United Asian team take major stride forward

A mixed team of Pakistani and Indian players combined yesterday with the Emerging Nations' World Cup in their sights. The South Asia Bulls might have lost their three group matches in the Golden Jubilee Rugby League Festival at York to teams from Paris, Teesside and Cork, but their founder, Ikram Butt, one of the few Asians to succeed at a professional level in the sport, believes that an important start has been made.

Afterwards, Butt admitted: "Both the Indian and Pakistani communities are short of role models in rugby and football. Hopefully, this will send out some positive messages.''

Butt's roots, and those of most of his team, are in Pakistan, but there were also three Indians in yesterday's line-up. The dispute thousands of miles away over Kashmir was not an issue.

Their line-up would have been stronger if Junaid Malik, the leading Asian player in amateur rugby league, had not been with the Barla international side in France and Sarfraz Patel, who plays in the Northern Ford Premiership with Chorley, had not been suspended.

"But it was good for a start,'' Butt said, "Our aim now is to play in the Emerging Nations' World Cup and also take the team to play promotional matches in some highly Asian areas.''

The tournament attracted well over 1,000 spectators – the sort of crowd most NFP clubs would be delighted with – to watch sides from Edinburgh, Glasgow, North Wales, Cardiff, Dublin and Belfast, among other unlikely rugby league hotbeds, as well as from the Army, RAF and Royal Marines.

The Fairfax Cup was won by London Koogas who beat Lezignon 20-14 in the final. The Koogas, composed of players from Rugby League Conference clubs in the capital, lost their first group game but forced their way through, eventually beating the local side, the York Ironsides, in extra-time in the semi-final.

Apart from nurturing the game in some unexpected areas, the competition should also act as a catalyst for attempts to revive a professional club in York, following its collapse earlier this year.

Steve Ferres, the chief executive of the proposed new club, said: "This was an encouragement for the whole city and proves that rugby league here is alive and well. We've got to be positive and optimistic after this."

* The Wakefield coach, Peter Rowe, fears that he will lose his young centre Ben Westwood to Warrington, as well as half-back Nathan Wood. The two teams meet on Sunday in what is sure to be a highly-charged relegation battle.