Spore Rugby Union parts ways with head coach Suhaimi Amran

Citing “deviating goals”, the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) has parted ways with national head coach Suhaimi Amran, more than one year before his contract runs out.

Suhaimi had in 2022 guided the national team to promotion from the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy to the Asia Rugby Sevens Series. He also led the 15s team to the inaugural Unions Cup in July 2024.

SRU made the announcement on social media on Aug 15, with its president Sunny Seah expressing gratitude for the progress made during Suhaimi’s tenure.

Its general manager Sidney Kumar told The Straits Times: “We went through a couple of reviews just to check on the KPIs (key performance indicators) and Suhaimi has done a lot for us since 2019, when he first came on board to assist with the Sevens programme.

“This was just one of the review junctures where both parties realised that, you know, our goals (had) started to deviate a bit. So we agreed to not stretch this out any further.”

When contacted, Suhaimi, 36, said he respects the decision, adding: “Nobody’s bigger than the game or the country, so if things are not aligned, and the current board or direction seems to have changed, I have to respect that.

“Our goals might (have) changed because we have a new president, new general manager, things might have changed and my processes might not have been what they like.”

SRU saw a change in presidency in March 2023, with Seah elected unopposed at their annual general meeting after the incumbent Terence Khoo, who held the post for more than five years, decided not to stand for re-election.

Suhaimi, a former national player, has been part of the team’s coaching set-up in various roles since 2012.

He took on the role of interim national coach in 2021, after coach Simon Mannix returned to France.

The following year, Suhaimi signed a four-year deal as national head coach to oversee all teams within the union.

Former team manager Yazid Rosli will take charge of the Sevens team in the interim, while SRU continues its search for a new head coach.

Kumar said: “We don’t have anyone in mind (yet) and it will be an open process. We will use this time to also restructure our high performance programmes to gear us up for the next few SEA Games, a five-year plan sort of thing.

“All national sport associations have a pretty standard, high performance coach hiring process and we will adopt that kind of process.

“It will be open (to all) and we’ll put up a call for a high performance national teams coach with a bit more experience in the Sevens game.”

However, Suhaimi has urged the SRU to appoint a coach as his permanent replacement soon.

“I wish we’d quickly get a replacement for me, so that our national team, both men and women get stabilised, and most importantly, mentally, to prepare themselves in the next three weeks for the Asia Sevens Series.”

The Sevens team will be taking part in the continental series in South Korea (Sept 7 and 8), China (Sept 21 and 22) and Thailand (Nov 9 and 10).

As for Suhaimi’s next move, he said he has received offers, but is in no hurry to secure a new role.

He said: “I still have a lot of fire in me, wanting to coach at a high performance level. A few offers have come on board today and yesterday, after the news broke out.

“But I’m going to look at the options first, and do what’s best for me and my family. Nothing is concrete yet, but there are a few offers (from) outside of Singapore.”