‘Rugby on the rise in Pakistan’

Body president claims sport is making progress.

LAHORE: Pakistan should now pave way for Rugby with the country ranked 13th in Asia just eight years after its international debut, according to Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) President Fawzi Khawaja.

Apart from its on-field show, the sport has a proper Rugby Union, is a full member of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) and is even an associate member at the International Rugby Board (IRB).

“It’s currently a new game for the country,” Khawaja told The Express Tribune. “But we have 3,000 registered players and are ranked 13th in Asia. We are on our way to becoming prosperous in the country and I am sure the game will soon find its feet, rise high to pull it out of obscurity and will be an important sport nationally.”

Pakistan’s national team made its international debut against Sri Lanka in 2003 and lost 75-3. They won their first match in 2006 against Guam 27-22 and since then, Pakistan have played a total of 13 matches, with three wins and 10 losses.

“You can’t just find success overnight but we are progressing steadily so hopefully the game will emerge as one of the top games in the country.”

Khawaja said that the PRU was targeting schools and colleges as it is a relatively new game and that would help draw attention at the grass root level. The game has also been introduced at the provincial and district level by the union.

“Funding will play a major role in our progress,” said Khawaja. “We are only receiving annual funding from the Pakistan Sports Board but that isn’t sufficient to even run an office. Similarly, levels of corporate sponsorship have fallen below expectations for the professional game, due to the small following of the game in the country.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2011.