Day Three at Asia-Pacific Womens Sevens Tournament

PNG outmuscled in the Cup, Cooks courageous in winning Plate, Samoa beat their Island cousins in the Bowl.

By anyone’s measure it was a very successful Tournament for the FORU Women’s teams at the inaugural Asia Pacific Women’s Seven in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.  All four teams were outstanding in the representation of their rugby region, with the teams winning two of the three trophies on offer.

Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands were the surprise packets of the FORU teams, with PNG cruising through their pool rounds, and quarter and semi finals.  They were simply outmuscled by Asian giants Kazahstan in quagmire conditions in the Final, however won many admirers from their performances.   The Cooks never give up attitude saw them reach the Plate Final and a determined opponent in Singapore.  The scores were deadlocked at the end of normal time and the match went golden point extra time.  However, the Cooks seized upon their opportunity of receiving the ball first and quickly marched down field to eventually break through the Singapore defences to score and take the trophy.

Samoa and Tonga played off for the Bowl, and there was no love lost in this encounter.  Both teams had performed well below expectations in this Tournament and they were both out to prove to all and sundry that they were proud rugby nations, and were worthy of some silverware.  Samoa took out the match and the trophy, however both teams will take home a world of experience with them and look forward to their next international competition.

The Asia Pacific Women’s Seven in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia was a fantastic experience for the FORU teams who have won many hearts here in Malaysia, and who have also been welcomed back with open arms by the organisers and rugby public.  They, and their respective home Unions, should be proud of their achievements of the last three days, and the way they represented FORU.