Fifteens expands in Asia

(Image: Laos women's rugby side)

Three of Asian's newest womens rugby sides will take part in a development camp Vientiane this weekend.

Lao PDR (aka Laos), Thailand and the Philippines will compete in the 15 aside three-day camp in an effort to boost the game in a region where 7s has to now been more popular.

The three teams taking part in the fifteens development tournament in Laos this month have very different rugby backgrounds. Only one has ever played a 15-a-side international before.

Laosplayed their first international in 2007 when they took part in the South East Asia sevens, eventually beating South Korea to take third place. Since then they have played only one international uniquely a 10s match - against Cambodia last year, which they won 15-5

Philippineshave an even shorter international history, making their debut at the Asian Sevens Championship in July where they finished a creditable 9th out of 13, with wins over India and Korea.

Thailandare by far and away the most experienced rugby nation of the three, having played regular international sevens rugby since 2000 and even dipping their toes into the fifteens games at the 2005 and 2006 Asian Championships.

Their sevens record is good - reached the final of the Asian Sevens in both 2008 and 2009, were third at the 2009 Hong Kong Sevens, and were South East Asia champions in 2007 (the only occasion on which this tournament has been played), beating Laos on the way.

Thailands fifteens experience is restricted to the Asian Championships, which they hosted in 2005, finishing third by beating Hong Kong 20-18 in a tense play-off after they had lost 67-0 to Kazakhstan in the first round. They repeated this performance in 2006 beating Singapore this time, 20-0, in the play-off after a 53-11 defeat to China in the semi-final.

Tomorrow we speak to Maggie Dillon, Operations Manager at the Lao Rugby Federation, about the rise of the game there.