Farewell 2012

2012 went by like the speed of light, and needless to say, it was not only a fruitful journey where the Club is concerned, it felt like we have achieved a milestone where it was really a long distance from the first few steps that we took. However, just like any other organization where human flaws are almost undeniable, we had our ups and downs, and we challenged every defeats with stronger determination to succeed and improvise. I guess that makes our journey meaningful in many ways, as even though it was not always sweet, yet the bitterness is what that really counts!

From organizing three major events this year, the ARFU Borneo Sevens and Women Asia Pacific Sevens in Kota Kinabalu, to the recently concluded Borneo Sevens Club International, and the various development programmes & activities, international tours, and our recent Under-16, New Zealand attachment programme, we are proud to say, we have done justice for this year, and will strive harder in all aspects for the coming brand new year.

We are indeed thankful to all the new friends we made in year 2012, and we appreciate the support of our friends, fans, kind sponsors, and all parties who assisted us in many ways. You guys are indeed the “faces” of our journey, and we hope to meet more rugby enthusiasts who share the same passion.

Indeed, we have been very fortunate to be able to “spread” the love to our community through “rugby” with strong support from our Sponsors and Partners in Rugby. As we count these blessings, let us not forget the unfortunate events happening around the Globe, where evil thoughts and deeds took over mankind, and where natural disasters brought endless pain. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims as we hope for those who have left us, to rest in peace and those who survived the tragedies to remain strong.

Lastly, “Year 2012, thank you for this Journey”.

Here’s wishing all of you a merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

See you next year as we kick start 2013 with Darwin 7s!

This is Kim, signing off.

Credits to New Sabah Times

Credits to New Sabah Times

Credits to The Borneo Post

Credits to Daily Express

Credits to The Star

Credits to Merdeka Daily News

Masseys (New Zealand)

The Massey 7s programme has been affiliated with the Massey Rugby Club for well over 20 years. Its been facilitated by Eugene Bareman, the 7s Mentor for most if not all of this period. Its been a programme that has been started , to allow the youth of the Massey community to be able to showcase their talents in the Rugby off season through the summer. Now the Massey 7s is one of the more recognisable and successful 7s in the North Island, winning most tournaments it enters.


Many stars have gone onto bigger and better things through their association with the Massey 7s including the Tuitavake Brothers, The Pisi brothers to name a few with many more Massey players gracing the Malaysian Rugby season as part of invitational teams such as the Borneo Eagles, UK Penguins to name a few.

This is first time Massey 7s will be attending the Borneo 7s and we are looking forward to showcasing our Massey talent to the Sandakan Rugby Community.

To Eugene, Mike & Crew- Welcome to the Home of the Borneo Eagles!

Palmyra Pirates (Australia)

The Palmyra Rugby Club is situated at Tompkins Park on the south bank of the Swan River in Perth. The club was formed in 1934 and has since grown to be one of the premier clubs in Western Australia, fielding 22 junior and 6 senior teams through all grades from Under 6 to First Grade. The PallyPirates are an invitational side hand-picked from the finest/dubious stockof local talent, well captained by Harley Salter who despite his demeanouris actually a nice guy. The Pirates are appreciative to be invited back to

such a well organised and enjoyable tournament and look forward the occasion".

To Harley and the team- Welcome to the Home of the Borneo Eagles!

Nedlands (Australia)

Nedlands is rugby club based in Perth, Western Australia, with a proud history.

Formed in 1934, the club known as “Neddies” celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009. The club has one of the most picturesque playing fields in Australia on the banks of the Swan River on the Nedlands Foreshore.

Nedlands’ success on the field is illustrated by a remarkable record held by the club. The premier grade team, from which players for the Borneo International Club Sevens are selected, has made the finals of the West Australian club competition for 30 consecutive seasons.

In 2012, all five senior Nedlands teams made their respective finals. 2012 has also marked another significant achievement for Neddies with the opening of the new $1 million club house.

Neddies fields teams from under-6s upwards and until also helped pioneer women’s rugby in Western Australia. One of the former stars from the Nedlands women’s team, Cheryl Soon, went on to captain the Wallaroos and was recently appointed to the International Rugby Board.

The Nedlands squad for the Borneo International Club Sevens is coached by the club’s premier grade coach Tony Ball. Tony has a long association with the club. He played in the first ever Nedlands junior team, the under9s from 1986, and went on the captain the Australian Under-16s.

