Despite the national side’s 25-7 defeat to India in the third-place playoff in the Asian Five Nation (A5N) Division III West tournament in Lahore, Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) official Rizwan Malik believes that hosting the event was a success in itself.
At one point, we were thinking about cancelling the tournament, but I’m glad we managed to pull it off, Malik, the organising head for the event that featured teams from Lebanon, Uzbekistan and India besides the hosts, told The Express Tribune. Every day was a challenge for us, since security was of grave concern. The teams were here and they were aware of the situation in the country, but we reassured them about their wellbeing and the security agencies of Pakistan also supported us.
Meanwhile, Indian manager Nasser Hussain, who has stayed back to conduct a three-day International Rugby Board course, said that his players had been pleased with their stay in Pakistan. We were welcomed very warmly, and it was comfortable here, said Hussain, who had to play for his team after several Army players from India had not been given clearance from their authorities to travel to Pakistan.