IPOH: Malaysia Rugby (MR) have invited two foreign referees from Rugby Asia to officiate at the National Rugby Sevens Championships starting tomorrow.
MR competitions director Fahmy Jalil said Asia Rugby had picked Singaporeans Leow Wei Liang and Christabelle Lim Mee to be guest referees at the two-day championships.
“Leow has been picked to officiate the men’s category while Christabelle will blow the whistle for the women’s category... these are the changes brought about by MR for the championships this time.
“The two will be assisted by local referees and the move will, to a certain extent, help the local officials gain experience,” he said when met after the briefing for team managers near here today.
Fahmy said this is their first collaboration with Asia Rugby and hoped that the opportunity would spur local officials to raise their standard of refereeing.
A total of 50 teams have confirmed their participation this year, with over 800 players and officials set to converge on the two venues, namely the Perak Rugby Stadium and the 23rd Battalion Royal Malay Regiment Camp.
Like last year’s edition, the tournament comprises four categories, namely Men’s Open (15 teams), Women’s Open (10 teams), Men’s Under-20 (14 teams) and Women’s Under-20 (11 teams).-Bernama
