BUKIT JALIL: There were no surprises as the national squad were thrashed 71-0 by defending champions Hong Kong in their final Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) match at National Stadium here on Saturday.
Malaysia pushed a second-tier Hong Kong side hard when the two teams met at the Hong Kong Football Club Stadium on June 15, going down 30-24.
But it was a much different case on Saturday as the visitors had made over 10 changes to their squad.
Hong Kong put Malaysia on the back foot as soon as the match started. The national squad were, however, determined to break up Hong Kong's moves and this resulted in scrappy play. As tempers flared a number of scuffles broke out on the pitch.
It did not take long for Hong Kong to get on the scoreboard with the referee awarding a penalty try to them in the fifth minute. This was followed by tries from Harry Sayers (17th), Tyler Spitz (24th), Alex Post (34th), and Paul Altier (37th) to give Hong Kong a healthy 33-0 lead going into the break.
The second-half was a similar story with Hong Kong just a class above in all areas. The absence of K. Dinesvaran, who has returned to start his club season in Japan, was also felt. Marc Le captained the side in his absence.
Hong Kong continued where they left off with Liam Slatem scoring a try two minutes after the restart.
Altier and Sayers each got their second tries of the match in the 50th and 64th while Kane Boucaut (56th), Jack Neville (68th) and Lewis Warner (71st) also got on the scoresheet.
Matthew Rosslee successfully converted seven of the tries.
Hong Kong still have one match to play against South Korea on at home on June 29.
Winless for a second year in a row in the competition and now confirmed as the last placed team in the top tier, Malaysia will now have to play Division One champions Philippines in a relegation-cum-promotion playoff.
The date for the playoff has yet to be confirmed.