A family that plays together stays together, it is said, and it is no different in Rugby. Kudos and much respect not only to the Rugby players of all age groups but also to the parents and family members that coach Junior Rugby, carpool everyone to games, volunteer as referees and officials and also to all those at the thousands of Rugby Clubs around the globe that make our Game so great! Indonesia Rugby also boasts a multitude of Rugby families that have contributed to the development and growth of our game in different capacities throughout the years.
The Nye Family Trio comes to mind foremost, with the late Alan Nye being a tremendous proponent of Rugby in Indonesia through his sponsorship and support of Junior and Women’s Rugby development even when in the very beginnings, there were only a handful of players that played. Alan’s sons David and Steven continue to be active to this day, David having volunteered as National Development Officer for Indonesian Rugby and coached several Rugby Clubs in Indonesia with Steven supporting social and veteran Rugby still.
The earliest Jakarta Chapter of Rugby family ties must go to The Nugroho Cousins with Andrew Nugroho
being one of the founders of Indonesian Rugby Development back in 2004 along with Richard and Daniel
Nugroho being active members in Jakarta Banteng and Jakarta Komodo Clubs. In Papua, the Rugby families of Joku and Deda include past and present Rugby stalwarts such as Nico & Theo Joku along with George Deda and their extended family and friends. Together they have contributed to Rugby in Papua for over two decades and their effort has seen the number of players in Papua continue to increase from year to year.
Agus and Jess Djamhoer is another example of a family love affair with Rugby. Agus is the Indonesian
Rugby Union’s Vice Chairman for Rugby Development and Jess is in charge of Women’s Rugby. As a medical professional, Jess is also trained in Rugby medical protocol and can often be seen managing the medical team for countless of games in Indonesia. The couple recently took the Komodo Junior Girls team to Hong Kong to participate in the The Black Dog Consultants All Girls Beach Festival, another milestone for all their hard work as they shared the joy of Rugby with the girls which for many was their first ever Rugby tour abroad.
In Bali, Indonesian Rugby has Kurt and Faiz Lovell who between them have been everything from field
medics, XVs and Sevens coach, Rugby Development Coordinators in three different Regencies and also Chairperson of the Bali Rugby Union. With their team of dedicated Rugby proponents including Dharma, Wira and Rhys, Kurt and Faiz show great dedication to spreading Rugby throughout Indonesia’s Island of the Gods. At the height of the Jonas’ Brothers popularity, Indonesian Rugby also boasted its own version of the clean-cut lads in the form of real life brothers Steven and Justin Field along with their “as-good- if-not-better-than- real-brothers”, Scott and Brandon Atkinson. These Indonesian Rugby Jonases have all earned Caps in the National XVs and 7s squads and along with their respective fathers Simon Field and Chris Atkinson are active in sponsoring the Indonesian Rhinos XVs and Banteng Rugby Club through Worldwide Petroleum Services (WPS) and Bambusee eyewear brand which also does wonderful charity work sponsoring free cataract operations for those who need it, especially in Eastern Indonesia.
It is through the dedication and perseverance of these Rugby families and all the countless volunteers throughout Indonesia that Indonesian Rugby has continued to grow. It may take many, many more years and much more effort for Indonesia to embrace fully the Game They Play in Heaven, but with enthusiastic friends like these every little step is easier, knowing that we all belong to the big Indonesian Rugby Family.