Asia’s first national rugby academy to be set up in Singapore

14 March 2008, Singapore - Standard Chartered Bank and the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) announced a landmark sponsorship agreement that will see the establishment of Asia's first National Rugby Academy. Its aim – to groom the nation's best age group players from 13 to 21.

National ruggers who will benefit from the new academy. From left to right: Benjamin Fong from Temasek Polytechnic, Ajay Pandey from Singapore Polytechnic and Harresh Krishnan from Temasek Polytechic. (Photo courtesy of SRU)

The Standard Chartered National Rugby Academy (SCNRA) was unveiled at a press conference held at the SRU Offices at Toa Payoh Swimming Complex, with Gene Tong named as the Academy's manager. Selected players from schools and clubs will be drafted into five national age group tiers. The SCNRA will be the first of its kind in Asia to provide elite coaching and player development tailored to age, physical development and the rigours of the Singapore education system.

"The Standard Chartered National Rugby Academy aims to educate players in all aspects of elite participation, from strength and conditioning to nutrition, in a professional structure while taking into account the other considerations Singaporean sportsmen have, such as studies and National Service," said Low Teo Ping, President of the Singapore Rugby Union. "Youth is the future of sport, and everyone recognises it, and the Standard Chartered National Rugby Academy will provide the nucleus to make Singapore to be a consistently dominant rugby force in South East Asia and competitive in Asia. We would like to go on record in thanking Standard Chartered Bank not only for their support in this exciting new initiative but also for their continued support of our youth programmes."

The newly appointed Academy manager, Gene Tong, is no stranger to youth rugby development, having spent the last six years coaching the St Andrew's family of schools' rugby teams at a variety of levels. He has also coached the National Women's rugby team until recently and holds IRB and ARU coaching accreditation.

Explaining Standard Chartered Bank’s involvement, Chief Executive Lim Cheng Teck said that the bank "believes that the ethos of the game - leadership, team spirit, courage, sportsmanship, and friendship – builds strong character and helps young people succeed in life. We are confident that the Standard Chartered National Rugby Academy, will take the sport to new heights and help build up a pipeline of talent for both the local rugby scene and for Singapore."

Standard Chartered Bank will also renew its sponsorship of youth rugby development in schools for a 3 year period, continuing the support it has given since 1997.