Fourteen Days Is Not Enough Preparation for Rugby Sevens

Malaysia’s women’s rugby sevens team finished ninth at the Asia Rugby Sevens Series event in Suzhou, China, falling short of its target of a top-eight place.

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Although we targeted a top-eight finish, the players’ performance was quite far behind the other teams.

Coach Muhammad Faiz Samsukhidir attributed the underwhelming performance partly to the team’s limited preparation. Malaysian players had only 14 days of training each month, while rival teams prepared full time.

Faiz said fitness and physical strength remained the squad’s main problems. He nevertheless praised the players for maintaining their fighting spirit and commitment throughout the tournament.

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Our main problem was the players’ fitness and physical strength, which caused the team’s performance to lag behind.

The event also allowed the coaching staff to assess the team’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the abilities and playing styles of its opponents. Malaysia will use that assessment as it prepares for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

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For the next preparations for the Asian Games, we will try to improve as much as possible to ensure the team is better prepared and, God willing, will do our best.