Singapore win Asia Rugby U19 Division I title

Singapore beat hosts Thailand 19-15 in the final of the Asia Rugby U19 Division I tournament at the Bang-Bon Stadium in Bangkok.

The win means Singapore are promoted to the 2020 Championship where they will compete for a spot at the World Rugby U20 Trophy.

Tries from Liam Postlethwaite and Bryan Liau as well as four penalties from Hidayat Jeffrydin proved too much for Thailand despite scores from Supakan Netkham and Purinat Sitthiwongphonkin.

Singapore beat China in their semi-final 36-5 with Umar Sha’ari scoring two of their six tries in the win as they set up the final with the hosts.

In their semi-final Thailand beat the Philippines 16-8 in their semi-final thanks to the boot of Suppawit and despite leading 5-0 and 8-5 in the final, could not hold on in the second half as Singapore scored three penalties and a try to secure an historic victory.

In the third place play-off the Philippines beat China 33-19 with tries from Owen Wakeham Craig Wallace, Dean Beaton, James Ryan and Reymarc Bustillo.

All eyes now turn back to the Asia Rugby U19 Championship where Korea and Chinese Taipei will be looking to make it two wins from two, while Hong Kong and Sri Lanka will hope to bounce back from their opening defeats with a victory.

You can watch all of the remaining four matches in this year’s Asia Rugby competition calendar live on Facebook – www.facebook.com/asiarugby