The International Rugby Board (IRB) and Asian Rugby Football Union’s decision to radically alter the nature of competition in the region is a welcome declaration, albeit slightly late in the day if one wanted to be ultra-critical.

Yet, as recent news filtered through of the launch of an Asian Five Nations tournament this April, it is best to rely on the proverb ‘better late than never’ when regarding this new dawn for the sport in the East.

The potential market for rugby is huge in an emerging sports-hungry region saturated with soccer, and where other sports have already tried to grab a larger foothold. Golf, for instance, has made a huge impact in China and India over recent years.

International rugby union’s administrators are finally reacting to the challenge of raising the sport’s profile in Asia, although it can be argued that they should have been more pro-active to help pave the way for expansion some time ago.

The Asian Rugby Football Union has been aided with an IRB grant of US$500,000 to help restructure its competitions, but if playing and coaching standards, participation and support are to improve across what is a vast region, a lot more money will need to be invested in the future.

Nevertheless, the Asian Five Nations is a start and the tournament has already found a big brand sponsor in the form of HSBC. Increased television coverage will also broadcast rugby union into the homes of a potential audience that will no doubt leave marketing and commercial managers salivating.

According to Mark Egan, head of the IRB’s rugby services, the aim of the new tournament is to “promote and raise awareness of the game in the region at all levels”, in addition to showing the IRB’s commitment to “increasing global playing standards”.

The results of this initiative may take some time to bear fruit but, in the hands of a regional union that has witnessed rapid growth in recent years, the foundations for a successful rugby union future in Asia are now being firmly embedded.

And, by including all 25 Asian rugby unions in a tournament structure that will incorporate promotion and relegation, competition and playing standards should visibly get better over the coming years.

This notion of promotion and relegation is without doubt the jewel in the Asian Five Nations’ crown and, if successful, there will be no reason not to argue for the installation of a similar system in the European Six Nations competition – opening up the game to European fringe nations and demanding some consistency from the IRB on the issue of increasing global playing standards.

The 2008 Asian Five Nations will involve Japan, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Korea and the Arabian Gulf. Below this will be two further Divisions of teams aiming to become part of future Asian Five Nations tournaments.

For this inaugural season, China, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and Sri Lanka will form Division One, while India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand will form Division Two. The winners of Division One and Division Two will be promoted and the bottom-placed teams in the Five Nations and Division One will be relegated.

Allied to these leagues, four regional competitions will also take place during the coming year with some matches doubling up as World Cup qualifiers. Qatar will host Macau and Mongolia; Guam will host Brunei and the Philippines; Indonesia will host Cambodia and Laos; and Kyrgyzstan will host Iran and Uzbekistan.

Revamping the existing competition is a bold, but inevitable, move if the sport is to ultimately grow and succeed in Asia. The new structure is a daring blueprint for improving standards amongst emerging nations and introducing rugby union to a new audience.

With the European Six Nations ending in March, inquisitive eyes will be looking east in April for what should be a fascinating new season for international Asian rugby.

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