There was a distinctly international flavour to the recent Hertfordshire Coaching Conference held at the University of Hertfordshire.

In conjunction with the Hertfordshire Rugby Football Union, the Herts Sports Partnership organised a Tag Rugby course delivered by the county’s Rugby Development Manager, South African born Peter Engledow.

Much to the organiser’s surprise, two Eastern European candidates, Arvis Pilenieks and Martins Straume, showed up from Riga, sponsored by the Latvian Rugby Union.

Joining them was University of Hertfordshire exchange student Jesse Zoller from Oklahoma, keen to develop her rugby knowledge and skills so that she can spread the word when she returns to her native USA later this year.

Event organiser Rob Hardwick, Coaching Development Manager with the Herts Sports Partnership said “The Tag Rugby course was a pleasant reminder of how this great game of ours can transcend national boundaries and bring people from all over the world into our rugby family.

We presented our Latvian visitors with tag rugby equipment and they contacted us earlier this week to tell us that they are already implementing a Tag Rugby programme within their local schools.”

The Tag Rugby course was one of 96 separate programmes that made up the Hertfordshire Coach Education Week, which attracted some 700 coaches throughout the weeklong event.