By Ahmed Wafi
GOMBAK, 2 January 2017 – Emotions ran high as alumni from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) gathered at the Sayyidina Hamzah Stadium for a friendly rugby match recently.
The friendly game was contested between two sets of IIUM graduates; firstly, the Stallions consisting of students who had graduated after the year 2000, and the Draconians, made up of players who had graduated before the year 2000. The teams would compete for the Unisantara trophy, the first of its kind.
Both sets of teams were made up of former IIUM varsity rugby players. The night’s events were officiated by head of Sports Development Centre (SDC), IIUM, Roestam Effendi, but before that, both spectators and players alike stood at attention to sing the national anthem and the IIUM song.
The Draconians consisted of men in their mid 40s while the Stallions fielded a much more youthful side.
The match was a very one-sided affair as the Stallions romped to a 56-10 victory to lift the trophy but playing the match meant more than winning for the Draconians.
Wan Zahari, an alumnus from the class of 1997 was booted up and ready to jump into the field when the time called but still found time to recall his student life and the joy he had while representing IIUM’s rugby team.
“There were a lot of memories for me here. I spent my final semester in the Gombak campus, so this place really does bring back memories for me,” the rugby veteran recalled.
Another alumnus representing the Draconians was Dr. Ainul Adzellie who was the manager of the Draconians on the night, and he was full of praise for the SDC for the job that they have been doing to help IIUM sports grow into “a force to be reckoned with”.
“I’m very impressed with the way things are turning out with the SDC. During my time we did not have the SDC,” said Dr. Ainul.
Dr. Ainul was also full of sentiment for his former teammates, some of whom he had not met for over 15 years. He recalled how tightly knit the team used to be and how they travelled around to Bangkok and Singapore to represent IIUM in rugby and how the Draconians were once champions.
The event tonight was not merely about rugby but rather about reuniting friends, clearly this is not just a game. ****