“The second Singapore Life Girls Rugby Tanglin Rugby Club Cup took place 0n the 8-9 December 2018. Beekay Delos Santos from Davao Rugby in the Philippines was enthusiastic. “We are very pleased seeing an all-girls tournament and for us to participate in such an event.
The organizers have achieved a lot by helping raise the profile of girls rugby in Southeast Asia. We do hope more Asian countries will host all-girls rugby events such as this and inspire more girls to play rugby.
By the time the prestigious Rugby World Cup 2019 finally arrives, we hope that there will be many more female participants in Asia getting involved in the sport: players, coaches, referees, and volunteers more knowledgeable about the game.”
More than 300 girls aged between 8 and 18 took part. In only its second year this 7s tournament has now expanded to include girls aged 17 and 18 and more than 35 teams in total.
There are now 6 countries participating, Singapore, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Australia plus new teams this year from Laos and the Philippines. A lot of funds were raised from bake sales and other events in Singapore and Hong Kong to support the teams from Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines to join. The Classic Wallabies also helped sponsor the event
The aim of the tournament is to build a flagship event in SE Asia and develop the community that is passionate about growing girls rugby in the region. It was particularly notable how strong the teams were from Laos and the Philippines. They were well coached and competitive in every game.
“Maybe its because the girls feel connected through helping to raise funds or that all the visitors stay in the same hotel but there is a unique magic about this tournament.
On Sunday morning the girls came back for joint training provided by players from the Singapore national women’s team. We mixed up the teams – one team comprised Singapore, Laos, Indonesia and Philippines and they decided on using Lao as the common language!
That’s what makes this event so special” said Tim Woodward, one of the organisers from Hong Kong.”
‘We’ve grown girls contact rugby considerably in Singapore over the last 3 years so we are delighted to be hosting the tournament at Tanglin Rugby Club again this year’ said Mike Jackson, Tournament Organiser.
With Singapore Life’s commitment for the next two years, we will be looking to grow the event further with even more teams from more countries in 2019.
Photos Courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/DavaoRugby/
Great Video from the Singapore Life Girls Rugby TRC Cup!
