Friends Of STAR

I was at STAR ground to watch the finals of the recent National Premier Schools Rugby tournament held recently. I decided to be with the boys right from their first game because I felt the school rugby team has a strong chance to repeat our cobratasha rich rugby history of success after a long wait since we last won the MSSM U15 10's in 1981 played at the old Royal Selangor Club Padang (now is called Dataran Merdeka). That day was the last time cobratasha had tasted victory at the national level. I was there together with some other old boys cheering the boys especially our opponent in the final was MCKK. Playing against MCKK is a battle that must be won and any other result is unacceptable. I was with Mr Kok most of the time during that weekend helping him out managing the team as I always did during my school days being the water carrier for the school rugby team in 1977 when I was in Form 1. (pic: Mr Kok Kee Chai with Cikgu Azhar)

Being a water carrier for the school rugby team is not just about carrying water from the dining hall to the rugby field during training session but actually it is more than that. It is about managing and preparing the team before a game. You have to prepare the jerseys, making arrangement with the dining hall for food before and after the game and many more other responsibilities. You will be the last person to board the bus after a game because you have to make sure no STAR's belongings is left on field before the bus departed. Actually it is a duty of an assistant manager where Mr Kok is the manager and coach of the team. But since the water carrier is a Form 1 boy, you remain to be called a water carrier even though you are doing a duty of an assistant manager.

I contacted Mr Kok at his home before the semi-final against RMC informing him that I am in Ipoh and briefed him about the progress of STAR rugby team in the tournament. As usual Mr Kok will spend quite a while with me over the phone asking me a lot of questions on so many things about my family, business and most of all about rugby. I invited him to watch the semi-final match but he could not make it due to some of his other earlier commitments he has for that day. But he promised to be around for the final. Come final, Mr Kok was on the field 30 minutes before the game starts. I introduced him around to the current teachers telling them Mr Kok was the only coach who has ever won national trophies for STAR.

The last 15's national trophy was won in 1975 and for 10's in 1981. He is the Father of STAR Rugby and were assisted by some other teachers like Mr Gubacharan, Mr Marshall and some other teachers whose names I have heard but never met before. I have seen Mr Kok wept for the first time in 1977 when STAR lost narrowly in the MSSM final to SDAR. STAR controlled about 70% possession of the game but SDAR got their winning points through their successful two converted penalty kicks. He stayed alone on the field till 8 pm in the dark of the night. Staring blank on the grass and his mind floating elsewhere. That was how he reacted when he is upset. He likes to be alone and not a single word will come out from his mouth. But when the U15 rugby 10's team won the championship in 1981, Mr Kok wept too but his character was otherwise. He was among the crowd laughing and talking. That was the Mr Kok Kee Chai whom I knew since 1977. He was my rugby master, my blue house master and my science teacher for three years.

So during the recent final against Sabah College I wanted him to be around because on that day he might not be the only coach to ever win a national trophy for STAR anymore. He remained silent throughout the game. I was silent too because Sabah College was in control of the game hitting our boys like rhinos. Their sizes were bigger than our boys. Of course it is an Under 20 tournament where most of Sabah players were presented by the sixth formers while the STAR boys comprise of 7 fifth formers, 7 fourth formers and a third former student. However the STAR forwards managed to contain the opponent through their solid tackles and STAR got their tries through the backline moves. The final whistle brought a great relief to the supporters because the Sabah boys were camping in the STAR 22 territory in the last 10 minutes of the game. I was speechless when Cikgu Naha asked me to give a short speech after the game. I just said to the boys I am a very happy man today and it was never easy to regain back our glory at national rugby level.

Looking back the years when I first started 'interfering' by sending two Fijians to coach the school team in year 2002 only to become Perak U15 10's champion after 5 years later but a national level trophy is still depriving us. For STARians of the 60s, 70s, 80s and early 90s generations being the state champion was the thing for them to lose those days. But things changed after that and STAR even struggled to be the Ipoh champion. When Cikgu Naha invited Mr Kok to say a few words to the boys he just spoke briefly before he broke down into tears of happiness. Now he is no more the sole man who had ever brought glory to the school rugby team. Cikgu Khairul Azhar has crafted his own name in the STAR rugby history just like Mr Kok but the later has brought glories to cobratasha for three decades. On that day I can see bright future ahead for the school rugby team. When Cikgu Naha of batch 86 joined STAR in June this year being a former school player himself under the coach Mr Kok , I knew the glorious spirit of Mr Kok will be back in STAR again.

The combination of Cikgu Khairul Azhar and Cikgu Naha will put back cobratasha in the national rugby limelight again. In them STAR has the best guys in Malaysian rugby to the envy of other schools. Cikgu Khairu Azhar is the current national player who was voted the most valuable player in the National Rugby 7's last year. Cikgu Naha is the Malaysian Rugby Union coaching director who has vast experience in coaching and has attended New Zealand rugby coaching courses. Like Mr Kok , he has also produced a number of players who are playing in the current national team. I believe cobratasha will be 'the untouchable' in years to come and I just want to be the Napoleon whenever the STAR rugby team is on the field 'I COME I SEE I CONQUER'