Rugby union is not a major sport in Singapore. Singapore is currently ranked 58th in the world and 6th in Asia. As of February 2015, there over 12,000 registered players, with more than 2,000 women playing the sport. There are also 15 formally organised clubs with 4 registered Women's sides. Club Rugby in Singapore is played in three divisions – the Premiership, the Championship, and the Conference. School Rugby is also hotly contested over three age groups – the C division (under 14), the B division (under 17) and the A division (under 19). There are also a few schools that have a primary-school-level rugby programme where they contest in the under-12 competition. Governing body The governing body of rugby union in Singapore is the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU), which was founded in 1966. It joined the International Rugby Football Board (now World Rugby) in 1988. History Like some other places, Singaporean rugby's colonial inheritance has proven a hindrance. The game is popular among expatriate workers from Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand – and there are at least twenty such rugby clubs founded on this basis. While there has been some take up amongst other groups, and a long-standing effort to involve Singaporeans, including by Australians Peter Randall and Andrew Blades in the mid 1990s, progress in growing the game has only been gradual. Early history Rugby union was introduced to the British colony of Singapore in the late 19th century. It has had a steady presence since the beginning of the 20th century, when the Malaya Cup between Singapore Civilians team and states of Malaya was then established, which is one of the oldest rugby competitions in the world. However, unlike the other colonial city state of Asia, Hong Kong, rugby has not been quite so successful in Singapore. The tragic events of the Second World War and the Japanese occupation of Singapore also disrupted its growth. Between 1945 and 1991, a regiment of New Zealanders was based in Singapore, and during those years they dominated the game to the extent that when they left, the Singaporean rugby scene almost fell apart. Local rugby: 1970s & 1980s 1971 saw the launch of an all national U-23 team made up of locals from the police force, armed forces, schools and local clubs when it played a curtain raiser game against a Malaysia U-23 (which