RI to play tough Cambodia at A5N

Thu, 07/17/2008 10:10 AM  |  Sports

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.

Laos silenced Cambodia 33-0 in the event's opener.

"I think Cambodia was just unlucky in that game," Fikri added.

Indonesian team captain Bobby Orlando agreed the match against Cambodia would be really tough, but expected a larger crowd of Indonesian fans to energize his team.

"We hope to see more support this Saturday, in what will be a very difficult match against mighty Cambodia. The cheers of the crowd will drive us to win," he added.

Last year, Cambodia lost 11-10 to the Indonesian team, nicknamed "the Rhinos". Its setback against Laos in the opener may provide extra motivation to turn the tables on Indonesia.

A win on Saturday would give the Rhinos the championship in the inaugural Asian Five Nations rugby competition, in addition to extending their home winning streak.

Although rugby was introduced to Indonesia in the 1970s, the Indonesian Rugby Football Union was not founded until 2004. Last year, the Rhinos were unbeaten in their international debut against Laos, Cambodia and Brunei Darussalam. -- JP

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