International Rugby Fixtures

[StreetCowboy]

Thailand succumbed to the power of Iran in the first match yesterday afternoon, but later in the evening Malaysia held on to defeat hosts Qatar in the Asian Division Two Finals round. Iran and Thailand will go down to Division Three, while Malaysia and Qatar will be joined by UAE and Taiwan in Division Two.

That will be the first time the two descendents of the Arabian Gulf will have met - UAE took over Arabian Gulf's position in the top Five (you may remember that tremendous game against Korea to avoid relegation - Korea needed a coverted try to win and stay in the top division, Gulf were under the cosh - it looked certain that Korea would score - they did, but they were pushed into the corner, and the conversion went wide - Gulf held on by the smallest of margins.

Qatar, on the other hand, joined at the lowest division, and worked their way up, winning successive tournaments until they were held in Division Two last year at the Kelana Jaya stadium, KL, as Singapore went back up to Division 1 - surely you remember that game - another nail-biter, it looked like Malaysia might force extra time, but Singapore held on to win.

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[StreetCowboy]

Japan win their 28th consecutive bonus point victory in the Asian Five Nations, to lift the trophy for the seventh time and seal their place at the World Cup in 2015. 49 - 8 winners against second-placed Hong Kong, who will now travel to Uruguay in the play-offs for the final place at the World Cup.

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[meatboy]

just watched Toulon vs Saracens heinekin cup final replay from sat.cardiff.or what a bruiser,hard play by the south Africans or thuggery,[borderline] johnny Wilkinson brilliant,and a few others.

sat.this week top 14 play off Toulon vs castres,2am sun.thai time,look out for a battle of the bruisers.

[StreetCowboy]

I'll wait till the morning to see the French game, but I'm going to try and catch the Leinster - Glasgow game on the internet - unless Sid's has the pay per view channel for that - I suppose I'd better ask...

The first game of the day is the English final - Saracens - Northampton

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[StreetCowboy]

Following on from World Cup qualification last week against Hong Kong to lift their seventh successive Asian Five Nations with their twenty-eighth bonus point win, Japan beat an understrength Samoa side 33 - 14 in Tokyo - a result which I believe will lift Japan above above Tonga, and see Samoa drop below Argentina in the World Cup rankings. The next time the two teams will meet will be in Pool B of the World Cup in England, along with South Africa, Scotland and the USA.

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[meatboy]

all blacks stuffed by the all reds of wales,georgey,dai,rob,micky and good old scrapo bach,you showed em down there in kiwi land,they wont forget your welsh next time.

taff,taff,WAKE UP,WAKE UP its past 5am.and the dog wants to go out.

you take him I am not missing this,do dreams actually come true.

[meatboy]

all blacks stuffed by the all reds of wales,georgey,dai,rob,micky and good old scrapo bach,you showed em down there in kiwi land,they wont forget your welsh next time.

taff,taff,WAKE UP,WAKE UP its past 5am.and the dog wants to go out.

you take him I am not missing this,do dreams actually come true.

are you still in flipping bed,you wouldn't believe it MAX BOYCE was here singing swing low sweet chariot,he said taff take off that shirt and put this one on,it had roses on the pocket.

well darling there's no more cider for you tonight you are having a nightmare.and take that flipping shirt off you like like a lagar lout.

[StreetCowboy]

As if the drama of the rugby league European Cup, the Union European Rugby Cup, and the start of the League Four Nations down South was not enough - the main event, live, this Saturday afternoon from the Police Stadium in Bangkok -

Thailand - Malaysia.

You may remember that the last time these two met, two years ago, in the Division Two Final at the Kelana Jaya Stadium, Thailand held on for an unexpected win and promotion to Division One. Surprisingly, on their return to Division Two this year, Thailand lost out to hosts Qatar in the first round and didn't make it to the reunion with Malaysia in Qatar.

Please keep us posted on how they get on - I can't make it to the ground this weekend

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[StreetCowboy]

I'm disappointed none of you that were at the game could be bothered posting; maybe you were all disconsolate with grief and unable to post.

Malaysia rise to 63rd in the World Rankings, overtaking Thailand, after winning the second leg of the biennial Vajiralongkorn Cup

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[Wong!]

Not much comment about this weekend's games. Scotland played well and thumped the Pumas, Wales and England both choked against Southern opposition although England were very much equal to their opponents. Ireland stunned the Boks and it's good to see 2 Northern teams rebuilding well.

