Pakistan female rugby team will be creating history by making its first ever international appearance in the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Trophy 2017 at Vientiane Laos from February 14.
Despite being home to some exceptionally physical conventional games, rugby is not a game that you find Pakistanis playing as religiously as cricket. However things are starting to change with the assistance of World Rugby’s “Get into Rugby” (GiR) program – with the game growing in Pakistan too.
More than 4000 potential players have been acquainted with rugby through this program.
Pakistan Female Rugby team
The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) started the GIR Program in schools from various urban areas.
Over 33% of the people who have become part of rugby through this program happen to be girls and young ladies – including the captain of the emerging national team 19-year-old Shazia Shabbir. Shazia is currently on the instructing group for GIR, encouraging young ladies from Lodhran and neighboring towns in Punjab to get into the game.
Shazia discovered her love for rugby in school, while studying for her higher secondary school certificate.
“Rugby is everything! I even know all the Bollywood movies in which there are scenes of people playing rugby,” the spirited Shazia told a local English daily.
She stated that she has been playing rugby since 2014 ever since the coaches from PRU came to her college. Even though she used to play taekwondo, hockey and volleyball before this, she fell in love with this new sport.
“I’m a player and a coach, and when our coach gathered all the interested players from Lodhran, I was very surprised that my own cousins and friends showed up at the camp. My khalas [maternal aunts] are playing too,” said Shazia.
“As for coaching, I’m working with coach Shah at schools and have four teams in Lodhran alone, with 12 girls in each team.”
Pakistani Female Rugby Team To Compete Internationally
Rugby Services manager Syed Moazzam Ali Shah said that in order to prepare the team on solid lines, the national women’s rugby camp had been in progress here at Pakistan Rugby Academy since last month. Girls belonging to different parts of the country were learning finer points of the game under the guidance of PRU head coach Shakeel Ahmed.
The Pakistani female rugby team is preparing for Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Trophy 2017. Pakistan will feature in the event alongside with South Korea, India, Philippines, Malaysia, Laos and Nepal.
Shakeel Ahmed Malik is hopeful that team will play good rugby during the event as there is a lot of potential in the team players. He also acknowledged Pakistan Rugby Union President Fawzi Khawaja and Secretary Arif Saeed on their all-out support to ensure that Pak women team participate in an international event abroad.
Source: The Nation
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