Friends Of STAR

Baron Pierre de Coubertin the father of modern Olympics was the first author that used Rugby as an ‘Education Tool’.

I remember back in the late 80s / early 90s before the era of professionalism, top rugby players from Oxford and Cambridge were offered jobs (and to play rugby) in Japan.

The phrase ‘Rugby is a Hooligan’s game played by Gentleman’ are well said by most of the rugby players in Malaysia without understanding what that phrase means.

Let us start with the history of rugby, when William Webb Ellis ran with  the ball during a match football at Rugby School … I bet most of us knows that bit of rugby history by now and I cease to continue.

However a lot of us are unaware of 2 schisms that happened in rugby that changed the direction of Rugby Union to what it is now.

The first one which happened on 26^th October 1863 at the Freemason’s Tavern, Great Queen Street, on Lincoln Inn Field in London, and the other happened on 27^th August, 1895 at George Hotel in Huddersfield, England.

The first split was during the formation of Football Association which was the known as Cambridge Rules football. Then on 4^th December 1870, Rugby Union was formed.

Rugby during that time has always been played by the upper middle class lads with strong Old Boys’ ties.

However, when two Yorkshire clubs, Bradford and Leeds, compensated some of their players for missing work, it was the started another split in the Union. Rugby Union emphasized on the strict rules of amateurism after the split with Football Association.

When the teams up north (which was represented by industrial workers) started to beat their counterpart from Southwest country (represented by mainly Gentlemen), RFU sanctioned these clubs for paying their players.

These Clubs from the north also complained that RFU was over represented by the people of the Southwest of England.

So in 1895, 21 clubs from the North part of England set up their own Union which was called The Northern Union. They played the rules of Rugby Union at first, but changed their rules in 1907 and called themselves Rugby League.

Rugby union was declared "open" in August 1995 - almost exactly 100 years after the original split occurred - meaning that professionalism has been permitted in both rugby codes since that date. However, while the professional-amateur divide remained in force, there was originally very limited crossover between the two codes, the most obvious occasions being when top-class rugby union players 'switched codes' to rugby league in order to play professionally. Welsh international Jonathan Davies was a high-profile example of this switch.

Since professionalism has been allowed in Rugby Union, the switches have started to come the opposite way. Union has swiftly grown to embrace the professional game with many League players joining union to take a slice of the larger amounts of money available in the sport.

Personally, I missed the good old amateur days. Rugby was simpler then. There was no need for a post game review. If you lose you lose, but what matters most was “how fast can you down the green can on the 3^rd half of the game”. That was the advice given to me by the late Ibrahim Busu on my debut game for Cobra against the Dalmatians of RSC.

Rugby has created an awesome network for me too.

Once in Singapore, whilst having a Big Mac at Bugis Street, a South African tourist who was sitting next to me asked me am I a rugby player (no … not my body … I wish .. seriously), because he saw me wearing my Club’s jersey. He was wondering where to watch the Tri Nation, and we ended up watching the Tri Nation as the Buck’s watering hole at Clark Quay.

Like what I said before, that kind of camaraderie is missing in this highly competitive era of professional rugby.

In the Amateur years, rugby was played by professionals but they don’t play the game professionally. They were surgeon, barristers, dentists, architect … and other professionals donning the national colors.

Mark (my partner) who was a Cambridge Blues Player told me that the Blues first XV then was like the best of the world with the likes of David Kerk, Hasting Brothers, Rob Andrew … etc.

Even the Malaysian players back then were full of ‘who’s who’.

So what is missing in Malaysian Rugby in this modern era?

A lot of good rugby players in good schools quit rugby at 17, because the pressure (by their parents) that a degree is more important than the game. Why can’t we mix both together?

I’m a parent myself; I wouldn’t want my sons to waste their time on something that wouldn’t benefit them. However, if rugby can guarantee their future, I’ll watch their every game.

This partnership program between STAR and Bryanston is beneficial to the boys and the school. We are using rugby as a tool to enhance education in and outside the classroom.

I’ve proposed a 4 months attachment program for STAR rugby players who excel in academic in England, from September till December. This is England school’s rugby season. Then when they report back to STAR in January, their playing level have gone up a few notches, as they have trained and played with some of the best school rugby players in the whole of England.

I believe that they will also improve their English communication skills too. Balik dari England … semua nanti ‘speaking London’. Imagine all three English Debaters are also the school's rugby player. That'll be awesome. This is what boarding school is all about, creating all rounder students.

So can we now convince the parents of STAR that the kids should play rugby? If I’ve got sons there … I bloody will !!!

p/s: The Irony of it, is that 99% of the top boarding / public independent school in England doesn't have a football team.