[StreetCowboy]

Does anyone know the result from today's Chinse Taipei (Taiwan) - Thailand game at Kelana Jaya?

Malaysia - UAE should've just kicked off...

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[StreetCowboy]

OK - found the results here

- set up for a great final match on Saturday 5pm; Thailand playing to avoid relegation, against Malayisa playing for promotion.

I expect I'll see you all down Kelana Jaya at the stadium - MBPj Stadium, for the avoidance of doubt.

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[WitawatWatawit]

Good luck to the Thai team - would love to be there to watch, but work .... sigh...

Meanwhile:

GO THE CHIEFS

[StreetCowboy]

Good luck to the Thai team - would love to be there to watch, but work .... sigh...

Meanwhile:

GO THE CHIEFS

Three (I think- maybe four) years ago it was a great game - Thailand held on to win despite the physical strength of the Malaysian team; that followed on from a win at the Army Stadium in Bangkok a couple of years earlier that saw Thailand spend a season in Division 1. We'd struggled to find the stadium, starting at the Army Sports Club, calling at the Air Force Stadium, and I think maybe the Police Stadium, but luckily kick-off was delayed and we saw most of the match

[WitawatWatawit]

I'd swap stories with you, but I have to finish some work, and then watch the Sharks-Warriors game.

[StreetCowboy]

A couple of cracking games on Wednesday afternoon saw Malaysia take a lead in the division with their second win, while Thailand will be battling to avoid the wooden spoon and relegation when the two meet on Saturday - 5 pm kick off, Malaysian time (4 pm Thai, probably on one of the local channels, Astro are showing it on Astro Arena channel 801).

See you all down there!

I'll tell you whom we missed on Sunday, for the first round of games - the nice lady with the big jugs from Carlsberg, ... maybe she only goes to the Cobra Tens,...

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[StreetCowboy]

I wasn't surprised that Malaysia won, but I was surprised that they beat Thailand 53 - 7 to win Division Two - I think there's automatic promotion to Division One, while Thailand will drop down to Division Three.

The other game was a thriller, with UAE prevailing 16 - 12 over Chinese Taipei. And in the top division, ill discipline saw Korea finish the game with 13 men as visitors Hong Kong scraped to a 38 - 37 win to leave them level on points,and with a 29 points better points differential -but still one game to play, against Japan, who have never been beaten in the Asian top division - recording a bonus point in every match

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[StreetCowboy]

This afternoon sees the final round of Asian Division 1 at the Royal Selangor Club, Bukit Kiara. I don't know why it's there, instead of the MBPJ Stadium, which is a much better venue.

All four teams find themselves with one win, with Malaysia top on points difference after a thumping win over favourites Sri Lanka. Their opponents, Singapore, sit bottom of the table, with no bonus points. In the earlier match, the two favourites, Sri Lanka and Philippines, play off.

So any team could still win, though Singapore's hopes are slender. WHoever finishes the afternoon top of the table will play off against the bottom team of the Asian Top 3 for a place with the big boys.

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[StreetCowboy]

And sure enough, Malaysia won against Singapore to set up a play-off against the bottom team of the top 3 - probably Korea, some time later in the year.

I don't suppose any of our members has travelled with the Thailand team to Tashkent for the Division 3 games, where Thailand take on UAE this afternoon?

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[StreetCowboy]

Thailand are struggling in Division 2, finishing as runners-up after a thumping by UAE.

I'm not sure what will happen with regards to promotion and relegation with Khazakhstan pulling out from this season - presumably they will have to come back in at the bottom of the leagues, UAE will go up to Division 1 and Singapore will return to Division 2.

Meanwhile, at the pointy end of the competition, Hong Kong travel to Japan for the penultimate game of the Top Three Championship, before hosting Korea, wooden spoon favourites, to avoid the opportunity of a play-off game against Malaysia for their place in the Top 3. Disappointingly, I can't get these games on television, and I'm not so interested that I would trawl the internet for live coverage. Next week's HK - Korea game might be worth watching, though.

According to Wikipedia, there's two teams relegated from Division two, as Division 3 is split into three groups of three - one of which is filled by associate members who cannot be promoted... It's as confusing as the old superleague play-offs.

EDIT: And apparently there are five groups within Division 3

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Edited May 28, 2016 by StreetCowboy