Vientiane in Laos recently hosted the 2008 Asian Rugby Football Union Women’s Development Camp, a four-day event dedicated to improving not only the skills of the participating teams, but those of the various development officers attending from Unions across the region.
The attending women’s teams, who took part in a Sevens tournament on the final day, had a strong Laos and Thailand connection with the hosts having the opportunity to train with their Isaan neighbours from Loei, Roi-Et and Mahasalakham in Thailand. They were joined by the Iranian national team, who were making their first ever international tour.
Development officers from Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Iran, Hong Kong and Cambodia were also in attendance at the Camp with extra support being provided by Jarrad Gallagher, the IRB’s Regional Development Manager for Asia.
The three days of training in Vientiane was supplemented by classroom sessions to ensure that all development officers were given the opportunity to complete their Level 1 IRB coaching qualifications and an IRB Rugby Ready course.
Success for Iran on first tour
This was the first time that Laos had been able to provide training for local development officers to improve their coaching skills and to ensure that they understand the key elements of safety in the Game.
The Camp concluded on November 29 with a tournament at the National University with a day of high quality rugby entertaining the crowds. The five teams played in a round robin competition, with the two top sides meeting again in the final.
The pick of the pool games was a tightly-fought encounter between Iran and Mahasalakham in what turned out to be a rehearsal for the final. Iran emerged the 14-10 winners and their superior fitness told in the final with a more convincing 17-5 victory.
There was also cause to smile for the Laos team, who gained valuable match experience on the way to finishing third overall ahead of Roi-Et and Loei, the latter battling bravely despite their relatively inexperienced side suffering heavy defeats in the round robin.
