Thailand Strike Gold Twice in Rugby 7s at SEA Games 2025
rugbyasia247
Posted On December 15, 2025
An excellent two days of Rugby 7s SEA Games 2025 wrapped up on Sunday, 14th December, with the hosts winning gold for the women and the men. The women’s team were hot favourites but made it five golds in a row and without conceding a point, defeating Malaysia in the final, while the Thai Men clinched their first rugby gold in 18 years after narrowly beating Singapore 10-5.
Photo Credit – That Particular Shot
The fans and atmosphere on both days at Dhupatemiya Stadium, Royal Thai Air Force Sports Complex, were fantastic, with the home support euphoric, but there were plenty of vocal Singaporean, Malaysian and Philippine voices in the crowd too. The Thai Rugby Union and the sports authorities did an exemplary job in hosting the rugby, with several local and regional dignitaries in attendance.
Pol. Lt. Col. Kulthan Prachuabmoh, President of the Rugby Football Association of Thailand and of the SEARF, said two words after the double gold win – ‘delighted and happy’.
The only downside to the weekend was the lack of streaming or broadcast of the matches, as there were excellent games and talent on display, and day#2 in particular had several upsets and tight matches.
SEA Games Thailand 2025 Rugby 7s Results
Day 1 – SEA Games Thailand 2025 Rugby 7s
The Rugby 7s started with some close matches between fierce rivals as the Malaysia women pipped Singapore in a nailbiter 21-19, but the Singapore men got their first win over Malaysia in as many as 8 years, 19-14.
Singapore Head Coach Paul Tietjens had told us: “We always knew they (Malaysia) were going to be incredibly tough. And obviously, we hadn’t got the monkey off our back for eight years. I think it was a massive achievement for our lads. Really important.”
The Thai women showed why they would be favourites, defeating Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore and scoring 106 points in the three games.
The Philippines and Thailand Men looked like contendors as both were undefeated.
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- Photo Credit – That Particular Shot
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- Photo Credit – That Particular Shot
Although Laos were unable to record a win or score a point, they showed massive improvements and created chances in all of their matches.
Laos Head Coach Anna Caplice, who was in charge for her first tournament in Asia, said, “The event itself has been awesome, like the volunteers have been so great, and the venue’s lovely. The pitch was lovely. It’s been as good as I’ve seen any Sevens tournament worldwide. So I have been really impressed.
She will be with the union til at least the SEA 7s in Singapore at the end of January, and the LRF will take a women’s and men’s team to that tournament.
“It has been a really tough two days, but even just seeing them now (the players), I know that they’ve taken the positives from it and ignoring the scoreboard, the rugby and the experience itself will make them better players and make us a better team. And that’s kind of all you can ask for.”
The Indonesian women also struggled and lost to Thailand and Singapore, but were much improved on the second loss, going down only 5-12.
Day 2 – SEA Games Thailand 2025 Rugby 7s
There was a fantastic atmosphere and some great matches on the final day. Sunday started with some surprise results; the Singapore men beat the Philippines, and the latter went on to lose their final pool game against the hosts. The results meant they lost out on a gold final match and a chance to defend their title.
The Malaysian men lost their games by narrow margins but beat Laos. They would face the Philippines for bronze, with both having competed in the final in 2019.
On the women’s side, the Philippines beat Singapore 19-10, which was seen as a surprise. Both teams would go on to compete for bronze. Malaysia proved to be the second-best side after the hosts, and Indonesia failed to record a win.
Women’s Bronze Philippines 5-33 SingaporeSingapore led 19-0 before receiving a yellow card, and the Philippines scored via Vanessa Cifuentes before the half to make it 19-5. But Singapore comfortably ran out 33-5 winners with their strongest game of the tournament to take bronze and overturn their pool stage defeat to the same opponents. A big improvement on their 5th from 2019.
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- Photo Credit – That Particular Shot
Men’s Bronze Philippines 19-14 MalaysiaMalaysia opened the scoring, and the Philippines struck back with an excellent try and conversion from wide to tie it up 7-7. Malaysia then retook the lead and led 14-7 at halftime, and were looking the better of the two sides.
