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Singapore's Men & Women's Teams for SEA 7s 2023. Photo Credit : Singapore Rugby Union
After a 5-year absence, Singapore will once again play host to SEA 7s - a tournament for ASEAN countries to consistently compete at the regional level, even if the sport is excluded from the biennial SEA Games.
The 2-day event (7-8 April) will feature the men and women’s teams from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Laos, along with a specially invited side, Chinese Taipei. The SEA 7s will also help the Singapore teams in their preparations ahead of the top-flight Asian Rugby 7s Series and the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. Meanwhile, ActiveSG Circle caught up with Charlie Teng (TeamSG Men's Captain) and Victoria Chew (TeamSG Women's Captain) regarding their hopes and plans for the SEA 7s & their respective thoughts of the foreign teams competing at the HSBC Rugby 7s at the National Stadium.
TeamSG's Charlie Teng. Photo Credit : Singapore Rugby Union
Charlie Teng (Captain, TeamSG Rugby 7s Men's Squad)
Age : 30
Number of Years with TeamSG : 12
Age : 30
Number of Years with TeamSG : 12
Q : Which is your favourite team (outside of the Asia-Pacific region), competing currently in the World Rugby Sevens Series and why?
Charlie : For me it will be Argentina, with their hardwork and commitment to the systems which have produced extremely well results in the series.
Q : How do you reckon they’ll perform in Singapore this weekend?
Charlie : I mean, don’t be surprised if they go on to win it. A team full of threats to all!
Q : Who’s your all-time favourite Sevens player and why?
Charlie : Jerry Tuwai, no particular reason but just love his calmness even in the big games.
Q : Looking next at the Asian-Pacific Teams, do you fancy any of them to be in the semi-finals?
Charlie : Samoa I reckon, because those boys have been playing some amazing 7s in the current series.
Singapore's Men's Team to compete at SEA 7s 2023. Photo Credit : Singapore Rugby Union
Q : Team Singapore will be competing in the upcoming SEA 7s tournament from 7-8 April. How has your team been preparing for this event?
Charlie : The team's looking really sharper now with a few experienced boys coming back into the system. That gives us more options to work around it, in terms of finding the best combination. It’s gonna be a cracker for sure.
Q : Where do you suppose TeamSG’s toughest challenge will come from?
Charlie : We don’t get many opportunities to play Rugby. And the toughest challenge definitely will still be, being really consistent on how the way we want to play and acing every opportunity presented to us.
Q : With Rugby 7s excluded from the SEA Games in Cambodia, how will the SEA 7s help with the preparations for the Asian Games in September?
Charlie : What a shame, but I think the management is doing a really good job by finding more tournaments outside of Singapore. That's for the team to get more play time under our belt and being exposed to higher standard of 7s.
TeamSG's Victoria Chew. Photo Credit : Singapore Rugby Union
Victoria Chew (Captain, TeamSG Rugby 7s Women's Squad)
Age : 23
Number of Years with TeamSG : 5
Age : 23
Number of Years with TeamSG : 5
Q : Which is your favourite team (outside of the Asia-Pacific region), competing currently in the World Rugby Sevens Series and why?
Victoria : The Republic of Ireland - for their fighting spirit and grit. They’ve been the underdogs of the series and put up a good fight each match they go into.
Q : How do you reckon they’ll perform in Singapore this weekend?
Victoria : With the growth of the women’s side of the game, I hope we’ll be able to get a women’s series alongside the men’s in Singapore in the next few years! I reckon the Irish ladies will put up quite an electrifying show as per their male counterparts.
Q : Who’s your all-time favourite Sevens player and why?
Victoria : From the women’s scene, it's Ghislaine Landry - despite being told she’s too small to play the game, she still went on the become of the top scorers of the women’s game. I admire the way she makes something out of nothing on the field. Outside of the pitch she’s a great advocate for the game.
Q : Looking next at the Asian-Pacific Teams, do you fancy any of them to be in the semi-finals?
Victoria : Japan! They’ve got the brawn, the brains and a whole lot of heart. Always appreciate the intensity they bring onto the pitch no matter who’s in front of them.
Q : Would you like to single out 1 player for special praise from the APAC region?
Victoria : Yume Hirano from Japan.
Singapore's Women's Team to compete at SEA 7s 2023. Photo Credit : Singapore Rugby Union
Q : Team Singapore will be competing in the upcoming SEA 7s tournament from 7-8 April. How has your team been preparing for this event?
Victoria : Leading up to SEA 7s, the team went for a tournament in Borneo. We’ve learned a lot from that trip, so it’s just been honing what we want to work on during field trainings. Outside of the pitch, we’ve been going at it with our gym sessions. Overall, we’re treating this tournament just like any other - putting our heads down and putting in the money in the bank!
Q : Where do you suppose TeamSG’s toughest challenge will come from?
Victoria : We met Laos and Philippines in 2019, and Thailand just over a year ago. These teams may have changed a lot over time - so the challenge would be to remain composed and not be too fixated on who’s in front of us.
Q : With Rugby 7s excluded from the SEA Games, how will the SEA 7s help with the preparations for the Asian Games in September?
Victoria : Getting the game time against other teams from the region will only push us to grow even more as a team. Asian Games will include some of these teams so it helps to familiarise ourselves with their style of play. Since it’s a home tournament there may be an added layer of external pressure so we’ll have to work around - likewise it’ll be the same for Asian Games.
Victoria : Getting the game time against other teams from the region will only push us to grow even more as a team. Asian Games will include some of these teams so it helps to familiarise ourselves with their style of play. Since it’s a home tournament there may be an added layer of external pressure so we’ll have to work around - likewise it’ll be the same for Asian Games.
Admission to the SEA 7s group and semi-final matches at the Jurong West Stadium (9am - 6pm) on April 7 is free. And the Finals for both men’s and women’s divisions will be played on Saturday, 8 April at the Sports Hub (alongside the HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s).
Full list of Match Fixtures 7-8 April 2023 (see below).
Fixtures' Images Credit : Singapore Rugby Union
