All for the love of Pinoy rugby

MANILA, Philippines - Wearing brand-new training shirts, caps and broad smiles across their faces, the street children beneficiaries of Childhope Asia ran eagerly across the Rizal Stadium field to meet the players that were waiting to teach them a sport they have never even heard of. Some stood in awe at the sheer size of the stadium while others turned their wide eyes towards the local and foreign rugby players gathered around them.

HSBC Asian 5 Nations (A5N) and the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) aim to bring the sport to the grassroots level around the A5N tournaments annually through the HSBC ARFU Coaching Tour. Members of the Philippine Volcanoes along with other representatives of the HSBC A5N Division 1 teams introduced the basics of rugby to 30 street children under the care of Childhope Asia Philippines, an organization currently being supported by HSBC’s Future First program, which aims to support disadvantaged children.

HSBC president and CEO Tony Cripps said, “This coaching tour reflects the commitment of the bank to work with local communities not only to develop and grow the sport but also to engage the youth to live by the values exemplified by HSBC and the sport of rugby — sportsmanship, fairness, courage and integrity.”

Tournament operations manager for the HSBC A5N Sean Moore said, “Participating in the HSBC ARFU Coaching Tour is always one of the highlights of the tournament week for our players, coaches and referees — who uniformly have a desire to give something back to the game we all love. For the Asian Rugby Football Union, having the platform of the HSBC A5N is an ideal opportunity to ensure future growth in the game across the region, and we thank HSBC for its shared commitment to this vision.”

After the clinic, the children were invited to watch the Philippines play against Sri Lanka at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The Volcanoes beat top seed Sri Lanka, 28-18.

Cripps added, “This is a first for Philippine rugby and we are very proud of the Volcanoes for their determination, courage and passion. As new role models for the youth, their victory today will surely inspire the next generation of players.”