KNIGHTS STILL ALIVE AND WELL....

JASON THOMAS
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Tuesday, March 22, 2011

THE Knights Rugby Football Club are still up and running, but will not participate in the BRFU Rugby League this season.

Contrary to the report on Saturday, the defending BRFU Rugby League champions have not been disbanded by the union's judicial board and are still a BRFU member.

However, they will not play in this season's league which is due to kick off on April 2 because of their failure to attend the league's draw last Friday.

Not all hope is lost for their players though, as they can still suit up for the five other clubs in this year's campaign.

"They have not been disbanded," said Brunei Rugby Football Union (BRFU) president Dr Hj Kamaruddin Dato Seri Paduka Hj Talib on Sunday.

"... the Knights did not respond to invitations to attend the draw which was attended by all the clubs on Friday, but we will let their players play for other clubs.

"The Royal Brunei Armed Forces' Sports Council (MS ABDB) want some of the Knights players who are not suspended to be channelled to their club and other clubs. It is up to the clubs to pick and choose who they want, as long as they are not affected by suspension and qualify as stipulated in the tournament rules.

"Our aim is to have as many clubs as possible and the response has been good," said the president of the union's first event of the year.

The union's judicial board held a hearing on March 9 mainly to discuss the sanctions to be taken against Knights' captain Dinie Abu Bakar for his misconduct during a pre-season game against the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Sharks.

Due to Dinie and the club representatives' failure to attend the hearing, the captain is suspended for five years and the club will be docked three points or whatever value of a win is in the next local interclub 15-a-side tournament.

The hearing had no effect on the Knights' ability to play in this season's league and the decision of the disciplinary committee was sent to the Press by an anonymous source and not by the committee's chairman Roy Prabhakaran as previously reported.

The Knights were always slated to play in the league and the draw sent to the teams on March 2 listed the Knights as one of the six sides, but it was later decided that a formal draw to decide a new fixture list would be in order, where a managers' meeting would also be held.

The Knights did not send any of their representatives to this meeting which was held last Friday, and, thus, the team have been left out of this year's league.

Ben Bourne, the club's former mentor and coach who was also sanctioned during the March 9 hearing, said that the club's players still have a lot to look forward to this season.

Choosing to focus on the positives, the Department of Youth and Sports' development officer for the sport told The Brunei Times that other teams had already shown an interest in securing the services of Knights' players.

"I have informed some of the players that there are clubs willing to offer them places," said Bourne.

"Players moving to different clubs is a healthy thing. It helps to strengthen Brunei rugby.

"Like in terms of the national team for 15s or 7s, it really creates new relationships with the other (club) players.

"It makes the transition from club to national rugby a lot easier," said the Samoan, who has laced up for the Knights, Royal Brunei Police Force, Royal Brunei Yacht Club (Yachties) and Belait Pythons the latter during a tournament in Miri, Sarawak.

This year's season will see the Belait Pythons, UBD Sharks, Bandar Blacks, Royal Brunei Police Force and Royal Brunei Armed Forces face each other in a round-robin format, with the four best teams advancing to the semi-finals.

Both the Royal Brunei Police Force and Royal Brunei Armed Forces are making a return to the league after sitting out last season.The Brunei Times