National rugby team flies flag in international debut
Geoffrey Atkinson The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Indonesia is set to be awarded full membership in the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) following a historic silver-medal performance in the exhibition games played in conjunction with the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Manila last weekend.
It was the first time a full national team has represented Indonesia, and also the first full international to be played on Philippine soil.
"This is a great honor and a giant step forward for Indonesian rugby," said Indonesian Development Rugby (IDR) president Andrew Nugroho on his return from the seven-a-side tournament in Manila. It reflects the hard work of the committee and the dedication of our Indonesian players whose efforts on the field have made all this possible. We are extremely proud of them."
Indonesia's ARFU status will be ratified at the All-Asian body's annual meeting at Lahore in Pakistan next week and comes less than two years after Indonesian Development Rugby was formed in Jakarta. The Lahore meeting will be attended by IDR secretary Bill Ryan.
The Philippine exhibition tournament -- which brought together 12 teams from around the region -- is expected to see rugby football receive official SEA Games status before 2007 in Thailand.
"We are hopeful as a full national team that we will be in the medal running," Andrew said.
Only Indonesia and the Philippines managed to field full national sides last weekend. Both Singapore and Macau had entered national teams, but where made up predominantly by expatriate players. The tournament was won by Borneo who fielded six, full- time rugby professionals from Fiji in the finals. They beat the Singapore Barbarians 50-5.
In the national final the Philippines beat Indonesia 27-5. The 16-man Indonesian squad had players from West Irian, Jakarta, Kalimantan and North Maluku. All players received field time in the five matches played on the weekend.
"Bringing together players from all over Indonesia is our major challenge," said Andrew. "We are trying to establish regional competitions in as many provinces as possible and concentrate on rugby at school and junior levels."
All of this will take funding and manpower.
"Indonesia has a mighty rugby nursery -- the trick for us will be establishing teams, providing coaching and facilities all over the nation and then gathering them together under one umbrella for national matches," Andrew said.
"The vast distances and costs of air travel and accommodation mean we have a lot to work on." Indonesian rugby is an amateur organization run by a committee that donates its time for free.
They are sponsored by multinational construction company Thiess and the Kabelvision cable network.
With acceptance to the ARFU, Indonesia is expected to form the Indonesia Rugby Football Union (IRFU) now operating under the Indonesian Development Rugby (IDR) banner. The IDR will continue to assist with development of national players and juniors, but the IRFU will take over full responsibility for the running of the game in Indonesia.
"We are now in a league of nations where rugby is largely administered and coached by full-time professionals from around the globe," Andrew said. "We are hoping businesses and individuals in Indonesia will be part of our growing support base. It'ss a big challenge but it's a challenge we are looking forward to."
Indonesia's next major international is expected to be at the 2006 Asia Rugby Championships in Sri Lanka.