KUALA LUMPUR: Even though they realise that their chances of qualifying for the 2019 World Cup in Japan is a daunting one, the national rugby team are undergoing intensive, out of the ordinary training sessions in preparation for the first round of qualifying for the prestigious tournament.
Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU) president Datuk Shahrul Zaman Yahya said that the national squad’s biggest challenge to qualify for the World Cup is to keep the players highly motivated and their spirits up while ensuring it stays as such during the qualifying campaign.
"From early on we realised that qualifying for the World Cup is anything but easy.
"However, at least the players will gain valuable experience and playing time during the qualifying campaign for the very first time.
"This is a very positive development for us to try to register the best results we can achieve,” he said.
Shahrul explained that for the time being, the national squad’s training places more focus and emphasis on efforts to strengthen the player’s physique and mental strength.
"We are not carrying out preparations as we normally do because we are aiming for the best results possible.
"At present, every player is put through a tough and demanding training regime in efforts to build up their physical strength to be on par with those of the teams they will face in the qualifying campaign,” he said.
The national rugby squad made it to the 2019 World Cup qualifying campaign after winning Division One of the Asian Rugby Championship (ARC), in Ipoh, Perak in May.
There are a few levels involved for qualification to the World Cup, with the national team having to go through a tough challenge in the Premier Division which involves competing against the likes of Hong Kong and South Korea next year.