[이데일리 스타in 이석무 기자] The Republic of Korea men’s seven-a-side national team, comprised of members of the Armed Forces Athletic Corps and university students, took fourth place in the 2024 Asia Rugby Sevens Series (ARSS).
The Korea Rugby Association announced on the 12th that the national team ranked 4th in the 3rd ARSS competition held in Thailand for two days from the 9th and ranked 4th in the final overall ranking.
The Korean 7-a-side national team, led by coach Seo Cheon-oh and coach Kim Kook-seong, won 12-10 against Malaysia in the Group A preliminary round on the 9th, the first day of the competition, then drew 21-21 with Singapore and lost 0-50 to Hong Kong, with 1 win and 1. They advanced to the finals with 1 draw and 1 loss and 2nd place in their group.
In the semifinals on the 10th, they faced Japan and played a tight battle, but lost 7-36. In the subsequent 3rd and 4th place match, they lost 0-43 to China and finished the 3rd competition in 4th place.
Following the previous 1st and 2nd competitions, the national team ranked 4th in the 3rd competition and ranked 4th in the overall ranking. The winner was Hong Kong, followed by Japan (2nd place) and China (3rd place).
The Korea Rugby Association focused on expanding the player pool from the first competition last June to the third competition, the final round, and allowed various players to gain experience in international competitions.
Previously, in the second competition, the OK Shotman rugby team participated as a single team. In this third competition, a large number of new players from universities such as Kyung Hee University, Dankook University, Yonsei University, and Wonkwang University participated in the selection competition.
In particular, as the national team will participate in the 15-a-side test match against Zimbabwe on the 16th, many young rookies have had the opportunity to play in the 3rd ARSS competition.
Coach Seo Cheon-oh said, “The next-generation players who have been with us since the pre-selection training were able to grow to the next level through the preparation process and games for this competition.” He added, “We hope that the young players will continue to grow in future international competitions and become important assets for Korean rugby. “We will continue to do our best to foster rugby talent so that players can strengthen the capabilities necessary to represent the national team.”
Choi Yoon, President of the Korea Rugby Association, said, “I would like to express my gratitude and applause for encouragement to the new players who have imprinted Korea’s energetic rugby on the international stage by showing the rugby spirit of ‘only moving forward’ without giving up until the end.” “I hope that they will grow further as next-generation leaders who will raise the status of Korean rugby by using the valuable experience of competing with players from other countries and styles through this program as a stepping stone,” he said.
The next goal for the Korea Rugby Association and the national team is the 2025 Asia Rugby Championship (ARC), scheduled for June next year.
ARC is a watershed that will determine Australia’s advancement to the 2027 Rugby World Cup finals, one of the world’s top three sporting events. In particular, starting with the 2027 Australia World Cup, the number of World Cup finals tickets allocated to Asia is expected to increase from 0.5 to 1.5. The Korea Rugby Association has set a goal of concentrating its available resources and capabilities on the ‘2025 Asia Rugby Championship’ to advance to the World Cup finals for the first time in the 101-year history of Korean rugby.
Meanwhile, the Netflix entertainment show ‘Strongest Rugby’, which began production early this year, was also confirmed to air on December 10th with the recent release of a teaser video. As Korea’s first rugby drama ‘Try’ is also scheduled to air in the first half of next year, expectations are skyrocketing in the domestic rugby world, which dreams of taking a leap forward as a cognitive sport.
Chairman Choi Yoon said, “The global broadcast of Netflix’s ‘Strongest Rugby’ is approaching in about a month, which is the result of the big and small efforts made by the 24th executive branch over the past four years to ‘make Korean rugby into a recognized sport.’ “There is unprecedented public interest during this period,” he said.
In addition, he emphasized, “Through the Netflix original, we hope that our players’ strong fighting spirit and sincerity for rugby will be fully conveyed to fans, and that we will be able to share the true charm and fun of Korean rugby with more people.”
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