Lao ready to lead Asian rise

Why has this development camp been organised and how will it run?

This development camp has been organised to further the Asian RFU's goal of an increased commitment to 15s rugby for women across Asia. Teams from Lao PDR, Thailand, and the Philippines are taking part and ARFU development officers from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Singapore will run the coaching sessions."

The teams you mention are more well known as 7s teams - is there a plan to get more Asian teams involved at 15 aside?

It is indeed one of ARFU's goals to get a deeper commitment to women's 15s across the region. This is also one of the biggest goals for rugby development in the Lao PDR. Half of the rugby players here in the Lao are women, but we've only ever fielded 7s and 10s side. This year, though, we've built a foundation for growth in 15s, as the Vientiane Lions, the Lao PDR's only women's senior club team, has been taking part in the Lao-Isaan Rugby Super League. This unique international league features regular 15s competition between two men's club teams from Vientiane, one men's club team and two men's university teams from Northeastern Thailand (Isaan), one women's university team and two women's college teams from Northeastern Thailand. We've made a lot of progress this year, and the girls are really coming together as a 15s side."

How popular is rugby in Lao?

We currently run training sessions in 9 schools in and around Vientiane five days a week, and on Sundays, children from these schools, plus two community centres for disadvantaged children, come together to train and play. We also run two rugby sessions a week at the National Drug Rehabilitation Centre.

Our men's national team has been competitive at the regional level, taking home its second consecutive championship in the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Regional Tournament with victories over Cambodia and Brunei.

For the past two years, our U20s men's national team has competed in the Asian Rugby Junior Championships DII tournament.

Our women's national team routinely competes in the Asian Women's 7s Championships, and our goal is to continue attending that event, while improving our placement each time. In the short term, we are also aiming to compete in the Asian Women's 15s Division II tournament.

How does your squad get involved in helping develop the game?

"Our squad for this year's Asian Women's 7s Championships in Guangzhou was made up of an equal mix of veterans who are taking on increased responsibility within the federation (i.e. coaching community rugby, coaching youth teams, assisting with operations) and relative newcomers to the sport. Six of our squad came from villages near Vientiane, and only started playing rugby a year and a half ago. These girls have become leaders in their school rugby programs, which has spurred on growth in those schools."

For more on this weekend's camp seeHERE