Rugby in Pakistan
The emergence of rugby as a game is considered to be the result of mere accident. William Webb Ellis is considered to be the founder of the game. Rugby was invented when William allegedly picked up the ball during a football match in a public school in England and ran towards the opponents’ goal. Although he was punished for the act at that time but later on, William’s violation paved the way for the emergence of a new game which was later named as rugby. So in short, one can say that William’s foul during the game in 1823 led to the emergence of rugby as a sport.
The rules for playing the game are simple. The game is played between two teams of 15 players on the field. Points are scored in several ways. Grounding the ball in the goal area of the opposing team is the most common method which is worth 5 points.
Rugby is an international and historical game around the world today. Nevertheless, the game has very short history in the case of Pakistan. The game was introduced in Karachi during 1920’s by British Naval ship officers visiting the Indian Ocean and Karachi port. In 1927, they introduced the game of rugby to the local employees working with the British Naval staff. During the 1960’s, many fortunate Pakistani players were introduced into the union which was made by the British sailors. With the introduction of these local players, the interest within the game started to develop. The game started its journey towards further development in the region.
During the 1970’s, the British reduced their visits to Karachi which had adverse effect for the development of rugby in the region. Although the Karachi Union of Rugby continued its work but due to lack of resources and poor management, the union was unable to continue its activities. They were unable to go abroad for training which is why the rugby union almost came to an end.
The game resurged during the nineties when a group of British and American nationals established rugby unions in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Rugby Unions in Pakistan were formally established in the year 2000 and Pakistan won the membership of the Asian Rugby Football Union in 2000. The Pakistan National Rugby team was fielded for the first time in 2003.They played a number of international matches against Sri Lanka and India during the same years for the first time in the country’s history. Pakistan became a member of IRB in November 2003.
In November 2004, Pakistan participated in the Asian Championship in Hong Kong. Pakistan also hosted the Asian Championship under-19 in Lahore in 2005. Lahore hosted the Asian Rugby Union Council in 2006.
Rugby today is being brought to the grass root level in Pakistan at the provincial district levels. Schools are the main target areas of the PRU (Pakistan Rugby Association) where rugby is going to be introduced. The under-19 program for the promotion of rugby amongst students is being initiated at the school level and the progress seems to be positive.
The Pakistan Rugby Association in December 2006 conducted a national level event where almost 12-teams participated which included the Pakistan Army, Wapda, Pakistan Police in addition to provincial teams from Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan. However, the lack of sponsors and little media coverage is hampering the exposure of rugby in Pakistan.
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