Malaysia increase cap on foreign players

Malaysia is set to see an increased influx of foreign players who are mainly Fijians.

Previously, teams were only allowed to register three imports at most. 

With the national 15s season set to kick off with the National Inter Club Championships (NICC) next week, MRU will now allow clubs to field up to seven foreign players on the pitch at any one time for teams competing in the NICC and the top-tier Super League which starts next month.

"This is the largest ever number of foreign players we have allowed teams to use in local competition," said Malaysia Rugby Union secretary general Suhaimi Zainuddin .

This article by Fadhli Ishak appeared in the News Strait Times.

Suhaimi said the move is a two-pronged strategy to lift the standard of the game in the country

"We feel that it would be beneficial for us to get them (expatriate players) involved as it will help us increase the quality of the talent pool for national selection. By allowing more foreigners in the competition, it will also expose our players to competing against opponents who are physically bigger. This is a good step as it is not often our boys get to compete against foreign opposition in international competitions."

Foreign players are split into two categories -- professional imports, who are generally made up of Fijian players, and expatriates working or studying in the country.

MRU has allowed clubs to register four professional imports but can only utilise three on the pitch at a time. Clubs can register four expatriate players and may simultaneously utilise all four at the same time.

Teams, however, are required to register a minimum of eight local players in their squad to ensure local player development is taken seriously.

International Rugby Board (IRB) rules require foreign players to have at least lived in a country for a minimum of three years before they can be naturalised to represent that country. A national team are allowed to field naturalised players in IRB or Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) tournaments, but are not allowed in multi-sport games such as the Asian, Commonwealth and Sea Games.