Something to build on

"What a day, bro! Twelve hours ... traveling, coaching, traveling, coaching, but it was worth it," sighed Dean Herewini as he settled into a large, cushioned hotel chair and took his first sip of red wine on Thursday evening.

The burly Kiwi and two fellow rugby coaches, Singaporean Ismail Kadir and former New Zealand sevens player Chad Tuoro, had just returned from a journey that took them to two very different schools a fair way from their "home base" of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island.

"The skill level and the enthusiasm at the first school (Pengiran Omar II) was quite high as they have been going at it (rugby) for about four years now. The numbers that turned up was great and it made our jobs a lot easier," said Herewini, a former coach of the Malaysian national team.

A group of 50-plus youngsters, some of them barefooted, turned out.

"The (wet) pitch didn't deter them at all those kids, they just want to play games," he said. "Hopefully, the coaches at the school can build on that."

The second stop was a juvenile penitentiary called Henry Gurney School, and the New Zealander, who has traveled extensively throughout Asia promoting the sport at schools with the assistance of HSBC and the Asian Rugby Football Union, said he didn't know what to expect.

"I just started off by asking the boys how many had played rugby before and one (of 20) raised his hand. Beforehand, we wondered what kind of reactions we would get and whether there would be any disciplinary problems.

"But, they were just as enthusiastic as any other school we had been to. We had no problems with them. They were willing to learn, they were very athletic and showed great hand-eye coordination. We tried to keep them away from physical contact, but they went at it - fairly - in the practice match at the end of the session.

"Today, I feel, we started something from nothing and now the trick is to keep it going. That's our main problem - keeping the momentum at schools and institutions going. There needs to be a consistent level of coaching for kids and some of the schools we visit are a long way from the main centers - like Kota Kinabalu here."

Asked which session he enjoyed most, Herewini did not hesitate.

"The last one. I think they also learned some life skills as well as a game today. They had fun, but they also learned about teamwork, discipline and respect. That's what they told me after the session.

"I know it's a hardship situation here but they were just like any normal school and hopefully we helped them learn just a little more about themselves today and maybe that will help them leave that place one day with a smile on their face."