SINGAPORE — There may still be about 10 months to go to the Kuala Lumpur Southeast-Asian (SEA) Games, but the national rugby 7s team have already begun their preparations for the biennial event.

And the first competitive test in their SEA Games campaign could not have come any tougher, as the team is set to participate in this week’s Singapore Cricket Club International Rugby Sevens (SCC 7s).

The SCC 7s, into its 69th edition, will feature a total of 16 teams from across eight countries including Fiji, France and Australia vying for the Ablitt Cup.

Among the sides lined up to compete in the event are six-time tournament winners Daveta — who boast four members of Fiji’s gold medal-winning team at the Rio Olympics – the France Development Team, and the England Academy team.

It all points to a daunting time in the competition for the Singapore team, who are coming off the back of a disappointing campaign at the Asia Rugby Sevens Series, where they only won two of their 15 matches across three legs and was eventually relegated from the top division.

While admitting that the team was “disappointed” to be relegated, Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) General Manager George Danapal insists they are now just focused on the SCC 7s as they build towards next year’s SEA Games.

“The previous season has ended, and now the new season, of which our main aim goal is the SEA Games, kicks off,” Danapal told TODAY. “As players, I’m sure they’re feeling disappointed over the Asia Sevens Series, but I don’t think that should, or will, be their focus when they play in the SCC 7s.

“I’m sure they’ll want to put on a good showing, but they mustn’t look at the SCC 7s as redeeming tournament for them.

“The focus really should be on using the tournament to stake an early claim to be in the SEA Games squad. The auditions (for the SEA Games) start now, so we’ll be looking closely at how each player performs.”

With Singapore set to go up against some of the best teams and players in the world, national captain Marah Ishraf acknowledges that they will face an uphill battle at the SCC 7s.

Nonetheless, the 22-year-old has urged his team-mates to play without fear, and says they should just focus on doing the basic things right during the tournament.

“When you’re on the field, the only thing you can do is give your all and show everyone what you’ve got. Going in as underdogs, we’ve got nothing to lose, so there’s no reason why we should be afraid,” said Ishraf, who is currently taking a degree in Sports Studies and Marketing at the University of Stirling.

“Importantly, every player needs to do the basic things, such as passing and catching, right. This is non-negotiable, especially in such a fast-paced game as sevens rugby, where every mistake you make will be punished.

“Overall though, it’s going to be great playing against professional players at the top of their game, because this experience will surely help develop us into better players.”

Agreeing, national vice-captain Nick Yau played down the significance of the team’s results at the SCC 7s. Instead, he wants every player to use this opportunity to familiarise themselves with the team’s structure, tactics and individual roles.

“We won’t be worried about the results at the moment,” said Yau, 23. “We’re more focused on our performance. It’s all about us getting the structure firmed up now, and ensuring that everyone understands their roles.

“If everyone is comfortable with their own roles and performs the function that they’re supposed to, it will make it a lot easier for us to play as a team.”

Event: Singapore Cricket Club International Rugby Sevens (SCC 7s)

Date: November 4 to 6

Venue: The Padang

Ticket prices: Door ($30), Student ($10), NSF ($10)

For more information and to buy tickets to the event, visit http://www.sccrugbysevens.com/