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Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) achieved two historical highs in June 2022 with the first being their memorable win in the Asia Rugby Division 2 men’s fifteens tournament, which qualifies them to play in the Asia Rugby Division 1 tournament in 2023 alongside the likes of Philippines, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

The second high the PRU achieved was hosting the World Rugby Educator course. This was held the week after the division 2 tournament. The course saw 13 participants from all over Pakistan and 1 participant from Bangladesh Rugby Federation across all four strands (Coaching/Officiating/S&C & Medical) being signed off as World Rugby Educators for their Union. The new Educators delivered their first courses on Sunday 19th June across all the four strands to 28 participants.

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Since 2016, PRU had only had Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Malik (Educator in the Coaching strand) and Dr. Moshin Aziz (FAIR Educator 2018) delivering courses within the country. The injection of 13 new Educators puts the Union in a strong position to grow the game across the country, and this is aligned to the goal of developing self-sustainability in terms of Training & Education.

Quotes:

“This was a fantastic week of Training & Education for PRU, never before in the history of the Union have we hosted such a high level course, and we are thankful to World Rugby & Asia Rugby for the support. Having 13 new Educators across the four strands means that we can grow the game even better and faster. We are excited and confident that we can support the growth & development of Rugby in Pakistan with more qualified Coaches, Match Officials, Medics and S&C coaches. This will help strengthen our development pathways and ultimately our National teams.” Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Malik (Head of Development, Pakistan Rugby Union)

“Words cannot describe the feelings I have after completing the S&C Educator course. Being a passionate sportsman myself, this is the missing link in my career and in our union. Thanks to World Rugby and Asia Rugby for providing us such a wonderful learning experience which will add a huge value to Pakistan rugby. The course was full of knowledge and learnings and as a sports science professional, I am very sure that this will have a huge impact on the local rugby fraternity and stakeholders associated with Pakistan Rugby. This is undoubtedly one of the best experience in my life so far, thanks to all the Trainers who worked tirelessly throughout the week.” Mr. Muhammad Abdullah (Director Sports and Student Affairs) University of Management & Technology, Lahore

“Since delivering my first course in Pakistan in 2018, I’ve seen great improvements from the returning coaches in 2022. All participants were enthusiastic and passionate, and their desire to upskill themselves in order to give back to the community is amazing to witness. This is something all others should strive towards. Many thanks to the Pakistan Rugby Union for supporting the World Rugby T&E Superweek, this will help bring the Union to greater heights!” Lewis Chua World Rugby S&C Trainer (P)

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