Laos through my eyes – Chris Mastaglio

This article is part of a series of guest blogs contributed by Brits who have lived and worked in Laos, or who have other interesting links to Laos.

I arrived in Laos on a dusty old tuk-tuk rattling down the main road from the Thai border into Vientiane for a 2 week holiday.  Eight years later, I am still here.  This is not an uncommon story in Laos; the country is beautiful, culturally very rich and a fascinating place to work, especially when you are a big rugby fan.

When I first arrived to Laos I heard about a rugby team, the Vientiane Buffalos.  I was so keen to get involved after a 4 year hiatus due to injury and work that I came straight to training from the border and since then, my work with the Lao Rugby Federation has become a big part of my life in Laos.  Playing rugby in the UK was an amazing experience; not only do I love the sport, the places I visited and the people I met have really had a huge impact me.  I have always thought it was important that everyone has the opportunity to share in these experiences by ensuring that everyone has access to sport and play opportunities and this inspired me to start working overseas with NGOs and in my spare time in Laos, to support the Lao Rugby Federation.

Rugby has a history in Laos.  Before 1975, the Lao National Team played all over the region, in fact, the current LRF President, Mr. Virayouth Rathikhoun, met at a recent Asian Rugby Conference, a player from Hong Kong that played against him in Laos in the late 60s!  However, until around 2000 when a group of expats started playing again, rugby in Laos was sleeping.  The Vientiane Buffalos woke up rugby and things have been moving forward ever since.  The Federation now has a thriving schools and community programme, Champa Ban or Blossoming Flowers, which covers children in Vientiane and in the rural north of Laos in Xieng Khouang.  Champa Ban also proudly works to ensure that 50 per cent of participants are girls, which provides additional huge growth potential for the sport.  The Lao PDR now fields national teams for women and men at both fifteens and sevens, including men’s under 20s.  As I have been in Laos for more than 3 years, I have even had the opportunity to play for the Lao National Team in countries as diverse as Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia and recently the UAE; a huge honour and quite an experience for a player that grew up playing on the rainy and cold fields of Newcastle!  The LRF now has a dedicated office, a huge upgrade from my living room, and staff and coaches work tirelessly to grow the sport and improve the standard.

The appetite for the sport is huge and big steps have been made, but it has been hard work.  Resources for sports in Laos are very difficult to come by, especially for a sport that many do not know a great deal about and the lack of facilities is always a challenge.  My job here is working with an Australian NGO, ChildFund Australia, so I am acutely aware that many of these challenges are usurped by those of nutrition, education and healthcare access in rural communities, but even in those communities facing challenges around basic needs and services, the appetite for rugby is strong!