Zulfahmi bests Quirk in 'historic' challenge
The National Stadium at the Singapore Sports Hub has hosted several world-class football and rugby events since it became operational in 2014.
Yesterday, for the first time, it was home to a mini showdown between a local football player and a top rugby star.
Singapore international Zulfahmi Arifin took on Ed Quirk, a flanker in Japan's Super Rugby team, the HITO-Communications Sunwolves, in a series of physical challenges.
The two 25-year-olds started off with an accuracy test.
Zulfahmi outperformed the Aussie rugby player, performing more push-ups than him in 30 seconds, head-butting a ball two more times and kicking the ball further.
The midfielder, who plays for S.League side Home United, stands at 1.77 metres, and was dwarfed by the 1.91m Quirk.
Speaking to The New Paper after the challenge, Quirk, was all smiles and said: "I definitely did not ease up on him, no chance.
"He really did good out there.
"I guess this just shows me there are things for me to improve on, one thing would definitely be speed."
Zulfahmi also had the chance to learn a couple of rugby tricks from Quirk.
"I was a bit surprised because I didn't expect Ed (Quirk) to be as friendly as he was when we were talking," he said.
Earlier, Quirk became the first athlete to ascend the National Stadium roof.
"I was really excited when I was told that I will be doing a rooftop walk on the world's largest free spanning dome," he said.
"When I was finally up on the catwalk, the view of Singapore's skyline was breathtaking and it was amazing to be able to get a bird's eye view of the pitch I played on. I can't wait to be back here again next year."
Apart from his trip to the top of the National Stadium, Quirk also sampled local food.
The Sunwolves, who are co-based in Singapore and Japan, will open their 2017 Super Rugby season with a match against defending champions Wellington Hurricanes in Tokyo on Feb 25.
They will play their first Singapore match at the National Stadium on March 4 against South African team Southern Kings.
TOMORROW: Ed Quirk reveals why he chose rugby over football.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now