Shenyang Agricultural University (SAU) , Liaoning Province, North East China
Rugby in Shenyang Agricultural University started back in 1993, but since the inclusion of Rugby in the Olympics, the University had shifted their focus to Rugby 7’s.
The Asia 1 Million (A1M) GIR meeting with SAU yesterday, saw a renewed interest from SAU to start 15’s rugby alongside with World Rugby’s GIR program and the suite of Training and Education courses offered by World Rugby for the schools 12,000 students.
“We have had rugby for many years in SAU, but our recent focus has been on 7’s, where we select a certain type of player and this limits us in terms of growth. We feel it is time to focus on growing the game even further in SAU, and the Asia 1 Million and World Rugby’s Get Into Rugby program is ideal. 15’s rugby will also help us to be more inclusive in terms of participation, and we want all our students to learn more about this global game and enjoy it!” Mr Ying Director of Sports SAU.
The school currently has 10 boy’s Rugby 7’s teams and 8 girls Rugby 7’s teams. SAU’s immediate plan is to start GIR programs for students and build up both male and female 15’s rugby teams for the school starting this Summer.
SAU will also send all their current players to attend World Rugby Coaching and Match Officiating courses to help develop them further. This will allow seniors to coach and mentor juniors to grow the game faster.
“With the A1M & GIR programs, there is a drive to bring 15’s Rugby back in North East China Universities. The SAU has good facilities and strong support to do this. Discussions are underway with 3 other major Universities in North East China to do the same, and build player pathways which did not exist previously. Training and Education will be key to ensuring that the pathways are well established.
The projected growth will be close to 100,000 new players over the next 3 years.”
Ms Li Dan (Former National 7’s Captain for China and Current A1M Development Officer for North East China)
