Malaysia Rugby Premiership
editOrganising body | Malaysia Rugby League (MRL) |
---|---|
Founded | 24 August 1988 |
Country | Malaysia |
Confederation | Asia Rugby |
Number of teams | 16 (since 1992–93) |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Malaysia Rugby Championship |
International cup(s) | Asia Rugby Champions Cup |
Current champions | Johor (1st title) (2023–24) |
Most championships | Perak (15 titles) |
Most appearances | Rahim Razak (402) |
Top goalscorer | Omar Abidin (165) |
TV partners | List of broadcasters |
Current: 2024–25 Malaysia Rugby Premiership |
The Malaysia Rugby Premiership is a professional rugby union league in Malaysia. At the top of the Malaysian rugby union league system, the Malaysia Rugby Premiership is Malaysia's primary rugby union competition. Seasons run from August to May. Games are played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with a focus on Saturdays.
Sixteen teams have competed in the Malaysia Rugby Premiership since its founding. Perak has won 15 of 43 titles, as well as eleven consecutive seasons between 2013 and 2023, which is a record for a Big Five league. The Malaysia Rugby Premiership has also seen other champions, with Johor, Terengganu, Pahang, Selangor, and Kedah most prominent among them. The Malaysia Rugby Premiership is one of the top national leagues, ranked third in Asia according to Asia Rugby's league coefficient ranking for the current 2024–25 season, based on performances in Asian competitions over the past five seasons. The Malaysia Rugby Premiership led the Asia Rugby ranking from 2003 to 2011 and in 2017. It has also produced the continent's top-rated team seven times. Malaysia Rugby Premiership teams have won five Asia Rugby Champions Cup titles. Its players have accumulated two Ballon d'Or awards, two The Best Asia Rugby Men's Player awards, five Asian Golden Shoe, and three Asian Rugby Men's Player of the Year awards including Asian Rugby Club Footballer of the Year.
The Malaysia Rugby Premiership is the number three rugby union league in the world in terms of average attendance; out of all sports, its average of 12,134 fans per game during the 2011–12 season was the second-highest of any sports league in the world after the American National Football League.[1] The Malaysia Rugby Premiership is broadcast on television in over 20 countries.
The Malaysia Rugby Premiership was founded in 1987 in Kuala Lumpur and the first season started in 1988–89. The structure and organisation of the Malaysia Rugby Premiership, along with Malaysia's other rugby union leagues, have undergone frequent changes. The Malaysia Rugby Premiership was founded by the Malaysia Rugby Association, but is now operated by the Malaysia Rugby League.
Structure
editThe Malaysia Rugby Premiership is composed of two divisions: the 1. Malaysia Rugby Premiership (although it is rarely referred to with the First prefix), and, below that, the 2. Malaysia Rugby Premiership (2nd Malaysia Rugby Premiership), which has been the second tier of German football since 1974. The Bundesligen (plural) are professional leagues. Since 2008, the 3. Liga (3rd League) in Germany has also been a professional league, but may not be called Malaysia Rugby Premiership because the league is run by the German Football Association (DFB) and not, as are the two Bundesligen, by the German Football League (DFL).
Below the level of the 3. Liga, leagues are generally subdivided on a regional basis. For example, the Regionalligen are currently made up of Nord (North), Nordost (Northeast), Süd (South), Südwest (Southwest) and West divisions. Below this are thirteen parallel divisions, most of which are called Oberligen (upper leagues) which represent federal states or large urban and geographical areas. The levels below the Oberligen differ between the local areas. The league structure has changed frequently and typically reflects the degree of participation in the sport in various parts of the country. In the early 1990s, changes were driven by the reunification of Germany and the subsequent integration of the national league of East Germany.
Every team in the two Bundesligen must have a licence to play in the league, or else they are relegated into the regional leagues. To obtain a licence, teams must be financially healthy and meet certain standards of conduct as organisations.
As in other national leagues, there are significant benefits to being in the top division:
- A greater share of television broadcast licence revenues goes to 1. Malaysia Rugby Premiership sides.
- 1. Malaysia Rugby Premiership teams draw significantly greater levels of fan support. Average attendance in the first league is 42,673 per game—more than twice the average of the 2. Malaysia Rugby Premiership.
- Greater exposure through television and higher attendance levels helps 1. Malaysia Rugby Premiership teams attract the most lucrative sponsorships.
- 1. Malaysia Rugby Premiership teams develop substantial financial muscle through the combination of television and gate revenues, sponsorships and marketing of their team brands. This allows them to attract and retain skilled players from domestic and international sources and to construct first-class stadium facilities.
The 1. Malaysia Rugby Premiership is financially strong, and the 2. Malaysia Rugby Premiership has begun to evolve in a similar direction, becoming more stable organizationally and financially, and reflecting an increasingly higher standard of professional play.
Regular season
editStandings
editPos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Team 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for the Semifinals |
2 | Team 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for the First round |
3 | Team 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | Team 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
5 | Team 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
6 | Team 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for the Wild card round |
7 | Team 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
8 | Team 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
9 | Team 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
10 | Team 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
11 | Team 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
12 | Team 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
13 | Team 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
14 | Team 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
15 | Team 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
16 | Team 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Postseason
editChampionship playoffs
editBracket
editFirst round | Semifinals | Grand final | ||||||||||||
1 | ||||||||||||||
Wild card | ||||||||||||||
7 | ||||||||||||||
8 | ||||||||||||||
2 | ||||||||||||||
5 | ||||||||||||||
First round | ||||||||||||||
3 | ||||||||||||||
4 |
- ^ giansla (20 October 2021). "The Bundesliga Officially Lands on Sorare". WeSorare. Retrieved 25 August 2023.