Singapore Women’s Rugby clinch first SEA 7s title after 12-5 win over Malaysia -

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The hosts survived an early scare to stage a comeback win

It was third time lucky for the Singapore Women’s Rugby 7s as they broke their final curse to be crowned champions at the Southeast Asia 7s (SEA 7s) for the first time.

Early Setback & Quick Response

The Singapore ruggers had earlier thrashed their Causeway rivals 28-5, in comfortable fashion during the Group Stages on Friday, but the Malaysians looked a much improved side entering the rematch.

“Anything can happen in the 7s finals, so we were expecting that.. But as a team we were just very reactive and we know we have to keep adapting on the go” said Singapore captain Victoria Chew.

The visitors drew first blood within the first minute of the game with a try on their first attempt. Team Singapore responded 2 minutes later with #11 Jayne Chan scoring a try and the follow-up conversion to give the hosts a 7-5 lead at half-time.

Despite conceding early, Singapore Head Coach Rex Wang applauded the team’s composure for their quick response.

“It was a mistake by us and we cleared it up. The half-time talk was just to (get the team to) follow our protocols and stick to the process.”

Unlike the frantic start to the game, it was a much cagier affair after the restart as both sides were locked in a midfield battle with chances few and far between.

It wasn’t until midway through the second-half where Jayne Chan found space again, as she notched her second try to seal the comeback and their maiden SEA title in front of the home fans.

Historic Win On Home Soil

The momentous win meant that the Singapore Women’s team had finally broken their final curse – where they finished as runner-ups in the last two editions.

Describing the win as ‘surreal’, Victoria felt that the result was not just for the team but also for the whole of the rugby community in Singapore.

“It’s always a privilege being on home soil, but there’s a lot more pressure because of this but I think we showed up.. We can rise up to the challenge and glittered under pressure”.

Both the Men & Women’s SEA 7s Finals were held at the National Stadium, as part of the HSBC SVNS 2025 on Saturday (5 April).

On To Bigger Targets

The team can now look forward to the SEA Games in December, where they are expected to renew their rivalry with the regional teams and go up against host nation Thailand.

Rex praised the game management from the senior players but said that the doors remained open for other players to step up and compete for the final 12 spots to be in the SEA Games Squad.

“We have some new players coming in, some debutants and also a Singapore ‘A’ squad playing over the weekend.. So there is good motivation for every female player in the country to gun for the spots” he said.

The SEA Games Gold medal remains the main target for the newly-crowned SEA 7s Champions – having eluded the Women’s team on multiple occasions.