In 1998, Nedlands pioneered Test match lunches in Western Australia when Perth won the right to host its first ever Test match, between the Springboks and Wallabies at Subiaco Oval. Those lunches have become popular annual events on the sporting calendar in Perth. In 2010, Nedlands was described as “a global phenomenon” by prominent international rugby reporter Stephen Jones after he attended one of the club’s Test match lunches.

Nedlands will be attending the Borneo International Club Sevens for a second year. The squad includes the likes of The Rat, No Stop for Smoko, Chalky, Stardust and Boots.

To Mark and all the Nedlands Crew - Welcome to the Home of the Borneo Eagles!

Sunnybank (Australia)

Sunnybank is one of Australia’s Premier Rugby Clubs. With over 1000 players the club provides teams from U6 to Golden Oldies as well as a women’s program for 15s & 7s.

Sunnybank are the only Australian club to compete regularly in 7s competitions enjoying success over professional teams such as Australia and the Waratahs.

The club has most recently won the 2011 Central Coast 7s and were finalists at Byron Bay. Other successes include the 2010 Plate Final at Singapore Cricket Club 7s.

The club previously competed in Borneo in 2010 and were defeated in the Cup semi final by Borneo Eagles

To Gaven and members of the touring group- Welcome to the Home of the Borneo Eagles!

Greenest 7s-Team Profiles

DAVETALEVU (FIJI)

We would like to welcome back, our good friends, the Davetalevu Rugby Club to the Borneo 7s. They have been supporting the Borneo 7s since our early days, and I must say, a strong contender too, winning several prestige tournaments, including the Sing 7s, Darwin, Jonah Jones, Hong Kong Tens, Warringah 7s, Bangkok 7s, and was the Cup Champion twice in Borneo.
To Jon, and all members of the Daveta, welcome back to Borneo!

Borneo 7s, Welcome Home!

WE are ALMOST there! Yes, October 27th & 28th, where else would you wanna be?

We are PROUD to bring Home, the Borneo 7s –The Greenest Sevens in the World, to the Home of the Eagles. So, welcome Home my boy!

A little bit of information about this year’s Borneo Club International Sevens, we will be featuring 5 international teams from Australia, Fiji & New Zealand and to rise up to the challenge, 5 teams representing the local clubs. Game will kick off on Saturday morning, and ends on Sunday. We will also feature the under 16 category, with participation from 6 selected teams involve in our SRU/SRC Development program, during the weekend.

Teams are expected to arrive Sandakan, as early as Wednesday, and most will be arriving on Friday. We will be organizing a welcoming dinner to all our guests on Friday night, follow by a team manager’s meeting. And we’ll close the event with a special closing dinner on Sunday night.

The two days event will be graced by important guests of the Club, and admission will be free to the members of the public.

Here are the participating teams this year,

1. Davetalevu (Fiji)

2. Masseys (NZ)

3. Sunnybank (Aus)

4. Nedlands (Aus)

5. Palmyra Pirates (Aus)

6. Borneo Eagles (SRC)

7. Sabah Eagles (SRU)

8. COBRA (Selangor)

9. Bandaraya Dragons (KL)

10. Sabah Renegades (Sabah)

To all teams especially our overseas guests, WELCOME to the Greenest 7s, to all working crew, be prepared for a busy week, and to all rugby enthusiasts out there, get ready for an AWESOME weekend!

See YOU THERE !


Short Update

For those who were with us last weekend, what can we say, it was a “blast”! Thank you for showing your endless support to the games of Rugby, right here in Borneo.

We have concluded the HSBC ARFU Borneo Sevens & Women Asia Pacific Sevens with a BANG! And with a sigh of relief, we are now turning all our energy to prepare for the second edition of our Borneo 7s, yes… the Borneo Sevens Club International Event, right here, in the Home of the Eagles, the Heart of Rugby in Borneo. Yes, we are bringing the club edition home this year! So, welcome home babe!

We will be posting more information on this event soon, so stay tune with us here, or follow us on twitter, or add us on Facebook, and of course, pay us a visit on our new website http://borneoeagles.com/

Cheers!

 

Credits to New Sabah Times : Thanks for the coverage folks!

THIS IS IT! Get ready for the HSBC ARFU Borneo 7s this WEEKEND.

Event kicks off on Friday, 1500-2000 hrs. Saturday from 1000-1900, and Sunday from 0900-1800. Most importantly, admission is FREE! We'll see you guys at Likas Stadium Kota Kinabalu!

