Indonesia hosts its first rugby international

[beige]

Indonesia will host international rugby for the first time this coming week as part of the Asian Five Nations regional tournaments.

The first game will be between Laos and Cambodia this Saturday, to be followed by Indonesia's first ever home international, against Laos, on Tuesday. Indonesia vs Cambodia will take place the following Saturday. The matches will take place at the University of Pelita Harapan in Karawaci, west of Jakarta.

About two thirds of the squad are Indonesian nationals or of Indonesian descent, with the rest being expats who qualify under IRB regulations. The squad represents a broad geographical and cultural base, with players being drawn from clubs in Jakarta, Borneo, Bandung, Bali, Lombok, Maluku, Sumbawa and West Papua, along with players based in Dubai and the UK.

Indonesian Rugby Football Union

[thunderchicken9]

Free? Niiice.. and a really good idea!

[AndyS]

Good for them. Got to smile at them being the "Rhinos" though - rarest animals in the country, with the bigger version being just about the rarest beast there is.

[beige]

Could be a beneficial tie-in if the team starts to get any publicity...

[beige]

I couldn't find any official results but I believe Laos beat Cambodia 35-0 on Saturday.

After such a big win, tomorrow should be interesting when Laos takes on Indonesia. As I mentioned, this will be Indonesia's first ever home game and they take into the match a 5-1 record in their short history of rugby internationals.

Here is the poster used to the advertise the games over there: Poster
It's a shame they couldn't play these games during the uni semester and capitalise on a walk-up crowd of students but there may have been other issues I'm not aware of.

[beige]

Article from The Jakarta Post...

Indonesia's national rugby team is looking forward to Saturday's match against archrival Cambodia, in what will be the last rugby event in the Asian Five Nations.

Indonesia routed the Laotian team 23-11 on Tuesday at Pelita Harapan University stadium in Tangerang, Banten, positioning the team to take on Cambodia.

"We still see Cambodia as our toughest rival, even though they fell to Laos in the previous match," Indonesian player Fikri Al Azhar told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

More...

[Happy]

does the ball tick?

[beige]

Now why would you make such an offensive comment?

[Happy]

why would you take it seriously?

[beige]

Fair call

[Happy]

play on!

[beige]

While we were all going ape-ness in Subi, Indonesia crushed Cambodia 55-3 to win it's regional A5N satellite tournament...

"It's great to witness our team win," said Jean Venessa, 22, for whom it was the first time watching a rugby match.

"I think they played better than our national soccer team. Maybe our soccer players should try this sport instead," she joked.

Linda Yuanita, the wife of the captain, said she enjoyed the game although she would be busy taking care of her husband's bruises afterward.

"It's usual to see him come home black and blue. What can I say, it's part of the game," Linda said.

RI downs Cambodia to extend run at A5N | The Jakarta Post