KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — The Malaysia Rugby Union (MRU) is currently working to identify potential heritage players to strengthen the national squad in the future.
Its president Amir Amri Mohamad said sports enthusiasts and fans raised the suggestion to utilise heritage players, and the MRU is open to the possibility.
"Indeed, there are efforts; this matter was brought up by rugby enthusiasts and fans, and we will review it from time to time. In terms of MRU's financial standing and capability, InsyaAllah, we will try to implement it.
"For now, there are initial efforts to first identify heritage players who can play for Malaysia," he said at the official sponsorship ceremony between Hong Leong Yamaha Motor (HLYM) and MRU at the Hong Leong Yamaha Complex in Sungai Buloh today.
The use of heritage players is not new in national sports, especially football, which has long adopted this approach to strengthen the Harimau Malaya squad.
Last month, Malaysia Aquatics (MAS) announced that it is intensifying efforts to identify and recruit heritage swimmers to bolster the national squad through an approach similar to that used by Singapore.
Earlier, at today's event, HLYM channelled a sponsorship worth RM200,000 to the MRU to prepare the national men's and women's rugby sevens (7s) squads for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand from December 9 to December 20.
— Bernama
