Boots and all | Asian rugby now has ‘right man for the job’

Trevor Gregory’s ascendancy to the presidency of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) last week is welcome news, not only for Hong Kong but for the rest of the Asian rugby community as well.

In the past, being elected ARFU president was largely symbolic. It was taken by turn – the host nation of the Asian Rugby Football Tournament held every two years was given the chair of the presidency and there was no real power other than the prestige of holding office during the biennial gathering of the clan.

With only eight countries in the mix – Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan – things were more manageable and the president was hardly ever called on to make any executive decisions during his two-year tenure, other than to look “presidential” for those Kodak moments when his home union staged the showpiece.

With life more leisurely in the good old days of amateurism, Asia’s founding members hardly played against other opposition, only meeting once every two years. It was hardly surprising that the region remained a backwater.

Quite clearly, that is no longer the case.

Today, Asia is one of the most active regions in world rugby with an annual series in both versions of the game – sevens and 15s – and with its membership increased threefold to 28 countries.