SK Bukit Lanjan rugby team carries the ball for Orang Asli

Coach Mohd Rusdi Tahir watched as his player, an Orang Asli boy, swiftly dodged the opponents as he ran, while holding tight the rugby ball in his hands.

The 12-year old boy, clad in Lanjan Tigers jersey, moved confidently on the field, backed by his teammates. They had trained together for at least two years, and are set to continue the fighting spirit of their predecessors who have now entered secondary school.

The field of the Orang Asli's SK Bukit Lanjan, located in the enclave of Damansara Perdana and surrounded with high-rise buildings, was lively today, with teams from other Orang Asli schools converged there to vie in the inaugural All Asli Schools Rugby Championship.

When SK Bukit Lanjan introduced rugby to its Orang Asli students in 2015, none of them had ever seen a rugby ball. It received a backlash from parents who were wary of the aggressive sport.

Thanks to teachers like Rusdi, who had faith in the students and set a goal for them, SK Bukit Lanjan today has a line-up of trophies, and has produced several state-level players.

But the school has a bigger goal: to help in making rugby a "staple" sport for Orang Asli.

Today's tournament proved that its ambition is set to come to fruition.

In September last year, the school's representatives went to Putrajaya to meet the Education minister Maszlee Malik to discuss the sport.

"He relayed his wish to one day see an Orang Asli rugby team, similar to New Zealand's All Blacks.

"So we held another discussion with sponsors and held rugby clinics in other Orang Asli schools. Most of their students had also never touched a rugby ball in their lives.

"The training led to today's tournament. Their students proved to be formidable foes," said Rusdi (below).

The school has its own way to turn rugby into a hobby for students.

"We allow students to take home the ball. If it is damaged, we replaced it with a new ball.

"The students come from poor families. So we provide them everything, from sports shoes to jerseys. Thanks to sponsors like the (Oil and Gas company) Dialog and Mykasih Foundation which contributed a lot to the team," he said.

Rusdi said rugby has changed tremendously the students' attitudes, since its 2015 introduction to the school, led by him and another two teachers Emir Din Baharudin and Muhamad Fadhli Othman.

"Prior to this, they lacked self confidence and did not like to mingle with other students. When they saw other students at a tournament, they had self-doubt.

"But that slowly changed as they entered more tournaments and developed a winning attitude."

Rusdi said the school attendance among students had improved as they look forward everyday to train with their friends.

In the pipeline, the school team is eyeing to compete in the Bangkok Open tournament in January next year.

"But that depends on the availability of funds," he said.

Yusry Ishak from SK Pos Bersih in Slim River, Perak, said he brought his boys to the tournament to give them exposure to rugby.

"We only have around 140 students. Our team comprised those from Standard four to six.

"This is a good platform to compete among themselves. It's difficult to let them compete with non-Orang Asli schools as they have more students, thus more talent.

"Even so, I see the potential in my students. Orang Asli have good stamina and fitness. Those traits are already in them. We just need to guide them to something that they could perform best," he said. - Mkini