Late start no barrier as Singapore rugby sevens duo chase overseas dreams

SINGAPORE – When Hidayat Jeffrydin was in Damai Primary School, he first dabbled in Malay dance as his co-curricular activity.

But every time he stepped out of the dance room, the sight of his schoolmates playing rugby on the field just outside made him yearn for a chance to join them.

In Primary 4, he made the switch and has never looked back, going on to represent Singapore at the SEA and Asian Games.

Recently, he earned a rare opportunity to rub shoulders with the stars of the international rugby sevens circuit.

The 25-year-old has been drafted to play for the Chennai Bulls in the Rugby Premier League (RPL) in Hyderabad from June 16 to 28.

He will be the first Singaporean to play in the RPL, India’s first professional, franchise-based rugby sevens competition which made its debut in 2025.

The Bulls are the defending champions in the competition, which sees top internationals from the world sevens circuit play alongside locals for six franchises.

Hidayat, who plays as a centre or winger, said he had been looking for an overseas playing opportunity since completing national service in November 2025.

He was then put in touch with Rugby India with a view to competing in the inaugural season of the RPL, which then told him to send over a compilation of his playing highlights.

While a move did not materialise then, Rugby India reached out in April 2026 to confirm his draft.

Hidayat said: “I was quite stoked when I heard that I was confirmed to play in the league, especially because of how close I came to getting that chance last year. The younger me would have never thought that I would go far in this sport.

“And then the best feeling was when a few days later, I was sent a live stream of the draft taking place and I heard my name being mentioned alongside some of the players that I have watched live at the National Stadium during the HSBC SVNS.

“To think that I was going to be teammates or facing some of these guys was surreal.”

Hidayat’s teammates will include two members of the Fiji team who won a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics – Joseva Talacolo and Filipe Sauturaga.

He will also be playing alongside the likes of Argentina’s Santiago Alvarez, Britain’s Sunni Jardine, Spain’s Tobias Sainz-Trapaga and Canada’s Ethan Turner.

Some of the prominent names that he is set to face include All Blacks Sevens playmaker Akuila Rokolisoa and South Africa’s Shilton van Wyk, both of whom will play for the Bengaluru Bravehearts, and reigning World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Luciano Gonzalez of Argentina who headlines a strong Delhi Redz.

Hidayat said playing rugby at the National School Games – he also represented Damai Secondary School – helped him “build character”.

He added: “I think there is plenty of talent in neighbourhood schools even if they may not have the same resources and platform that the more elite schools have. So when I reflect, it is surreal to see where I have come.

“And what has made it possible is to have got the help from people like Sidney (Kumar, Singapore Rugby Union general manager), people at SRU and all my coaches.”

National women’s rugby player Jayne Chan is another who has earned a rare opportunity abroad. The 27-year-old, too, is thriving in the sport after an early switch.

She had represented Singapore in basketball at youth level, before switching to rugby in 2017 after realising her talents were better suited there after following a friend to a club training session.

Chan has signed a one-season contract with Wentworthville Magpies in the Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership (NSWRL), the top level of women’s rugby league in New South Wales, after a successful trial in Australia. The season will kick off on June 12.

While it is still the same sport, Chan, who was part of Singapore’s bronze-winning sevens side at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, has also had to adapt to a different code of the game.

Rugby union is played with 15 players on each side and features rucks, mauls and contested scrums, while matches in the NSWRL involve 13 players per side and has a six-tackle limit per possession. Both codes are played over 80 minutes.

Sevens rugby, which is a fast-paced game played over 14 minutes, is a variant of rugby union played with seven players per team.

Chan said she is looking forward to the overseas playing experience against top players, adding: “My aim is just to learn as much as I can and have a go in rugby league, having played rugby union in the last nine years.

“I also want to just learn from people from a different culture, systems, game, rules and environment, having never played a whole season in another country before.”

Sidney said such overseas stints mark a significant milestone in Singapore rugby’s development.

He added: “While our domestic landscape continues to develop, we need to have the pathways for our best rugby players to compete against the best in the region.

“When our athletes compete and train abroad – testing themselves against higher levels of competition, absorbing different coaching philosophies and experiencing the physical and mental demands of professional rugby environments – they return as better players and, more importantly, as better leaders for the next generation.

“For Singapore rugby, this is not just about individual growth. It is a signal that our players are ready to compete on a broader stage and that the foundation we have been building at home is producing athletes of genuine quality.”

He added: “Hidayat and Jayne carry with them not just their own ambitions, but the aspirations of every young player in Singapore who dreams of following their footsteps, representing Singapore and them at the global stage.”