› Hadden's HSBC global coaching journey brings him to the UAE

› Singapore kids get in on the A5N excitement

› Old hands help young blood at A5N Youth Rugby Festival

› First HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festival scores in Dubai

Hadden's HSBC global coaching journey brings him to the UAE

Former Scotland Head Coach Frank Hadden this week arrived in the UAE as he reached the half way point in his epic HSBC Asian 5 Nations grass roots journey.  Hadden and his fellow HSBC Penguins have embarked on a massive 12 country, three month coaching tour of Asia as part of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations tournament.  Setting off from Hong Kong at the launch of this year’s HSBC Asian 5 Nations in March, Hadden has so far coached hundreds of children and adults in Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Korea and China before arriving in Dubai yesterday.  Today he and his team spent time with children from the Mohamed Noor and Al-Ahmadiya Schools.

The HSBC Asian 5 Nations will return to Dubai this week when home side the Arabian Gulf take on South Korea at 7he Sevens on Friday night.  Adding to the developmental aims of the tournament the Arabian Gulf v Korea match will be preceded by a special curtain-raiser featuring the national teams of Jordan and Lebanon in their first ever test matches.  As title sponsor of the A5N, HSBC is committed to the development of the game throughout Asia, and is supporting Hadden’s coaching journey with the aim of encouraging as many children to play the game as possible.

   Hadden, who coached Scotland for four years, said, “Being an HSBC A5N Coach has been a fantastic experience so far.  Everywhere we go children are just enjoying learning the game and trying a sport which to nearly all of them is new and unknown.  The HSBC coaching programme that we are delivering in partnership with the Asian 5 Nations tournament is acting as a catalyst for spreading the game to new audiences across Asia.  We are coaching children as well as teachers and coaches so that when we leave these adults can continue the work and keep the youngsters playing the game.”

Hadden was speaking at Sala-hu-deen Hall, where 50 under 12 children from two schools took part in a coaching clinic.   Hadden said, “This morning we coached a group of young local children some of whom had never seen a rugby ball before.  We gave them a basic introduction to the game, and it didn’t take long for them to get to grips with the basic skills and really start enjoying it.”

 Once he leaves the UAE, Hadden will continue his journey visiting Tokyo, New Delhi, Jakarta and Cambodia before returning to his native Scotland in June.

Singapore kids get in on the A5N excitement

May 7th 2010

In parallel with the excitement of the 2010 HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division I Tournament more than 150 young rugby players got the chance to hone their skills at the HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festival in Singapore, thanks to the generous support of A5N title sponsors HSBC and tournament organizers ARFU.

The Singapore clinic continued the innovative youth coaching format – begun in Hong Kong earlier in the year – that is fast becoming a hallmark of the Asian 5 Nations series.  The Youth Rugby clinics complement the glamour of the top-level contests with a precious investment of time and experience by today’s rugby ambassadors in the players of tomorrow.

 In keeping with HSBC’s support for rugby across different cultures and communities, the workshops were filled with the spirit of the game, as young players and newcomers benefited from the deep experience of former Scotland head coach Frank Hadden and his team of HSBC Penguins and HSBC A5N coaches together with the captains of the participating test nations: Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei.

 On the game days, around 100 young players put their rugby skills on display in a series of youth matches, further enabling grassroots rugby to strengthen the game in local communities across Asia.

 Alongside the youth coaching were a coach-the-coaches clinic with Frank Hadden and an elite training course for ARFU A-panel referees.  Saturday’s finals were kicked off with the first ever women’s test match held as part of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations series with Malaysia pipping Singapore 10-5 in a match that had to be aborted due to lighting storms early in the second half.

Old hands help young blood at A5N Youth Rugby Festival

23 March 2010

It was a case of old rivals coming together on the pitch to help youngsters in Hong Kong today as Rory Underwood, Gavin Hastings and Frank Hadden joined forces to coach over 150 Chinese and expatriate children in the build up to this year’s HSBC Asian 5 Nations.

Former England winger Rory Underwood took to the pitch with Hastings, who was his British & Irish Lions captain in 1993.  The two were often on opposing sides for England and Scotland during their careers, but put all former rivalry aside today.

Underwood said, “It is always a pleasure to come back to Asia - especially if it is Asia plus rugby! Rivalries have been firmly put to one side today - I have been here today with Gavin to make sure these kids get out there, really enjoy themselves and develop a genuine love of the game.”

At an HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festival staged at the Hong Kong Football Club today, 150 boys and girls from across Hong Kong and over here from China were put through their paces by the former professionals. Speaking at the event, Frank Hadden, HSBC A5N Coach said, "It is absolutely right that HSBC and the Asian Five Nations are investing in the development of the game here and I’m really happy to come back to the grass roots of the sport as a coach. As part of the HSBC A5N programme, I’ll be delivering a mixture of youth coaching and coach education clinics to leave a sustainable legacy in emerging rugby nations across Asia. I see myself as a ‘coach doctor’ and am really looking forward to the next four months. The exciting pace of activity bodes well for the future of the game in this part of the world”.

Hastings has been involved with the HSBC Rugby Festivals programme for several years, having helped coached thousands of children across the UK and Ireland under HSBC’s sponsorship of the British & Irish Lions Tour last year.  He shared Frank’s view that enjoyment is vital to the future growth of the sport in the region. “I’ve been here today with my old teammate and A5N ambassador Rory Underwood as well as fellow HSBC Ambassador John Kirwan, sharing some of the skills we once had with these kids! The most important thing about rugby at this level is that the children have fun and we’ve had a lot of that today. On a serious front, the HSBC A5N youth rugby programme is reaching out to new parts of the region and will be fundamental in spreading the game to many more people.”

Asked on what it was like to play alongside former rival Underwood, Hastings added, “It has been good fun to be on the field with Rory again – he is still pretty quick!  Hopefully one of things we have helped demonstrate to the kids here today is that rugby is about teamwork and friendship - even though Rory and I were playing against each other for our countries, we are still friends off the pitch and look forward to catching up.”

Giles Morgan, HSBC Group Head of Sponsorship said, “All our sponsorships around the world look to give something back to local communities and today’s A5N Youth Rugby Festival is the first of a series under the HSBC Asian 5 Nations that we are supporting to develop the game throughout this part of the world.” Further A5N Youth Rugby Festivals will take place in April and May around the Hong Kong v Korea game (24 April) and Hong Kong v Kazakhstan game (8 May). “Asia is a cradle for the future growth of rugby and that is a future in which we are investing,” added Morgan.

First HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festival scores in Dubai

28 Feb 2010

The first ever HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festival, held in Dubai in the UAE, was widely acclaimed as a great success - despite the uncomfortable appearance of the fierce desert wind known as a shamal.

With the support of the ARFU and sponsors HSBC, the festival took place 19-20 February at the new purpose-built rugby stadium, The Sevens. It attracted 115 teams and 1700 players – from under-6 to under-18, including boys and girls. Teams came from across the UAE but also Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Russia, Kuwait and Azerbaijan.

In addition to the games played, more than 200 youngsters enjoyed hands-on guidance from guest coaches, whose presence was made possible through the generous support of A5N sponsor HSBC. Participants and organisers praised the work of the coaches, who worked tirelessly and enthusiastically putting the young players through their paces.

Organiser Holly Millward declared that the event had been even better than they had anticipated. Plans for next year’s Dubai HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festival are already under way, and it is hoped to attract more teams and more players, for even greater enjoyment of rugby.