Indo Pacific Rugby Championship – Tokyo Meeting

Representatives from the following World Rugby Full Member unions travelled at the invitation of IPRC to hear the ideas being put forward for the Region to be able to host this high level competition, the Indo Pacific Rugby Championship starting in 2019

Chinese Taipei

Guam

Hong Kong

India

Indonesia

Malaysia

Philippines

Pakistan

Thailand

UAE

The IPRC is being funded by philanthropist Mr Andrew Forrest from Australia. Andrew met all the attendees in person and commented, “It was fantastic that so many people from so many different unions were able to get up to Tokyo at such short notice to hear what we had to say about the exciting future of Rugby in the Region.

Although we were only able to send out invitations on Monday this week, yet the enthusiasm and willingness of so many unions to get here, despite the obvious difficulties with short notice and possible visa issues, was truly outstanding.

Unions that would otherwise perhaps not have been able to hear us first-hand seized the opportunity to travel up and hear what the future possibly held for everyone”

“It certainly bodes well for us to see the willingness and ability of Asia Rugby to respond so quickly and positively to the initiatives being put forward.”

Asia Rugby’s World Rugby Council Member, Trevor Gregory, who was one of those who attended said, “This is an amazing opportunity for us in Asia to really develop the game at the performance level.

World Rugby,Rugby Australia and Asia Rugby are on the same page and are all now working closely together to try to ensure the success of this visionary project which can provide a stepping stone for many of our participating unions to the next level.

This will affect not only the players, but for the unions themselves; their infrastructure and support, including administration and match officiating. It is even more exciting that we are talking about not just the men’s game, but also women’s competitions as well, both at 15’s and 7’s. I am personally delighted that this very important meeting was able to take place.and our thanks to Andrew and his team for their inspirational vision as detailed in a very professional presentation. ”