The captain of the Malaysian national rugby team Syarif Nurhidayat Muzhaimey is hoping his squad can deliver when it matters most against Sri Lanka on Saturday (April 19).

The two countries will lock horns at the Racecourse Stadium in Colombo for the Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) playoff. The winner of the match will compete in the ARC top tier later this season.

Skipper Syarif said his squad has gelled well in training so far and is hoping they can execute their game plan well against Sri Lanka.

“Alhamdulillah, we have completed a number of phases of training camps in preparation for this playoff and we have shown a lot of improvement,” said Syarif recently.

“Our players have shown better understanding among each other with each camp. The younger players have also improved a lot.

“My hope is that we will have a strong connection on the pitch against Sri Lanka and play cohesively as a unit.

“We must do our best to execute the tactics and pattern plays which have been planned by our coaches and hopefully avoid any injuries.”

The squad played a number of practice matches with local sides Dungun Rugby, KL Tigers and Muamalat Bullets recently.

National team head coach Saizul Hafifi Md Noor, who has been preparing over 30 players for the playoff, is expected to name his final squad tomorrow (April 15).

Naturalised Fijians Samuela Tamanisau and Etonia Vaqa Saukuru have been included in the squad.

The team will leave for Colombo on Wednesday (April 16).

Malaysia last played Sri Lanka during the ARC Division One competition in 2017. Malaysia won the match 22-9 with the help of at least four naturalised Fijians in the squad.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has named a 35-member squad for the game against Malaysia. The squad will be trimmed to 25 shortly.