Asian Games Player Profile: Leung Wai Mun

Photo by Lawrence Ang

Wai-Mun was a mulit-sport athlete before she picked up the game of rugby union after university. She chats a little about how she started the game and what she loves about it above other sport.

Name: Leung Wai Mun
Age: 31
Occupation: Underwater Surveyor

Sport before rugby?
Track & Field for school. Handball, Softball, Soccer, Touch Rugby, Hockey for varsity and I also represented Singapore at the Touch World Cup in 2003.


How and Why Rugby?
Having played touch rugby I wanted a taste of rugby union. Haseena Allapitchay, then a club teammate of mine, was a proponent of the sport and suggested I give it a shot. I joined the development team in 2003, and made the national team the following year.


How does rugby differ from your previous sport?
The physicality of the game


So why did you make the change to rugby?
Rugby gave me the opportunity to compete at international level. I like the game because it requires the combination of many different skill sets to play it well.


Do you agree when people say that rugby is a men's game?
Rugby used to be a men's-only game. Not anymore - women can play the game as skillfully as men.


What did you find the hardest to adapt to, when you took on rugby?
The aggression required for the sport took some adjusting to.


Can you describe your first experience with rugby? 
My first taste of rugby was a friendly 7s game against my current club (I was with another club then) where the only thing I remembered was catching the ball off a kick-off, and running it in for a try, with Tabitha Fong hot on my heels. I had watched a number of 15s rugby matches on television prior to that and thought it a fine mess. Haha.


The lowest moment of your rugby experience...
Having to get my shoulder operated on, which meant a 6-month lay-off , painful rehab, and the uncertainty of how well I can play when I return to the game.


The proudest moment of your rugby career...
Winning the inaugural Blacks Midnight Sevens, not because of the scale of the competition, but because of what we were playing for.


How much do you love rugby? If you had a choice to represent Singapore in another sport, what would it be?
Enough to give up loads of time and other activitires, and continuing despite racking up injuries that eclipse injuries from all my other sports combined. In an alternate universe, I would represent Singapore in shooting. If it has to be another team sport, then handball.