SINGAPORE'S Under-19 rugby team will now compete at the top rung of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) tournament alongside South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka.

The side were promoted to Division One after a resounding 22-5 win over Thailand in a play-off final in Manila on Saturday.

Singapore pulled ahead in the second half, courtesy of tries from Lachlan Brock, Adriel Toh and Sam Koh. Fly-half Halcyon Price was also perfect with his kicks, notching three conversions and a penalty.

Captain Malcolm Samuel said: "We are delighted with the win and the job we had set out to do, which was to get to the top of Asian U19 rugby."

The Republic, led by head coach Hadizan Jaaman and assisted by national players Ashraf Nasser and Gaspar Tan, had beaten the Philippines 28-7 in Wednesday's semi-final. The promotion to the first division of the four-tier series guarantees Singapore's place in qualifiers for the Junior World Rugby Trophy in 2016.

Singapore Rugby Union vice-president (high performance) Jonathan Leow said: "It's a great day for Singapore rugby and it shows that, on and off the field, the future is bright for the local game."