KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysia Police have fired an early warning to their rivals as they aim to end a 31-year wait for the Agong's Cup rugby title.
Police won the inaugural edition of the Agong's Cup in 1983, followed by further wins in 1985 and 1991, but have found it hard to make an impact in the tournament over the past decade.
Rugby convenor Assistant Commissioner Zaldino Zaludin, however, said Police have revamped their programme since 2015, and are hoping to mount a strong assault this year.
"I am not sure what exactly caused the decline of Police rugby since the 1990s, but I believe the growth of the game in general in Malaysia has been one of the factors... the sport has enjoyed a boom here," said Zaldino at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
"The game has changed since then, and other teams have also improved.
"We are aware of this and since 2015, our (rugby) committees have implemented various changes to our programme.
"This includes changing the way we train, the intake of players as well as the coaching setup, all of which incur extra investments in both time and expenses but is necessary for us to move forward."
Though wary of teams such as defending champions Terengganu and a vastly strengthened Putrajaya, Zaldino remains confident in his charges' ability to go deep into the tournament.
"As I have said, we are aware of the preparations made by the other (strong) teams," said Zaldino who is also serving as Agong's Cup team manager.
"But don't forget that we have also prepared well for the competition. The other teams should not overlook us. We will be giving it everything we have."
Police have assembled a solid squad this year that include no less that 10 current or former national players. Among them are Wan Izzuddin Ismail, Safwan Abdullah, Hezry Muhammad Anis, Syahmi Afiq Edan and Hasif Sharifuddin.
They have also roped in four Fijians, including current Fiji 15s international Tevita Mociu and former national sevens player Keponi Paul.
Police are drawn in pool D together with Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan and Perlis. They will open against Kelantan at the Battalion 4, General Operations Force field in Semenyih on Sunday.
KW: rugby, Agong's Cup, Police