KUALA LUMPUR: The national juniors' hopes of making a swift return to the top tier were dashed following a a defeat by UAE in the semi-finals of the Asia Rugby Under-19 Championships (ARC) in the Philippines today. Malaysia were no match for the heavyset UAE, going down tamely 34-13 at the International School Manila field. "UAE were just the better team today, they have better sizing than us and were also faster than us," said Azlan. The championship division, which only features two teams this year, saw favourites Hong Kong winning their first leg encounter against Sri Lanka 37-8 at the Havelocks in Colombo. The return leg will be held at the Hong Kong Football Club on Saturday.

Source: New Strait Times December 13, 2017 14:15 UTC