| Fadhil Yunus |
WORLD Rugby and Asia Rugby have encouraged the promotion of rugby in schools as means to boost the popularity in the country with ministries playing a key role in driving the sport.
The world governing body for rugby supported the initiative made by the Brunei Rugby Football Union (BRFU) to help promote mass participation and accelerate the growth and development of rugby in Brunei Darussalam.
World Rugby has also placed emphasis on strengthening the administrative role and governance within the union.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof met with and Ridzal Saat, Rugby Services Manager- Asia and Benjamin Van Rooyen, Coordinator of Get Into Rugby Asia recently.
“Brunei Rugby is a member of Asia Rugby and Asia Rugby is a regional association for World Rugby. Basically Get Into Rugby is the development tool that World Rugby/ Asia Rugby uses across the world,” said Benjamin Van Rooyen on Thursday.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof in a group picture with Ridzal Saat of World Rugby and Benjamin Van Rooyen of Asia Rugby. – FADHIL YUNUS
“We have a grassroots programme that grows organically”, he further added.
“Secondly, the key message to the minister is not about the game itself. We’re talking more about the values of rugby and we’re talking about getting children active in schools and in the community.”
“Brunei Rugby is currently an associate member of World Rugby. There’s about 30 member unions in Asia plus the regional body which is Asia Rugby so my role within Asia is work with individual unions to see how they can improve the governance and administration of the game and then in line with the various programmes that we have which includes growing the game and get into rugby,” said Ridzal Saat.
“Team sports build friendships and teamwork. I think the major difference is one of our values is respect so it resonates very well with the Asian culture which is respect your eldest.”
“In rugby, it is about respecting authority, the referees, the match officials, your opponents, your coaches and more importantly your team-mates. Values are very important to us and increasingly we are not only selling the sport but we’re actually selling our values what it brings to children, youths and beyond adults the field of play.”
“What we hope for Brunei rugby is working very closely for the people of Brunei to have rugby within the school system so obviously our first port of call is with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Getting it (rugby) into the curriculum, working with teachers so that they are in a position to deliver entry level rugby which is modified games which can be touch or tag rugby.”
“You’ll build a base and it takes a very strong plan which we are confident with Dr Haji Kamaruddin bin Dato Seri Paduka Haji Talib (President of BRFU) and the two ministries which is the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports as well as the Ministry of Education.”
In order to be moving forward with the times, the rugby services manager also called for the involvement of full-time professionals and administrators within the union to help administer the game.
He also hoped that a “strong plan” could be arranged which could be the initiation of a pilot project on a select number of schools and introducing rugby in the CCA programme immediately.
“The next step is from the meeting putting in a really strong plan. It could be a pilot project with an x number of schools or if Brunei is ambitious it could be in the CCA programme straight away.”
“We look at six months, one, and two or three years what are the achievable goals for Brunei rugby.”
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