Thailand withstand international baptism by fire

Dubai: Thailand had a tough international baptism as the historic first Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens got underway yesterday, going down to three defeats.

The Asian qualifiers were put to the sword 52-7 by Canada but improved markedly as the day went on, putting in a brave effort in a 12-10 reverse against Brazil - Chitchanok Yusri touching down in each half - before Spain were made to work extremely hard for a 19-12 success.

Head coach Supparut Allapach believes the future is bright for the sport in his country although he added that being able to unearth several tall players would help their cause.

He said: "In terms of our weight and size, we are much smaller than all the other teams.

"It means we play most of the time in defence rather than attack, and have to tackle a lot. But I tell the team that if we tackle and tackle then we will have a chance."

Thailand were one of the surprise packages in the Asian qualification campaign, downing Japan and China to book their flights to Dubai. And Allapach knows that more exposure on the international stage is therefore vital to help grow playing numbers and improve the standard of his team.

"We have about 1,000 players at the moment and the number is increasing. But the age of our side is very young ... six of our girls here are only 18 so this tournament is a big learning experience for them."