Women’s rugby leaders inspire in Sri Lanka #ARW7s

Australia women’s rugby legend Louise Burrows took part in a special day of events ahead of this year’s Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series finale in Sri Lanka.

On Friday Burrows was a guest speaker alongside World Rugby Council Member Ada Milby at a special captain’s breakfast for the eight participating teams where the on-field leaders were celebrated.

Burrows, having played in no fewer than four Women’s Rugby World Cups for Australia, shared her inspiring story before taking part in a coaching clinic with the Sri Lanka U18s girls.

“I enjoyed sharing my rugby journey with the captains and being able to share my own experiences as a player and leader throughout my career. Hopefully they were inspired to continue their own Leadership Development journeys,” said Burrows.

“It was also impressive to watch the Sri Lanka U18 girls play and see the level of skill in the team. These are the types of opportunities I wish I could’ve had at their age.”

As well as the U18s, Burrows and Milby actually took part in helping the newly formed women’s Police team in their first-ever training session.

“I was happy to coach these women through their first experience with rugby and although my interaction with them was short, it was clear they had a sense of team and they seemed to really enjoy learning the basics of rugby,” added Burrows.

For Milby, who flies to the Philippines on Sunday to coach the women’s sevens team in their Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Trophy competition next weekend in Brunei, it was another day full of potential for the women’s game in Asia.

“This was a first for Asia Rugby to host a captain’s Leadership forum and it was great to celebrate the on field accomplishments of the captains and also to hear from Louise Burrows about her journey through four Women’s Rugby World Cups.

“She talked about the ups and downs of being a woman in rugby but my favourite part was when she said, ‘Even if you’re the best, you can still be better’.

“As we look to strengthen our networks of women leaders in rugby, I hope that we can really promote the vision of ‘Bringing Asia together through the spirit of Rugby’.

“I was also amazed to see the passion and determination of the u18s women’s squad. They welcomed the contact and had really impressive natural talent. These new up and coming talents are definitely one to watch over the next four-five years as they grow and develop into seasoned rugby players.”