KELANA JAYA, Nov 11 —Daveta Rugby Club won their third COBRA 10s title and second in-a-row after heavy rain and lightning caused the finals of the Malaysian COBRA 10s Cup final to be called off at the MPBJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya.
Daveta, who won the titles in 2010 and 2017, were set to meet debutantes Global Warriors in the final but managed two minutes and 37 seconds of play before heavy rain and lightning hit forcing organisers to postpone the match for an hour and a half.
With the rain not dissipating, tournament organisers decided to call off the match and declare Devita winners based on the number of tries they scored during the tournament.
“We’d like to play and win the title outright but we can’t do much when things are out of our hands,” said Daveta captain Veniona Vuki who plays for Dratabu Rugby club in Fiji.
“We were lucky to still be in the competition after a tough quarterfinals match where we had to come back from the brink of defeat,” added Vuki whose team beat NNK Rugby Club from South Africa 14-12 with a minute left.
“In my opinion there are so many super rugby team players here and the tournaments getting tougher. It’s a great testament to rugby worldwide and we will definitely be back here next year to defend our title again,” said the 27-year-old.
Meanwhile COBRA 10s organising chairman and one of rugby’s biggest supporters in Malaysia, Tan Sri Krishnan Tan, is pleased with another successful competition and vows to continue to be a strong supporter for rugby in Malaysia.
“The 10s format is our contribution to world rugby. The 10s format was born in Malaysia and started by COBRA. We have to keep it going and take it to the next level,” said Krishnan.
“The hope is to maintain the high standards and for that to happen we need decent sponsorship.
“It’ll enable us to bring better teams every year and whats more critical is to bring the audience. In the past we had the school kids program where thousands were brought to watch the games and I would like to see this plan take greater precedence in the future.”
COBRA 10s is the world’s premier rugby 10s tournament which is organised annually by the COBRA Rugby Club of Malaysia. The tournament is held each November at the MBPJ Stadium in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
The first COBRA 10s tournament was held in 1967. Today, 16 top teams from around the world compete for the coveted trophy and title as Tens champion.
