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2015 was a momentous year for the ‘game they play in heaven’. The sport’s showpiece tournament – the Rugby World Cup – was seen as the most successful and most competitive edition of the tournament so far.
Anyone who followed the World Cup, hardcore followers and neutrals alike, would never forget that moment when Japan’s Karne Hesketh crossed the try line in the dying minutes to secure a hard-fought 34-32 victory over the Springboks.
Japan then went on to become the first team that failed to qualify for the quarter-finals despite winning three games.
This impressive display comes at a time as Japan is set to host the World Cup in 2019. This is not only a first for the country but also for Asia as a whole. However, with great power comes great responsibility.
One of the challenges is creating a positive impact on a continent that covers 60 per cent of the world’s population but only less than 10 per cent of the global rugby-playing community.
Thus, it is a sleeping giant and a potential market for the sport. One way to do so is providing valuable skills and life-changing mechanisms for a region still rifled by poverty and inequality.
Because of this, there is a need for initiatives to build this lasting legacy. One is a Sport for Development program designed by the Australian NGO ChildFund called ‘Pass It Back’. This purpose of this project, in the own words of Chris Mastaglio, a Country Director for ChildFund and advocate of the project, is to use rugby as a unique tool to help boys and girls from disadvantaged communities to deal with a fast changing world and challenges they face in their own communities.
Specifically, a non-contact version of the game known as tag rugby. Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, to engage in its development where my role was to provide support in translating resources and curriculum-related documents into local languages.
Oh, the joy of explaining the scrum in Vietnamese! At the same time, we provided training sessions in co-operation with the Lao Rugby Federation, for local coaches from Laos and Vietnam, many of whom had never seen a rugby ball before in their lives. Not only they received training in rugby-related skills but also life skills facilitation and First Aid that form the core components of the program, which they would have to organise and provide in their local communities.
By the end of the week-long session, they had graduated as certified coaches, ready to deliver the program.
At the present moment, the program is in its first phase but significant progress has been made so far. One example is Kim Boi district in rural Northern Viet Nam, where is the program is under implementation.
By the end of last year, 683 young players have been registered and placed in 43 U13 and U15 age-group teams with 50 per cent female participation, an area that the project places emphasis on.
Previously, Vietnam’s only claim to rugby fame was France international fly-half Francois Trinh Duc, the first professional rugby player of Vietnamese descent. However, another important milestone occurred in the young history of Vietnamese rugby was the organising of the first ever tag rugby tournament in the country last month. With the participation of 42 teams from the Pass It Back program engaged in 95 action-packed games.
The fact that all of the participants, including the organisers were all locals reflect the success of the program to date.
The target is to have 1800 participants by 2017 with further implementation in other countries in the region including some as far as Afghanistan. However, the early successes of the program have captured the imagination of the regional governing body Asia Rugby and World Rugby.
With the World Cup in Japan in three years time, the future is bright for rugby union in this part of the world.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.