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YEAR IN REVIEW 2015 WORLD RUGBY 69programme is very important as it allows me to help grow rugby in my country and prepare to be a better coach,” said Colombia’s national captain Sebastian Mejia. “Being captain of the ‘Tucans’, I have responsibilities on and off the field, because many children and young people have their eyes on me. So I try to support rugby as much as I can.”The joy of playing rugby provides a welcome outlet from the everyday violence that afflicts countries like Colombia. Similarly, elements of the GIR programme have been used by the Philippines Rugby Union to help reintegrate drug-abusing street kids back into mainstream society.In the Oceania region Get Into Rugby complements the Pacific in Union Programme, which is a partnership between Oceania Rugby, the Australian Rugby Union and the Australian Government and is aimed at improving the lives of Pacific Island communities through rugby. Running side by side, the programmes have massively increased player participation amongst girls, with the take-up around the 24,000 mark in each of the programmes.Rugby Africa launched a ground-breaking young referee initiative in June, on the eve of the first Africa Cup Division 1A match between Tunisia and Namibia in Tunis. ‘I also play referee’ gives children the opportunity to take charge of matches involving players younger than themselves. “We feel this is a good tool in promoting on-field respect, one of the main pillars of rugby’s core values, and by getting a better understanding of the rules we are convinced the children will become better players,” said Jean-Luc Barthes, World Rugby’s Rugby Services Manager for Africa.A whistle-stop tour of Get Into Rugby’s activities wouldn’t be complete without mention of ‘Angles International’, the boy’s under-16 side from Faisalabad in eastern Pakistan who took part in the world-famous Rosslyn Park Schools Sevens in March – a breeding ground for future stars of the game – only a few months after first taking up the sport.1 million CHILDREN REACHED2015 IN NUMBERS129 ACTIVE MEMBER UNIONS2,000 LOCATIONS22,300 TRAINED PERSONNELGET INTO RUGBY | INSPIRING PARTICIPATION