Credits to New Sabah Times

This year, the Borneo Sevens will feature HSBC Asian Seven Series, the Borneo Sevens, Women Asia Pacific Sevens and the Inaugural Borneo Sevens Junior Championship (Under 16)-All happening here in Borneo, August 31st, Sep 1st & 2nd, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo

A short update on what’s been “rocking” the Home of the Eagles!

We have just concluded our very 1^st SRC Fund Raising Dinner on July 1^st, 2012 and the venue was at our very own SRC’s Futsal Court. We had a special guest flown in all the way from New Zealand, the legendary Tana Umaga, and it was indeed a night to remember! A big thank you to all kind donors, supporters, guests and the eagles fans!

Our President Vela with the Living Legend, Tana Umaga

At the home front, the construction of our 4 storey dormitory, grand stand and a fully equipped gymnasium is in the way, and we expect all to complete before the Borneo Sevens Club International event this October.

An on our Coaching Panel, we would like to welcome our new Head Coach, Francis Stowers, who will be assisting us with our rugby development programmes throughout Sabah.

Lots of activities planned in the Home of the Eagles. Just last weekend, we had the Sandakan Zone Age Group Tournament, and the search of our future champions will continue this weekend with the Joy of Rugby tournament (IJM/MSSS/SRU July 14th-15th, 2012).

Next on the list will be a test match between Sabah Development Team and the Philippines National Dev Team (July 28th) in Kota Kinabalu.

Busy weeks ahead, with our biggest affair of the year, our very own-BORNEO SEVENS!

In the Home of the Eagles : Nurturing Young Talents!

Credits to New Sabah Times. Thanks for the coverage folks!

A Brief Update from the Home of the Eagles

What's up in the Home of the Eagles this coming week? Yes, our annual Sabah Age Group 10s for our talented juniors is expected to kick off on the 15th & 16th, March. So, mark the date and don't forget to join us!

We are currently getting ready for the upcoming HK10s (March 19th-26th, 2012). Lots to look forward to and we can't wait. Hope to see you guys in HK!

Cheers!

Opening a new chapter!

I’m back, in a brand new dragon year, hopefully, with good enough zest, strength and wisdom, to last me for the whole year long! It’s been a long break, and going back to work, seem to be the hardest thing to do :)Having said that, it will be a great year ahead for everyone, so lets pray, play and work hard on it!

How can I start my first post of the year, without having to mention our eagles who soar their way to victory for the third “record breaking” time, in Darwin! Congratulations to our Boys, the whole working Crew, from our Tour Coordinator, to the Coach, and every single one out there, who made it happened for us. Thank you. And for the boys who fought it hard, and gave it all, we, at Sandakan Rugby Club, Home of the Eagles, are indeed “proud” of you.

Moving ahead, we have just posted two of our biggest events on our Facebook page. HSBC Borneo Asian Rugby Seven Series (Men) will take its place on Sep 1st & 2nd, in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo and after missing for a year, the Borneo Sevens (International Club) is back, to be held together with the Women Asia Pacific Sevens in Sandakan Rugby Club, Borneo on October 27th & 28th, 2012. Invitations to participating teams are expected to be out by this week, together with our tournament booklet, details of prizes & other do’s & don’ts  For teams, who wish to find out more about these tournaments, or on how to take part in the Club event, please drop us a line at borneoeagles@yahoo.com

And what are the eagles up to right now? Yup, we are getting ready for the upcoming Hong Kong tour in March. As we prepare ourselves for this upcoming tour, we are also planning for the Sandakan Zone Age Group Tournament (for school children) on Feb 18th, as well as the SRU 15’s League under SRU , expected to kick start from Feb 25th-April 28th, 2012.

Also taking this opportunity to welcome new members and friends of our club, where ever you are, new coaches who recently came on board to assist with our development programmes, and to the supporters of the Borneo Eagles, thank you for believing in us.

We work hard in “all ways”, to raise funds, on the field, our programmes ..etc...and we are committed to find the best among the best, as well as train the gems in the rough, for the passion of the game. Nothing comes easy without long dosages of hard work, but we are “fighters” and fighters, don’t give up! As we carry ourselves forward, our intention is not only justified through the quality measures of our games and players, but the characters we build, in the spirits of rugby, strong individuals, with positive values both in the field & life in general. So, for the eagles, victory and defeat will come and go, however, stick to the lessons, as these are precious gifts, remember and learn from them, like how we note the skills of our competitors on the field. Humble to embrace victory and proud to accept defeat, determine to work harder, that’s who we are. Here’s wishing a great year for all of you eagles out there! Cheers!!!