KENINGAU: The commitment to the development of State sports was further demonstrated when Inter United FC President, Moddy Patrick came forward to provide a financial contribution to the Sabah rugby team that will represent the State at the 2026 Malaysia Games (Sukma).
The undisclosed amount was channelled to assist the team’s preparations covering training, logistics and competition requirements, thus providing a morale boost to the athletes to perform excellently on the national stage.
According to Moddy, who is also the President of MP Project, the initiative is a sign of appreciation for the efforts and dedication of the players and coaches who have been fighting to make Sabah proud in the rugby arena.
He said that continued support for the team is hoped to encourage them to achieve their best performance and subsequently bring success to the State.
“Hopefully the Sabah rugby team will be successful and continue to make the State proud at Sukma 2026 by bringing victory and glory to our State and make everyone, especially the fans proud,” he said.
At the same time, he stressed that support for youth and athletes will continue to be a priority in efforts to build a healthy, competitive and united society, apart from setting a brighter prospect for the future.
The move reflects the important role of the community sector and grassroots leadership in continuously strengthening the State’s sports development, and hopefully such strong initiative would continue in times to come.
The achievements of rugby in Sabah are thus far considered as outstanding, with the team often dubbed as the country’s powerhouse with a colourful list of proud achievements.
Sabah are five-time winners of the prestigious Agong’s Cup (2007, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2018), while the State women’s squad also created history as the inaugural champions of the 2018 Sukma 7-a-side rugby and continues to dominate.
For school and district rugby development, the MSSD Keningau Under-12 rugby team recorded a run of consecutive victories for four years.
Sabah College Secondary School (SM) won the MSSD Kota Kinabalu Rugby Championship (U-18), while the KV Keningau team won the 2025 Vocational College Sports (Sukov) National Rugby Championship.
As for international/club tournaments, local sides such as Sabah Osca-Warriors and KK Sharks have often achieved success, including overseas.
For women’s achievements, the Bunga Raya 7s women’s squad that won silver at the 2025 Thailand SEA Games was also supported by players from Sabah, showing the strength of the State’s talent.
