Head coach Tony Dickinson has today named a strong Harimau Indonesian Men’s National Sevens squad to contest the IRB 2013 Rugby World Sevens Cup – Asian Qualifier to be held in Singapore from November 1st till 3rd. Selection was based on player performances at the recent 2012 XP Bali Rugby Fest and also during the HSBC A5N Division 3 Tournament held in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year. The 2012 Harimau are sponsored by INTA Resources.
Dickinson commented, “This was not an easy team to select, with a number of players putting their hand up with strong performances in Bali and KL, but we can only take 12 players to Singapore and the selectors and I are confident we have chosen a side that can mix it up with the likes of Japan and Sri Lanka”. Dickinson also paid special mention to the young Bali Hanoman team that won the recent Intraco Penta National Men’s 7’s Championships held in Bali, “It was an accomplished display by such a young team. To go through the tournament undefeated with many players in their first year of rugby is a great achievement. We will closely monitor their progress, along with players from the impressive Cendrawasih side (runners-up). Over the coming years I’m confident we will see a number of them put on the Harimau and Rhino jerseys.”
Captain Gareth Rae will lead his team into a baptism of fire with pool games against the Ben Gollings’ coached Sri Lanka and perennial Asian powerhouse Japan. But Rae was quick to state that the Harimau were not travelling to Singapore to simply make up the numbers, “We’ve got a good mix of youth and experience and the big boys will be well warned not to take us lightly. Rest assured we’ll be giving it everything we’ve got for the Merah Putih”.
The IRB 2013 Rugby World Sevens Cup – Asian Qualifier, Singapore is also part of the new HSBC Asian Sevens Series and will run in conjunction with the prestigious SCC – Singapore Cricket Club Sevens Tournament. Pool games will be played at the historical SCC “Padang” on Friday November 2nd with the finals set for Saturday November 3rd. The SCC 7s will run from Friday the 2nd through to Sunday the 4th.
The squad will assemble in Jakarta on Wednesday 31st October for a final training session before flying to Singapore on November 1st. Michael Bavin and Ari Yuda Pramono of the Jakarta Bantengs were omitted from the side due to work commitments and injury respectively.
2012 Harimau Touring Squad
Andrew White – Bali Hanoman
Didikus Ria (Markus) – Bali Hanoman
Daniel Sivess – Bali Chillis
Grant Olsen – Bali Chillis
Gareth Rae – Jakarta Komodos (C)
Daniel Nugroho – Jakarta Komodos (VC)
Tom Elliott – Jakarta Komodos
Steven Haurissa – Jakarta Komodos
Bob Scholten – Jakarta Komodos
Askyar Simbole – Matano Miners
Hayden Beckstead – JIS
Florian Busi – Bandung Rams
Coach – Tony Dickinson
Manager – Nick Mesritz
Standby Reserves
Hastono Van Hein – Bali Chillis
Ian Scott Atkinson- Bali Hanoman