The 22 man Kouprey roster features 16 members from last year's squad, and also includes two foreign players, who are eligible under the International Rugby Board's three year expatriate residency requirement.
The Koupreys begin their international season on May 31 in Vientiane, Laos against the Lao National Team. In mid July, they will travel to Jakarta, Indonesia to play Indonesia and Laos as part of the Asian Five Nations Series, which is being co-sponsored by the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). Brian Thomas, a native of Wales, returns for his second season as the Kouprey head coach. He will again be assisted by Australian Peter Maley. "Most of our guys have played together for a few years now, so that's a plus," says Thomas. "We've got good speed and quickness in our back line, and we've been training hard to improve our fitness."
The Kouprey coach sees his team's size and durability as major concerns. "A big issue for us will be our size," says Thomas. "With the exception of our two foreign players, we're pretty small." "This will present a big challenge for us, especially against Indonesia, who have some pretty big boys on their squad."
The Koupreys have been training for nearly a month now, and Thomas, while guardedly optimistic, sees a potentially rough road ahead for his team.
"Laos will be vastly improved this year, and so will Indonesia. And, since all of our matches this year will be away from home, that will present another hurdle for us."
The Koupreys depart for Laos next Wednesday, May 28.
Cambodian National Men's Rugby Team
"Koupreys 2008"
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ray Leos
Director of Media Relations
Cambodian Federation of Rugby
Email: cambodia.rugby(at)gmail(dot)com
Tel. (855) 12 620 571
Team
1. Ray Leos*
2. Uk Dara
3. Chro Kim Seang
4. Yun Sopha
5. Jean-Baptiste de Seze*
6. Vong Vannak
7. Ut Vuthy
8. Chey Sophal
9. Pich Ratana
10. Noun Meng
11. Man Salida
12. Chan Samedi
13. Kham Sarouen
14. Sun Malen
15. Chak Samnang
16. Koet Sovanraksmey
17. Lim Bun Pov
18. Kheng Sopheap
19. Vannak Vireak
20. Kong Vandy
21. Yorn Vanta
22. Noun Leng
* Expatriate Player
Head Coach: Brian Thomas
Assistant: Peter Maley