RUGBY, anyone?

Rugby may not be as popular as basketball or volleyball, but it is one sport where the Filipinos can also excel.

The reason?

Ask Philippine Rugby Football Union president Ada Milby.

“I believe rugby is really a sport for the Filipinos. With the right training and proper motivation, we can excel in this sport,” said Milby during the “Usapang Sports on Air” by the Tabloids Organization in Philippine Sports (TOPS) via Zoom last Thursday.

“In rugby, you don’t need height. You don’t need heft. You just need to be really, really fast and to be able to run past the other guys out of the field. You just need to be matapang,” added Milby during the weekly public service program sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and Games and Amusements Board (GAB).

Milby, considered as the “Poster Girl” of Philippine rugby for almost two decades now, hopes to encourage more young people to try rugby not only in the country but the whole Asia as well.

“It’s funny but when I talked to kids in the far-flung provinces in Visayas and Mindanao and I asked them to do rugby with me, they are laughing because they think it’s drugs,” said Milby.

“So I tell them don’t use rugby, play rugby.”

On May 6, Milby hopes to make rugby history when she hopes to become the first woman elected to the powerful Executive Committee of the World Rugby.

As Asia Rugby’s Women’s Advisory Committee Chair, Milby champions initiatives for equitable competition pathways.

Seen as a role model for her outstanding career in rugby management, she has overseen doubling the number of Women on Asia Rugby’s Exco and achieving female representation across all Asia Rugby committees.

“The impacts of COVID on the current environment coupled with pre-existing challenges to sport such as digital and technological disruptions, highlight the need to increase participation through innovative solutions and develop strong competitions in emerging markets for the long-term sustainability of the Game,” said the 37-year-old Milby.

Milby claimed efforts to reach out to more people in the countryside are already gaining ground when the pandemic struck.

“It’s really a shame that this pandemic hit us hard. It’s really a challengng time. Like many of the other amateur sports in the country, especially those classified as contact sports, we can’t get anything going. Even just to get the minimum requirement of players is quite challenging for us. We are spending the time to re-evaluate our governance structures,” admitted Milby, who succeeded Rick Santos as PRFU president only last December.

“We’re now looking at innovative ways to engage our rugby community, like online workouts for some of our athletes. I think some of the other NSAs are also doing the same. We’re also looking at how we can do other activities like online.

“I know that the Philippine Olympic Committee is looking at potential vaccinations for some of the athletes. We’re are also exploring these options to see how we can try to accelerate the return-to-play process and hopefully, there would be some guidelines released from the IATF on what it would be like for athletes who are vaccinated to return to training.”

Milby, who holds the distinction as the first female to join the men’s American football team during high school, also claimed Filipinos have done well in world rugby.

“We’re probably one of most successful team sports in the Philippines at the moment. If you look at international federations, our men’s 7s team are ranked at the Top 50. I’m not sure if any other sports in the country can claim that they’re in the Top 50 of their international federations.”

“In the last Southeast Asian Games in Manila, our men’s team captured the gold medal and our women’s team took the silver.”

“It is just unfortunate that there is no rugby competitions in the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam. I think Vietnam does not have a rugby federation so it is not included in the calendar. But we’re hoping for Cambodia in 2023.”

Milby also dismissed the notion that rugby football is a dangerous sport.

“Is rugby a dangerous sport? I have been asked that question a lot. And I guess, it’s like asking if boxing is a dangerous sport? Is wrestling a dangerous sport? All sports have risk factor for injury.

But I think what makes sport different from each other or what makes rugby stands out is that we have such a strong emphasis on safety,” explained Milby.

“We make sure to introduce the players first to non-contact rugby. We take them through the basics, like on how to fall. It is really important to us that we don’t just throw you out there and say go hit each other. It’s like saying to a muay thai fighter to just go and kick somebody as hard as you can. There are safety techniques.”

“That’s why it is important to educate the people. Rugby may look chaotic at times, but it’s really a safe sport.”

One of the steps being taken by the PRFU is to talk to various groups on how to properly introduce rugby to the people.

“We still have a long way to go. But the PRFU is talking to the Department of Education and even the local government units.”

“We have so much talent in the regions outside Metro Manila or even Luzon. Over the last few years, we have a lot of focused efforts in Mindanao, especially in Davao. We’re doing small-pilot program there and we had a lot of success with the help of teachers.”

The UAAP, the country’s leading collegiate league, is another option.

“We want to get into the UAAP, although it’s really a challenge right now because even the UAAP is struggling to get the current sports season going due to the pandemic.”

“We’re looking at how we can best introduce rugby in the provinces. Maybe a non-contact 3-on-3 rugby that could be played on a basketball court. With the help of the LGUS and barangays, we can remove the barriers and allow more kids to play rugby.”

What will it take to bring rugby football to the next level?

“We need to get more partners. As you know, we’re still a young sport compared to basketball and volleyball. Some of the others have been around for a long time and our NSA is only around for about 25 years now. So we’re a little bit behind the learning curve.”

If elected to the World Rugby Council, Milby will carry the hopes of the entire Asian continent on her shoulders.

But Milby, who is so used to blazing trails all her life, is ready for the new challenge.