UNTUK EDISI JUMAT 13 MAY, 2005<\/p>\n
Indonesian rugby players have their own field of dreams<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
An Islamic boarding school in sweltering, teeming Jakarta is
\nabout as far removed as you can get from the English private
\nschool where rugby was first played in the 19th century.<\/p>\n
For Ade Waryo, a second year student at Asshidiqiyah Aliyah
\nIslamic school, learning to play this full-contact sport has been
\nan enjoyable albeit eventful process.<\/p>\n
\"It's quite difficult to play rugby at the beginning as the
\nball is oval and there is so much body contact and tackling, but
\nlater we learned to play it quite well,\" he said during the ISCI
\nJakarta Rugby Tens Tournament 2005 at Ciputat, South Jakarta,
\nlast Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"My motivation is getting to play in a tournament against
\nforeigners, practicing with them, and we want our school to be
\nthe first Islamic school to play rugby.\"<\/p>\n
His teacher Muhammad Syahadat said playing the sport provided
\nbetter skills in teamwork and communication, as well as building
\nconfidence.<\/p>\n
\"I think the impact of rugby for us is good.\"<\/p>\n
Indonesian Development Rugby (IDR), a group established in May
\nlast year to promote the sport in the country, hopes there will
\nbe more Ades who will take up the sport, grow to love it and
\neventually wear an Indonesian jersey on their backs.<\/p>\n
\"We are still in an early stage of rugby development, but we
\nwant to build a national team like our neighbors Singapore,
\nMalaysia and Thailand,\" IDR chief Andrew Nugroho said..<\/p>\n
While the assumption is that men must be heavyweights to play
\nthe game, Andrew, who first played the game while at high school
\nin Australia, said speed and agility were also important in
\navoiding being tackled to score.<\/p>\n
Players in Japan and Thailand, where rugby is now played in
\nschools, universities and by the armed forces after receiving the
\npatronage of a prominent general in the 1980s, are renowned for
\ntheir quickness about the field.<\/p>\n
\"I watched the Thai team compete last year at the Asian Rugby
\nUnion they played well. On average, they were the same size as
\nIndonesians,\" he said.<\/p>\n
With Indonesia lacking the historical connection to the sport
\nof former British colonies in Asia, such as Singapore and
\nMalaysia, junior development in schools and universities is
\nessential to develop a future national squad, Andrew said.<\/p>\n
At present, students from Pelita Harapan University, Bina
\nNusantara University, Budi Luhur University and Asshidiqiyah
\nIslamic School are learning to play rugby.<\/p>\n
They play every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at ABC Soccer Field,
\nSenayan, South Jakarta for free, under the sponsorship of Thiess
\nIndonesia. All are welcome to play.<\/p>\n
The students made their debut as the Jakarta Bantengs at the
\ntournament last weekend.<\/p>\n
Outside of Jakarta, there are four teams -- the Kotekas of
\nPapua, Total Balikpapan, Sangatta of East Kalimantan and Gosowong
\nof Halmahera.<\/p>\n
The Kotekas and Gosowong, like the Bantengs, are all-
\nIndonesian squads, originally set up and assisted by expatriates
\nworking in their areas.<\/p>\n
\"We have some 60 players in Jakarta and 350 players from the
\nother teams,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Right now we play more for fun, but we plan to play more
\nprofessionally.\"<\/p>\n
In the future, IDR would like to have its own well-tended
\nrugby field in Central Jakarta, more tournaments than its two at
\npresent and, eventually, a foreign coach.<\/p>\n
The IDR holds observer status in the Asian Rugby Football Union, which is
\nthe Asian division of the International Rugby Board.<\/p>\n
\"Probably, in the next two years when the number of our
\nplayers and coaches increase, we could become a full member of
\nthe Asian Rugby Football Union.\"<\/p>\n
ISCI Rugby Club captain David Stenberg said that the quality
\nof local players was improving, with Gosowong and Kotekas able to
\ncompete against teams of foreigners.<\/p>\n
\"We support the idea to build the national team,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We do hope that the Indonesia rugby national team will
\nconsist of Indonesian people rather than expatriates living
\nhere.\"<\/p>",
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