This weekend Brunei hosts the second leg of the Asian Rugby Sevens Series, the new tournament designed to strengthen rugby standards throughout the entire region.
One month ago in Shanghai nine of the region's top teams competed for the first title, with Korea coming out on top by beating Japan in the final.
"It started with a real bang and the interesting thing that came out of Shanghai was that there were five teams who could have won it," said Jarrad Gallagher, IRB Regional Development Manager for Asia.
"In the end Korea won, Japan came second, Hong Kong the bronze but there was also Chinese Taipei and the hosts China themselves. So what that means is that right from the start of the Series there are five teams that could go on and win it.
With the Hong Kong Sevens having blazed a trail over the past 30 years, the sport is not new to the member unions of the Asian Rugby Football Union and enthusiasm has been high for the new Series, which runs from September through to November and concludes shortly before the start of the IRB Sevens World Series.
"It's something that has been talked about for some time, and been called different names, but it's been a real challenge for the Asian Rugby Football Union to go out there and create a Sevens Series," said Gallagher.
"The challenge was given to us by the IRB to put a suitable pathway in place, and once we did that they pledged to fully support us, which they have."
The result was a significant show of hands and a willingness on the part of many nations to host Series events. Indonesia expressed interest, as did Singapore and Thailand, but in the end six events were chosen in Shanghai, Subic, Brunei, Borneo, Iran and Sri Lanka.
With Subic having dropped out of the Series, this weekend's Brunei event offers a second chance, this time to five of the region's developing rugby nations: Malaysia, India, Philippines, Laos and hosts Brunei.
Sevens: Mass appeal
The Series has also been given a significant boost by the IOC's decision to include Sevens in the Olympic Games in 2016 and 2020. With local Olympic and government backing, there is even talk in some quarters of Sevens overtaking 15s in terms of mass appeal.
"It's an interesting question and now, in the wake of the IOC decision, is going to be a very interesting time for us," admitted Gallagher.
"I think personally that it's an unknown quantity, but I do think that there is simply going to be a greater demand for rugby of all sorts to be played by all kinds of people.
"The good thing about rugby is that it is a game for all shapes and sizes. Sevens at the top end is a real high performance area where you need to be fit, fast and skilled.
"You can still play Sevens if you're slow and unfit, but I think people will carry on wanting to just play rugby. At the top end of the pyramid there might be a slight change of emphasis, where that goes more to Sevens, but at the participation level I think we'll continue to see all kinds of people just want to play the Game.
Asia set to take on the world
Whichever way Asian rugby develops, Gallagher is confident that the inception of its own Sevens Series could soon have a marked effect on the teams, and their place in the world order.
"I really believe that will be the case," he said. "We've already got six tournaments, next year we'll have India knocking on the door with their test event for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, so we're providing a great platform for our Asian teams to have competitive matches on a regular basis in a format that's similar to the IRB Sevens World Series, so I really think that in the space of one or two years we will see a marked improvement.
"Couple that with the Olympic decision and what that brings to countries like China, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, and it's exciting times."
2009 Asian Rugby Sevens Series
Shanghai Sevens, China - September 12-13
Subic Sevens, Philippines - October 10-11 (not part of the 2009 Series)
Brunei Sevens - October 24-25
Borneo Sevens, Kota Kinabalu - October 31 - November 1
Kish Island Sevens, Iran - November 20-22
Sri Lanka Sevens, November 28-29.
Jarrad Gallagher was talking with Total Rugby
