India and Guam progressed through to the finals of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations (HSBC A5N) Division II championships with wins over Pakistan (34-5) and Indonesia (38-17) respectively in the semi-finals played at the Stadium Kelana Jaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Reports receied here said that The HSBC A5N Division II and III are both being played this week in Kuala Lumpur and are doubling as the latest stages in the Asian qualification process for Rugby World Cup 2015 in England. The winners of both divisions will have a single match play-off later in the year to determine which team is promoted to Division I in 2013 thus seeing their Rugby World Cup dream continue.
A classic sporting rivalry between India and Pakistan was a highlight of Division II action. While an India win never looked in doubt, Pakistan achieved some moral victories in holding India to its lowest ever winning margin between the two sides, (29 points), and managed to tally their first try against their neighbours when winger Ahmed Fiaz scored in the 71st minute.
The teams have played three tests since 2004, with two of them coming in HSBC A5N tournaments (Division II in both 2008 and 2010) with Pakistan scoring single penalties in 2004 and 2010, and suffering a heavy 92-nil defeat in 2008.
Despite blooding 11 new players in today’s encounter, Pakistan looked much improved after a strong preparation period under new coach and former Ireland international and European Cup champion Justin Fitzpatrick.
Pakistan manager Rizwan Malik also spoke about the contest saying, “For both countries, an India-Pakistan game means a lot. It doesn’t matter what sport it is, it gets a lot of attention. While we didn’t win today, I am satisfied with the way the players went, particularly the new caps.