There was a Malaysian red card in the second half, but the Philippines struggled to break them down even with the player advantage, eventually squaring it up with a couple of minutes left, 14-14, which meant the game went into extra time and golden point.
The Philippines scored late into the extra period, but Malaysia were incredible in defence. The Philippines won bronze & they really had to work for it.
The Philippines Men’s Head Coach, Darryl Suasua, told Rugby Asia 247: “Obviously, our hopes and aspirations were to go away with the gold, and we probably fell short there, so we are disappointed in that. But the next best thing is to at least go home with a medal. We’re building a pool of players, which is really good.”
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- Photo Credit – That Particular Shot
Women’s Final Thailand 37-0 MalaysiaThe Thais took no time to score with incredible support in the stands. They were 10-0 moments later, and a precise inside switch saw them surge ahead 17-0 halfway through the half. Malaysia struggled really badly with the restarts. Thailand had all the tricks and, via a dummy, scored a 4th try. Gold was beckoning as they led 22-0 at halftime.
Within a minute of the half, Thailand were on the board again for their 5th try to lead 27-0. A set move, which was too easy to score from, saw them lead 32-0 in a one-sided game, and as the match went on, Malaysia just dropped off tackles as they gave in. Thailand wrapped up the gold with a 37-0 win and without conceding a point all weekend!
The Thai Women have now defended the title for a 5th consecutive time at the SEA Games, with three of their squad claiming a 4th Rugby 7s gold. This was the first time in history that a team did not concede a point on the way to winning.
he Thailand women will next head to the HSBC SVNS Division 3 in Dubai in mid-January 2026.
Head Coach for the Thailand Women, Lote Raikabula, told Rugby Asia 247, “A lot of effort has been put in behind the scenes. I think our president has been a big part of that, and he really believes in our program. So he pushes it, he looks for sponsorship, which means we were able to travel overseas and get a bit of exposure with the girls.”
He added that the SEA Games still created a lot of pressure. “I said to the players, it’s very different to the Asia Rugby Sevens Series or the World Series tournaments where you rock up, you play, and you leave. This one has the whole country watching and seeing if we can bring in the medals.”
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- Photo Credit – TRU
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- Photo Credit – That Particular Shot
Men’s Final Thailand 10-5 SingaporeThe Men’s final was a very close game with defences winning the battle over attack on both sides, with an absolutely incredible atmosphere generated by the fans in attendance. Thailand scored on the hooter at the end of the first half after a Singapore mistake and hacked it through, superbly collected to lead 5-0.
The smallest mistake with a loose pass in the second half from Singapore gifted Thailand the chance they needed as they powered over the line to lead 10-0 with a few minutes to go.
A silly, cynical penalty earned Thailand a yellow to give Singapore a chance back in the game. Singapore scored a try with a quick tap and made for a nervy ending, but a crucial mistake from the restart was made as they kicked the ball directly into touch. Thailand just had to tap and kick it out to lift gold, which they did. Much credit must go to the Head Coach, Tanyavit Kuasint, who last season coached the women.
Singapore Head Coach Paul Tiejens has seen his teams compete in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series, SEA 7s, SCC7s and now the SEA Games.
Pol. Lt. Col. Kulthan Prachuabmoh said via the TRU, “I am extremely happy and crying that Thailand got 2 gold medals in the SEA Games. It was our goal, and that was said at the beginning, to win 2 gold medals at our home. We have accomplished it today.”
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- Photo Credit – That Particular Shot
Final Standings – SEA Games Thailand 2025 Rugby 7s
Women
- Thailand
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Philippines
- Indonesia
Men
- Thailand
- Singapore
- Philippines
- Malaysia
- Laos
Photo Credit – That Particular Shot
The SEA Games are due to be held in Malaysia (2027), Singapore (2029, and Laos (2031), with all three hosts likely to again include Rugby 7s.
Most teams from this tournament will look to participate at the SEA 7s, which takes place just before Singapore hosts the SVNS Series at the end of January 2026, but the full complement of teams is still TBC.
Thanks to the Thai Rugby Union for having us and your hospitality, all of the teams, and to thatparticularshot for the excellent photos!
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