retrieved 1 July 2009 There are sixteen unions, associations and councils affiliated to the Malaysian Rugby Union, more than 300 clubs, and 600 schools which teach the game.Rugby in Asia, Malaysia page retrieved 1 July 2009 Malaysian rugby's most notable contribution to the game at large is the invention of

rugby tens Rugby tens, also known as ten-a-side and Xs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of ten players, typically five forwards and five backs. Matches are much shorter, usually played as two ten-minute halves. Unlike the other tw ...

Governing body

The governing body is the

Malaysian Rugby Union Malaysian Rugby, formerly known as Malaysian Rugby Union ''( Malay: Kesatuan Ragbi Malaysia)'' is the governing body for rugby union in Malaysia. It was founded in 1921 and joined the International Rugby Football Board, later known as the Interna ...

( Malaysian: Kesatuan Ragbi Malaysia). The Malaya Rugby Union (as it was then) was founded in 1921 and joined the IRFB in 1988.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p71 MRU History page Retrieved 1 July 2009 The founder members were

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sem ...

Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

District,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has bee ...

and

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...

. It is a founding member of the

Asian Rugby Football Union Asia Rugby, formerly the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU), is the governing body of rugby union in Asia under the authority of World Rugby. Founded in 1968 by eight charter nations, the Union today has 36 member unions in countries across Asia, ...

.http://wesclark.com/rrr/islamic_rugby.html "Islam and Rugby" on the ''Rugby Readers review'' retrieved 2 July 2009

History

Rugby was introduced to the British colony of Malaya in the late nineteenth century. It has had a steady presence since the beginning of the 20th century, when the

Malay Cup Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

between Singapore national rugby union team and Malaya was established, which is one of the oldest rugby competitions in the world. There is also the Agong's Cup (Piala Agong, or "King's Cup") which is played between the 13 states in Malaysia, the 3 Federal Territories,

Royal Malay Regiment The Royal Malay Regiment ( ms, Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja; Jawi: ) is the premier unit of the Malaysian Army's two infantry regiments. At its largest, the Malay Regiment comprised 27 battalions. At present, three battalions are parachute trai ...

(Army) and

Royal Malaysian Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit Ama ...

(PDRM). The first inter-club match was played in 1902 between

Singapore Cricket Club The Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) is one of the premier sports and social clubs in Singapore. Its clubhouse is located on Connaught Drive on the south end of the Padang in Singapore's central business district. History The SCC was esta ...

and

Royal Selangor Club The Royal Selangor Club ( ms, Kelab Di-Raja Selangor) is a social club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, founded in 1884 by the British who ruled Malaya. The club is situated next to the ''Dataran Merdeka'', or Independence Square, ''padang'' (field), ...

has also hosted one of the oldest rugby sevens tournaments in Asia, the Jonah Jones Rugby Sevens Tournament. The Malaysians have been instrumental in setting up a number of other South Asian competitions, which have helped bolster the game in the region, among these were an Asian "round robin" tournament between

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. However, while the game is popular at school level, economic factors prevent many people playing after they leave. Among the other Malaysian innovations has been the game of "

tens Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS or TNS) is the use of electric current produced by a device to stimulate the nerves for therapeutic purposes. TENS, by definition, covers the complete range of transcutaneously applied currents ...

" - yet another smaller variant on the usually fifteen a side game. Malaysia also has a national sevens team. McLaren, Bill ''A Visit to Hong Kong'' in Starmer-Smith, Nigel & Robertson, Ian (eds) ''The Whitbread Rugby World '90'' (Lennard Books, 1989), p 70

HMS Malaya Cup

The major trophy is the "HMS Malaya Cup" which was first presented in 1921 and still is awarded to the winners of the Malay sevens. The original trophy was presented by the officers and men of a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...

, HMS ''Malaya''. In honour of this, the competition was renamed the HMS Malaya Cup in 1933. An association football cup of the same name began at the same time, but has since changed its name to the

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup ( ms, Piala Malaysia), formerly known as ''Malaya Cup'', is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the nation's o ...

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''( Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unpreceden ...
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Malaysia is an active participant in the

Commonwealth Sevens Rugby sevens has been played at every Commonwealth Games since its first appearance at the 1998 edition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rugby sevens was an optional sport that was included for 2002 and 2006; it was then made a 'Core' sport by ...

, and the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''( Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unpreceden ...

, held in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

was the first

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the ex ...

to feature the sport. In front of 20,000 fans at the

Petaling Jaya Stadium The Petaling Jaya Stadium, also known as the MBPJ Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Kelana Jaya in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The stadium was opened in 1996 and has a capacity of 25,000. It was built in time for the 199 ...

, Rugby sevens was an enormous success with

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

collecting its 100th Commonwealth Games medal with a 21–12 win over the plucky

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

(the reigning world champions). Man of the match was the giant

Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarde ...

who had worked tirelessly during the 10-minutes each way final. Led by veteran star David Campese,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

took the bronze beating

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

33–12.

Domestic competitions

MRU Super League

This competition that was established in 2004, is the first tier of rugby club competition in Malaysia. It consists of 12 top Malaysian clubs, divided into two groups. The top 4 of each group were advanced to the knockout stage, while the club that being placed at bottom, were relegated to National Inter-Club Championship next year.

References

External links

IRB Malaysia page

Malaysia Rugby Union Official Page

Rugby in Asia, Malaysia page

Asian Rugby Football Union

{{Asia in topic, Rugby union in