RUGBY: Thailand’s women rugby team won the Southeast Asian (SEA) Sevens tournament in Singapore last weekend after they defeated the hosts in their own back yard 22-7.
The victorious Thai women’s rugby sevens team. Photo: Sports Association of Phuket
The commanding performance and result means the team remain the number one ranked side in Asean, having won every Asean tournament they have entered.
The result also meant the side remain ranked as the third best team in the Asia region in the women’s sevens game.
Pol. Lt. Col. Kulthon Prachuabmoh, President of the Rugby Football Association of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King, extended his congratulations to the team following the win at the Singapore National Stadium on Sunday (Apr 9).
The team now head to the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2023 in Stellenbosch, South Africa, which takes place next weekend (Apr 20-22) and the following weekend (Apr 28-30).
The women’s challenger tour has twelve national teams competing, with the winner gaining direct entry to the 2023–24 World Rugby Sevens series.
The SEA Sevens tournament was played alongside the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series with Taiwan beating Malaysia 17-14 in the men’s final on the same day.
New Zealand followed up their success at the Hong Kong Sevens on Apr 2 to win the HSBC Singapore Sevens and secure their place at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the process.
The Kiwis beat Argentina 19-17 to extend their lead at the top of the 2023 standings with only two rounds left to play in Toulouse, France and London.
Fiji claimed the bronze medal in a thrilling 24-19 win over Samoa.
“To qualify for Paris means everything to us,” said Nez Zealand head coach Clark Laidlaw. “The first thing this year is to qualify for the Olympics. Everybody talks about it, but you have to be there to have a crack so we’re super happy we’ve managed to do that and win another final. Now we look ahead to France and London to try to win the World Series.”
