PETALING JAYA, May 24 — Malaysia, ranked 47th in the world, won’t wait long to start their  preparation for their challenge in Premier Division of the Asian Rugby Championship (ARC) next year.

Malaysia Rugby general manager Mazuri Salehuddin said the squad will be sent for more overseas training and sparring by end of the year.

"The most significant factor when we defended our title in Division One this year is we surprised many. This proved Malaysian rugby scene is on the good track at international level,” he added.

"From 71st in the rankings in 2013,  we are the biggest climbers, jumping to 47th in the world.

"However, this means we need to work harder to keep on track especially the route is tougher in Premier Division,” he said.

A 22-9 win over Sri Lanka on Saturday in Ipoh saw the Malaysians defending the Division One title and earn promotion to the Premier Division next year which also acts as a qualifier for the World Cup in 2019 in Japan.

That victory combined with earlier win over the Philippines resulted in Malaysia picking up 1.76 rating points to move up eight places to 47th.

Mazuri said Malaysia Rugby are planning to draft a massive training programme for the squad.

"Massive training means we will give then more overseas exposure like training in New Zealand and Australia,” he added.

"They will get the chance to play in friendlies and learn tactics and skills.

"This is because our competitors in the Premier Division — Hong Kong and South Korea are great sides.

"We have seen a lot of Division One champions being thrashed before like Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan. Of course we dream to win the top flight next year but we need to be realistic too.”

Mazuri said Malaysia need to march into the top flight as contenders.

"We need to avoid of getting thrash, thus we need an early preparation for this and of course numbers of sponsors to support our sport to make it happen,” he added.

Malaysia will compete in the Premier Division next year scheduled to take place on April 24-June 2.

There will be home and away matches in the competition.