Page 70

70 WORLD RUGBY YEAR IN REVIEW 2015With 32 member unions, spanning from Lebanon in the west to Guam in the east, from Kazakhstan in the north to Indonesia in the south, rugby in Asia is enjoying spectacular growth.Playing numbers topped the half a million mark after a 14 per cent increase from the previous year, with Get Into Rugby’s participation programme introducing as many as 126,430 children to the sport in the first 11 months of the year alone. Twenty-four of the 32 unions are active in delivering GIR programmes – the highest participation rate of any of the six regional associations – and, encouragingly, an increasing number of those participants are girls.Working in partnership with the Pass It Back programme, Asia Rugby – together with Childfund UNFORGETTABLE YEAR FOR RUGBY IN ASIAABOVE Rugby is being used as a platform for development in LaosLEFT Japan’s three victories at RWC 2015 represented a milestone for Asia RugbyWhile Japan deservedly captured the imagination of the rugby world for their stunning exploits at the Rugby World Cup, there was plenty for the region to be proud of as a whole in 2015.Asia and Women Win – organised pilot schemes in Laos and Vietnam where rugby is being used as the platform for development in rural parts of these two countries. It is hoped that other countries in the region will soon benefit from this initiative.On the field of play, 30 competitions were organised by Asia Rugby for men, women and juniors. A new-look Asia Rugby Championship, streamlined from five teams to three, was won for the 10th year in a row by Japan. Sri Lanka and Malaysia took the honours in Divisions 1 and 2, respectively, while Guam, Lebanon and India won the Division 3 East, West and Central titles.Japan also had double cause for celebration in sevens. Inspired by the Brave Blossoms’ historic win over South Africa and subsequent victories against Samoa – watched www.asiarugby.comtwitter: @asiarugbyincrease in playing numbers from 2014 to 2015of member unions active in delivering GIR programmes14%75%by a national TV audience of 25 million – and the USA, the Japanese men’s and women’s teams were crowned Asian champions and also qualified as the region’s representatives for the Olympic Games in Rio. Hong Kong won the Asia Rugby U19 Championship and will now compete in April’s World Rugby U20 Trophy in Zimbabwe. At senior men’s level, Hong Kong also had the honour of hosting the inaugural Cup of Nations, which was won by Russia.To cap a brilliant year, Asia Rugby celebrated when the Pakistan Rugby Union was presented with the Award for Character during the World Rugby Awards ceremony held in central London at the end of RWC 2015. INSPIRING PARTICIPATION | AROUND THE REGIONS