Sungai buloh: 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, stated that the suggestion to utilise heritage players was raised by sports enthusiasts and fans, and the MRU is open to the possibility.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Amir Amri Mohamad mentioned, “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, God willing, we will try to implement it.” He further elaborated that there are initial efforts to first identify heritage players who can play for Malaysia. These comments were made during the official sponsorship ceremony between Hong Leong Yamaha Motor (HLYM) and MRU at the Hong Leong Yamaha Complex in Sungai Buloh.

The use of heritage players is not new in national sports, with football having 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 that is also used by Singapore.

Earlier, at the event, HLYM channeled 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 Dec 9 to 20.