Afghans join ever-growing ‘Asian rugby family’

Afghanistan became the newest rugby playing country in the world this weekend as the International Rugby Board and top Asian officials rejoiced at the healthy state of the game globally.

Afghanistan, who signed on as the 28th member of the Asian Rugby Football Union last November, had their first taste of international rugby when they played a three-game sevens series against a United Arab Emirates development side on the sidelines of the HSBC Asian Five Nations Top Five clash between Hong Kong and the UAE in Dubai.

Although the war-torn country has just over 200 players, it will add to the 5.5 million men, women and children playing the game worldwide, figures proudly revealed by IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset at a meeting in Turkey last week.

There are 117 countries affiliated to the IRB - Afghanistan is not one of them yet.

'These are exciting times for rugby. We are experiencing unprecedented growth across all continents and growing in major markets such as China, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and the US,' Lapasset said.

One of the biggest growth regions has been Asia, which in the past decade has mushroomed from just 12 countries to 28.

An ambitious 10-year plan, set in place in 2009, has visions of not only increasing the player population but also growth in playing standards, having targeted two men's and two women's teams in the respective World Cups by 2019.