Pakistan’s new Welsh rugby coach Roger Coombs said Friday he was looking to develop the game at the grassroots, and suggested he was not overly worried about working in the troubled country.
The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) have hired the Welshman as part of their efforts to boost the game in the country, with the national team due to take part in the Asian Five Nations event in Dubai next month.
It is not easy attracting foreign coaches to Pakistan, where attacks blamed on the Taliban and other Al-Qaeda affiliates are a near-daily menace, and security is a constant worry.
Coombs, 66, is the fourth foreign coach Pakistan have hired following Rambo Leung of Hong Kong, Mike Pirrit of New Zealand and Justin Fitzpatrick of Ireland.
But all the previous coaches had short stints and Pakistan will be hoping the Welshman, who has also worked with teams in Italy, Nigeria and the US, stays longer.
“The first goal would be to win the upcoming Asian Five Nations tournament in Dubai,” Coombs told AFP.
Pakistan were relegated to the fourth tier of the tournament last year but has since launched a competitive Super League in the hope of bringing more structure to the domestic game.
“In my stay in Pakistan I will also be working on development of the game at the grassroots level which hopefully will result in a better future for Pakistan rugby,” said Coombs.
In a country where anything other than cricket struggles to get a look in, the PRU has grown rapidly since it was founded 10 years ago and now boasts more than 3,000 regular players.