IRFU member nominated to Tournament Committee of Asian Rugby Union

Mumbai, July 31 (UNI) Aga Hussein, vice-president of the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU), has been nominated on the Tournament Committee of the Asian Rugby Football Union in the Asian Council Meeting held in Brunei recently, according to information received here from IRFU.

According to Hussein, the Tournament Committee has been entrusted with the job of revitalising the game in the Asian circle and they have already come up with a blueprint, which revolves around spreading the game to various countries rather than having it concentrated in a few regions.

Sri Lanka, the hub of Asian Rugby, will no longer continue to be so from 2008, with the Asian format tournament to be played for the last time this year.

One of the suggestions of the Tournament Committee is to have the top five teams seeded in Asia to play against each other on a home and away basis and the tournament will be called the five nations tournament, similar to what the teams in the Northern Hemisphere play, called the six-nations tournament. This will be followed by Division I and Division II, which will comprise teams seeded No 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, 11, 12 and 13 respectively. It was further decided that the balance 12 teams that make up the 25 rugby playing members of ARFU would arrange matches among themselves in their own territory, following which ARFU would decide on a Division III, depending on their preparedness.

According to the new format, India will be placed in Division II along with Malaysia, Thailand and Pakistan. Teams from the five nations tournament as well as Division I and II will get promoted and relegated depending on their performances.

According to Hussein, IRFU will bid for the first Div II tournament in 2008.

UNI