Hywel Jones of Menai Bridge explains how Colombians came to be competing at rugby in Llangoed.

For the very first time in Colombian rugby history a team from the South American country has played in Europe. I was born in Colombia myself and arranged, with a few other Colombians who find themselves in Europe, a team to take part in the Llangoed Sevens 2006 on June 10.

Unfortunately there weren't enough of us, so we were joined by two local players who enjoyed themselves, as so did we. We lost to Caernarfon, and the 2006 champions Gwyr, and won our last game against Bethesda.

We hope that this will start to open a connection between Welsh and Colombian rugby, as all the help we can get is of great benefit.

In Bogotá we have an international sevens tournament in November and, although the standard is not of top club quality, we pride ourselves in it and it would be great if any teams or clubs were interested in taking part, or even going on an instructional basis, and to have fun.

Colombia has seen rugby played since 1986, when it was a group of ex-pats and French playing on Sundays in Bogotá, and in the early 1990s interest started to grow among the locals. At this same stage Hans Raush started to generate interest in the city of Medellin.

Nowadays there are over 25 clubs in six Colombian cities, the two main ones being Bogotá and Medellin. There is a lot of raw potential with these rugby players, but the lack of funds and support means that players without the correct guidance will never reach their top game.

By Hywel Jones