Lao Rugby Kicks of 2020 by Hosting the DHL Vientiane 10s

This story about the Vientiane 10s has been kindly provided by the Lao Rugby Federation

Later this month rugby players and enthusiasts from Lao PDR, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, UK and Australia will come together in Hanoi and Vientiane for the second consecutive DHL sponsored rugby 10s series.

Formerly known as the Vientiane International Rugby Championship, the DHL Vientiane 10s is the LRF’s flagship competition. In 2019 the Lao Rugby Federation (LRF) partnered with neighboring Hanoi 10s to create a multi-tournament series spanning two weeks in January.4/

The second year of the series will kick off in 2020 with a single-day tournament in Hanoi on 18 January and a multi-day tournament in Vientiane on 25-26 January. More than 20 local and international teams will compete in Men’s, Women’s, and U18 Girls and Boys contact competitions, as well as U13 tag rugby.

In the largest year of the Hanoi 10s competition, 12 senior teams will participate in the men’s and women’s divisions joined by 8 U18s boys’ and girls’ teams from Vietnam’s newly-formed rugby clubs including Coui Ha Club, Hop Dong Club, Thong Tien Club, Nuong Dam Club, Kim Truy Club and Du Sang Club. In the senior divisions, DAC Weredragons will be returning to the DHL Hanoi 10s to defend their Cup Championship.

The Kim Boi Wild Cats, DAC Rejectors and Hanoi Dragons will also be returning in this year’s men’s division joined by tournament newcomers, Raw Dogs and Hanoi Ghost Dragons. In the women’s division, the Kim Boi Wild Cats will return for the second year of the tournament joined by five teams making their first appearance at the DHL Hanoi 10s including DAC Weredragons, Hanoi Barbarians, NUS Singapore and Alexandre Yersin.

Three visiting international teams from DAC Weredragons will travel to Hanoi prior to the tournament in order to learn about and support the development of rugby in the country through participating in some activities with Vietnamese ChildFund Pass It Back teams.

The ChildFund Pass It Back curriculum, which was piloted in rural Laos from 2012-2014, endeavours to help young people build knowledge and skills through rugby in topics like leadership, gender equity, future planning, safety and health.

Today, more than 3,000 young players are registered and actively participating in the curriculum in Laos and over 1,000 in Vietnam.

In addition to the action on the pitch, the Kim Boi Wild Cats from Hoa Binh Province in Northern Vietnam will be supporting most of the DHL Hanoi 10s tournament management.

In the first year of the competition in Hanoi, the LRF was proud to send Lao staff to support in lead management roles for the largest 10s international competition held in Vietnam to date.

This year, the LRF’s Vietnamese colleagues will be building on the skills they learned in 2019 and taking the reigns as match officials in the U18s competition and as senior first aid and technical leads in the senior competition.

The LRF has been partnering with ChildFund Vietnam since 2015 to support rugby development in the country. Over the 5 years of the partnership, Lao Coaches have supported with many exciting developments from the first international tag competition in 2017 through to the first women’s 15s match in 2019 where the Kim Boi Wild Cats faced off against the DAC Lao Nagas in a historic match in Hanoi.

The Kim Boi Wild Cats are current or former ChildFund Pass It Back Coaches who have been developing their skills in rugby administration and leadership roles in their local community since 2015.

This group of young Vietnamese leaders has recently registered their clubs with the Vietnamese government and now be applying their skills on the international stage as the DHL Hanoi 10s prepares for this record breaking year.

Following the excitement in Hanoi, the LRF will welcome 32 teams for the 14th year of the DHL Vientiane 10s on 25-26 January.

Twelve men’s teams in the senior elite division will be bolstered by returning 2019 DHL Vientiane 10s Men’s Cup Champions, Royal Thai Police and include series competitors DAC Weredragons, Hanoi Dragons and Raw Dogs. The Lao Barbarians and Vientiane Buffalos will represent Laos in the men’s top division joined by the Royal Thai Navy, Bangkok Southerners, Bangkok Warriors, Changzhou Giants, DAC Rejectors and Regency.

2019 DHL Vientiane 10s Women’s Cup Champions, the Vientiane Lions will return in the women’s senior division alongside the Vientiane Buffalettes and Xieng Khoung RFC from Laos.

The returning Banger Belles will be joined by DAC Weredragons, Made in China and MSU Pretty Crabs, all of which will be competing in Vientiane for the the first time in what promises to be an exciting women’s senior competition. Additionally, 8 U18s boys’ and girls’ teams will compete in the U18s division including Lao teams from the LRF’s newest clubs: the Vientiane Province Gold Crabs and the Kham District Golden Elephants.

“Year after year the competition draws top University and Club teams from across the region for a weekend of rugby,” comments LRF President Mr. Virayouth Rathikoun. “This is set to be the biggest 10s series in the region to date and competition will be fierce.

The LRF is proud to play a role in supporting not only a budding club scene in Laos, but also strong tournament administration and rugby development beyond our borders.”

In Vientiane, visiting teams will also have an opportunity to practice with young Lao players and Coaches from the LRF’s Champa Ban powered by ChildFund Pass It Back teams before kick off and a strong line up of current and former ChildFund Pass It Back Coaches is in place to lead the way for DHL Vientiane 10s tournament administration including lead roles as first aid providers, match officials and in technical management roles.

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