Sevens lights flame for Asian women's rugby
Women's rugby has become one of the fastest growing team sports in the world, and nowhere more so than in Asia.
Most recently, 14 nations came together in the beachside resort of Pattaya on the Gulf of Thailand to compete in the annual Asian Women's Sevens Championship.
Thailand has long been popular as a holiday destination, but the country has also worked hard to develop strong rugby roots in recent years. There are now almost 17,000 registered players in the country, over 3,000 of whom are women.
“This is now an annual event, it's been going on a number of years and it's really a step or a platform to multisport events like the East Asian Games, the South East Asian Games and the Asian Games,” said IRB Regional General Manager for Asia Jarrad Gallagher. “Essentially, it's our flagship tournament for women's rugby.”
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Cambodia, Laos and India were among six nations competing at this elevated level in women’s rugby for the first time, testament to the unprecedented growth in the region.
“The first time I ever played rugby was at my school,” said Lalayak Soongkham, who was playing for Laos, one of the poorest countries in South East Asia. “In the beginning I had no idea about the game or how to play it but my friend asked me to join in, and ever since then I have kept on playing and I'm really in love with this sport.”
Iran's women were also making their debut, having overcome significant cultural and political hurdles just to play.
The future of the Game
“They will become the future,” added Gallagher. “If we can get those players to have good technique and to understand some good sound principles, they will become the coaches and that's where the real benefit will be.
“Although we all want to have a long career in playing the game, I think their benefit to rugby in Asia, and to their countries, is that they will be the coaches, referees and administrators.”
In a competitive event, hosts and number one seeds Thailand won through to the final to face closest challengers China. Although the Thai team was quicker into its stride, the Chinese underlined their massive potential by coming from behind to win 24-14.
In capturing the title, the Chinese added more silverware to their Bowl trophy from the first Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai, and their runners-up medal in Hong Kong, where they lost to world champions Australia in March.
“We are so happy because we lost in Dubai and now finally we have a Cup to take back home to China - champions at last, we're really happy!” said captain Liu Yan.
Chinese rugby has developed significantly in a short period of time, but the situation there would change even further, and almost overnight, if Sevens were to gain Olympic recognition later this year.
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“I think it would be a really huge step forward for rugby in our country if rugby becomes an Olympic sport because we are still viewed as a development sport in China,” Yan added. “But if we get Olympic status, we would be given so much more support and structure.”
Watch out world of rugby. China is waking up to the game..
