The national rugby team in a group photo before departure for the Borneo International Club Sevens yesterday. BT/ Yee Chun Leong
The Brunei Leopards Rugby Development team are hoping to return stronger and wiser from the Borneo International Club Sevens this weekend.
The Sultanate is set to rub shoulders with other clubs from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and hosts Malaysia in Sandakan, Sabah.
Brunei captain Mike Lewis knows the challenge ahead and is hoping for the best at the two-day competition.
"We want to come back with more experience and better results. Hopefully the boys will be able to deliver," said Lewis before departure at the Brunei International Airport in Berakas.
"We have been training together for a while now and have been preparing for the competition for the past three weeks," he added.
National rugby coach Ben Bourne feels that the competition is good to see where they stand.
"We have a few juniors on the team. All are new faces except for one player from the old squad," said Bourne
"This competition will give us an outline of what we can work with and building the foundation of the team," he added.
"Training has been gruesome. We have it twice a day daily including Sundays whereby we compete in tournaments to get ready," continued the national coach.
He also went on to thank the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Baiduri Bank and Brunei Rugby Football Union (BRFU) for their support.
The team are coming off a clean sweep of the Sharks Rugby 7s tournament mid of the month.
This year the tournament is hosted by Sandakan-based Borneo Eagles Rugby Club - who were finalists last year.
Defending champions Davetalevu of Fiji, three time winners of the event, head into the event as favourites.
Australian sides Outlaws Rugby Club, Southern Lions and Pally Pirates as well as Fiji Auckland Rugby Union are the other foreign clubs in the fray.
Malaysian clubs Cobra, Sabah Rugby Union Eagles, Armed Forces, RMAF Blackhwaks, OSCA Warriors and Sabah Barbarians complete the list.
The draw will only be held today.
The Sultanate last competed in the tournament back in 2010 and lost all their matches.
They fell to a 36-7 defeat at the hands of the Borneo eagles in the first game before getting crushed 53-0 by Australia's Casuarina Rugby Club.
They closed out their campaign with a 36-7 loss to Sabah Rugby Academy.
