Rugby League Lands in Bali // Fri, 16 Jul 10
Kicking off the month of June, Bali Sports saw the introduction of Rugby League to Indonesia with a 4 day crash course that had representatives from the Australian Rugby League development office visit schools all over Bali.
Even though I’m sure you are aware, let me simply inform any who don’t know, that the great game of rugby comes in two separate forms, Rugby League and Rugby Union. The basis of the spilt lies back in merry old England where Rugby Union was an amateur game (those of you watching England’s recent tour to Australia may well comment that it must still be considered an amateur game in Britain), the simple matter of a dispute in pay meant that teams from the South continued to play, without payment, the game of Rugby Union, whilst teams from the North formed their own professional branch of the sport, dubbed Rugby League.
Nevertheless as a strong advocate of Rugby tradition and a true Southerner it is fair to say that I’m biased to the beautiful game of Union, however even the most ardent of Union fans would agree that it is not the simplest of games. Experimental laws are often introduced and new interpretations of laws seemingly as old as time are forever being discussed and force fed onto coaches and players alike. Professional players still seem to struggle with the complicated nature of the game. So with this in mind it seemed appropriate to the powers that beto introduce rugby LEAGUE to Indonesia in a bid to improve rugby as a whole. League, being a simpler game to play with fewer laws, could be absorbed more easily by the children of Bali who until now had no concept of the game as a whole, let alone it’s varying versions. The tough task has been set, to introduce Rugby League to Bali, and perhaps even to convert a die-hard Union player like myself to a different code of rugby. Enter coaches from the Australian Rugby League stage left.
Now even John the Baptist would have been proud of the way Tim Gee, Tony Ashton and Matt ‘Bubba’ Ryan spread the rugby league gospel. Not satisfied with merely visiting educational institutions and sports clubs, the mighty trio of super coaches were often spotted in Kuta until the early hours of the morning giving detailed instruction to gaggles of females on the proper method of ‘playing the ball’.
Yet before Kuta came Canggu club, where our heroes gave a series of lectures over two days to budding players and trainers alike on coaching methods and the basics of rugby league. Present at the in depth two-day course where representatives from the Ghandi School, BIS, St. Joseph’s, the Tegellalang Tigers, as well as budding coaches from Papua and Singapore. The agenda for the weekend was simple, to build a foundation upon which we all hope the likes of Samuel Ariel and Chandra Priday, two of Bali’s brightest young rugby talents, can take the game to the next level. The course entailed interactive instruction of various coaching methods, demonstration of drills and of course intricate details of the laws of the game. By the end of the weekend I think it was safe to say Indonesia’s future coaches were stuffed to the gills with rugby.
In time the coaching master class moved from Canggu to Tegallalang and ‘The Tigers’, captained by the robust Chandra Priday. The Tigers, who have only recently taken to the concept of rugby, threw themselves into a morning of training with an enthusiasm and a work ethic that should stand them in good stead for a future in rugby. Even former Wallaby prop Matt ‘just one more’ Ryan was able to raise a smile. They don’t make them soft in Tegallalang.
Still with time pressing our nomadic party moved from the jungle home of the Tigers into the all-together more palatable Green School for the afternoon.Unlike the boys from Tegallalang, the boys and girls of the Green School had never played rugby before, let alone Rugby League. Despite this, within a couple of hours history was made, having grasped enough of the basics the kids were able to play a modified match, the first of its kind ever to be played at the Green School. Notable future star Tuna had a fine performance, prompting one of our New South Wales representatives to claim ‘dibs’, it remains to be seen whether Queensland will rue the day the boys from Bali Sports visited the Green School.
And so to the final day of our coaching pilgrimage, and despite turning the grand old age of ‘not quite 40’, Tony Ashton and co were up bright and early, kicking of the final leg of their tour at BIS. The Bali International School was home to some more bright young talents, including one Swiss chap who claimed with a tear in his eye that ‘his mum wouldn’t let him play rugby,’ – ‘Bubba’ merely claimed he’d have words.Still, that was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect morning for rugby. The BIS students absorbed the pointers and lessons bestowed by our Australian visitors and put them to use with gusto. Again going from very little knowledge to a full on game in the space of a couple of hours.
Despite the enthralling matches at BIS our group marched on, to the Ghandi School and the final coaching session of the visit. Once more we were met with children whose knowledge of the game was less than zero. However, what they lacked in technique they more than made up for enthusiasm, the Ghandi School in fact, boasted the highest turnout of the course! Fun and games was the order of the afternoon, incorporating the basic skills of rugby into some friendly competition. Our rugby party must have been doing something right, as before we had time to bid our goodbyes after yet another successful training session we were asked to come back the next day. A definite triumph for the boys from Bali Sports and our friends at the Australian Rugby League.
It still remains to be seen if the great work of Matt, Tim and Tony can have a lasting effect, and it is up to the people of Bali, Bali Sports and the coaching staff and players of this island to ensure that the next steps taken in rugby are positive. Rugby league is starting from the ground up, and as anyone who witnessed the coaching sessions will testify, the potential is definitely there. Whether league is played in its own right, or used as a transitional tool to improve the standings of rugby union, one thing is certain, there are exciting times ahead for Indonesian rugby.
Concluding this article it just leaves me to thank the Australian Rugby League development office, Rodney Holt, Bali Sports, everyone who contributed to the coaching tour, players and coaches alike, the staff at the Green School, BIS and the Ghandi School and finally to our super coaches, Matt ‘Bubba’ Ryan, Tim Gee and Tony ‘not quite 40’ Ashton.
Keep the rugby going folks!