Hopes dashed for cross-border rugby friendly ...

Forty years after their last rugby friendly, Victoria Institution (VI) and Vajiravudh College (VC) of Bangkok were expected to revive the cross-border match tradition at the Kuala Lumpur school field on Monday. But it looks like the plan has been dashed, at least for now.
I received the news from VI Parent Teachers Association chairman Raja Amir Shah Raja Abdul Aziz, who had been working hard to revive the friendly, via his sms this morning:
“Dear all, unfortunately, VI VC rugby game is cancel due to VC player are quarantine in mckk due to H1N1 flu. The monday game is cancel, pls let others know - ydp ras”

I can imagine how disappointed he is. The first VI-VC rugby match was held in 1963 and later in 1965, 1967 and 1969.
"After being accorded the heritage status and getting its old name back, this would be a motivating factor for all VI stakeholders to support the VI aspiration to be the top school in the country again, both in studies and sports," he had said a few days ago.
Indeed, it would have been great if the friendly match could be revived, not just for both schools but the two neighbouring countries – Malaysia and Thailand.
Dya Singh, VI Sportsman of the Year 1969, remembers the VI-VC rugby tie of that year.
“They were here and they were really good,” he recalled after I told him about the VI-VC game when he dropped by at my office yesterday.

No, Dya Singh did not play in that match. He represented the school in cricket, hockey and football (including alongside his junior, the late Malaysian soccer legend Mokhtar Dahari).
They were in the VI squad who won the Khir Johari Cup for the inter-schools championship in 1969 after defeating the Royal Military College.
The 59 year-old Dya Singh has carved his name as a top musician in Melbourne, Australia, which is his home now.
He leads the Australian multicultural music group named after him and the troupe has been to Japan, Singapore, Kenya, Tanzania, United States, Canada, UK, Pakistan, Germany, Ireland and Thailand since its inception in 1984.
Dya Singh was in the news recently after embarking on a 160 kilometre, six-day charity walk from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka with two friends.