Matt Hirst is Director of Rugby at Lanna Rugby Club, which is based in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. We sat down for a long and leisurely chat about his rugby origin story, the growth of rugby in northern Thailand and how a club reset has seen them reach new heights. We also find out more about the upcoming Chiang Mai International Rugby 7s to be played in September 2025.
Matt Hirst Rugby Origins
“I’m from the north of England, and it’s probably more known for its football. I used to get dragged to football every single week by my dad, and the only thing he could do to keep me there was if he gave me these sweets called fruit gums. When I got a little bit bigger, they would only last till half time. So then I used to annoy him deliberately and celebrate the other team scoring, and Dad would take me home.”
On how rugby first came into his periphery, he told us, “I was not really a sporty person, and I have always been a big boy. When I was around 11-12 years old, I went to a school that played rugby, and I just fell in love with it.
It was just nice. It’s one of those things where being big is a good thing. You can be aggressive. I always used to get told that I was knocking people over, and I needed to be careful, and then being told you can just put all of your effort into this sport was great.”
He stuck with the sport and admitted he might not have been the best player when he was younger but said, “ I got a little bit better and got selected for some representation teams and managed to get to in a team that got to a semi final of the National Cup, and then played for a team that was a kind of semi professional. I realised I wasn’t big enough or good enough to go any further and dropped down the leagues and started coaching early, because I knew that was something that I loved.”
Like so many good rugby coaches, Matt is also a teacher. “I’m a teacher and I love coaching too because it’s the same thing, as I want to see people improve. I get to see people get that little bit better, and that’s my buzz.”
He moved to Thailand around 2021 after considering job opportunities in Qatar, Dubai, and Thailand. He got in touch with Lanna Rugby Club, and his predecessor, Thomas Stubley, sold the vision for what they wanted to do.
Matt said in retrospect of the past few years, “Thailand’s been nice to live in, and after starting wanting to do just a little bit of coaching, now I’ve been in charge of the club for my third season, and absolutely loving it.”
Rugby in Thailand and Lanna Rugby Clubs’ Ethos
We have spoken a lot on this platform about the pros and cons of the expats in the rugby scene in Asia, and in Thailand, there’s a lot of rugby in Bangkok, and pockets in Phuket and Pattaya. Northern Thailand seems to be having a lot going for it at the moment.
We asked Matt how he has seen things evolve in Chiang Mai and for Lanna Rugby Club?
“We’ve grown, and maybe quadrupled in size since I first got there. At my first training session, there were maybe three or four of us, and this past week, when I went to touch rugby, there were 24 people on a Monday.
During COVID, a lot of people left. There was a core nucleus when I came here that also expanded. Erin is a Canadian lady who played some representative rugby in Canada, and she joined as our women’s coach. Then we partnered with our first NGO, the Kids Ark Foundation and started a youth program, which was started by my predecessor, and things have snowballed.”
We asked him to pinpoint what has spurred the growth and evolution.
“What was key was that we talked about ethos, we talked about who we want to be. Rugby is really important, but the great thing about rugby is that rugby is always the winner. The spirit of the game is the best. That’s why it’s the best game in the world.
We talked about who we were as a club, and anyone who kind of even blinked or looked our way, we would tell them, ‘This is who we are. This is what we think. This is our DNA.’ We said everyone needs to recruit and be more like Thomas Stubley was at the time, as he would ask anyone to come play. We said we all needed to be like that.”
The club formed a leadership team, and Matt said that was a big step. “Instead of having one or two people making decisions, we had 5-6 people. Our ethos is about growing people, both in rugby and personally, and doing that through fun. So fun is one of our three core values of Family First, United As One, and the key one, which has resonated over the years, is No One Left Behind, especially with the work that we do with young people.”
We are big fans of that approach, and that famous no A%$hole policy, as everyone needs to leave those egos at the door. It needs to be a club-first mentality, and everyone needs to pull their weight.
“They were some of the tougher conversations we had to have with some people. It was really tough to have them because we were small, but we were ready. Even though we were small, we knew it was the right direction to take. We had to say, “If you’re gonna act in a certain way, you can’t be part of us.’ And that was really tough when you’re playing 10s, and you’ve only got nine players, then you’re telling one of them, “they need to go.”
We have seen those conversations take place across Asia (we have been involved in them too). We asked if they have seen the fruits or the rewards now in terms of growth, and where they are at as a club.
“Yes, we are. We’re expats, so my rugby family are my family away from home, and that’s what it’s got to be like. You have to be protective of your family, don’t you?
We’ve grown in numbers, which is fantastic, and we will take anyone who has no experience. I’m very big on adapting training, so not just adapting training for the group, but adaptive training for an individual. Some people get frustrated, but we need to have that culture of ‘we’re here to learn, and here to improve. If you just have that culture of winning, people don’t buy into that. But if you’re into that culture of everyone wanting to improve and everyone wants to get better, it makes it easier.”
He added, “It has been a journey, but I’ve been supported by some amazing people as well. Captains who’ve been amazing, who’ve really bought into it, and especially our women’s team have been phenomenal in terms of support. Chiang Mai does have a core group of people who’ve hung around for a while, and it’s a lovely place to be.”
Lanna Rugby Youth Rugby Development
Photo Credit – Kids Ark Foundation
“We’re an expat club, but we’re proud to be Thai. I went on tour with the Pot Bellied Pigs, and they’ve done some phenomenal work around Asia, and the work that they’ve done in the Philippines is second to none.
They’ve been able to give opportunities to young people who just wouldn’t have them. And we were like, this is what we want. This is what we want for Thailand.”
Lanna Rugby Club started their youth program with one NGO, called the Kids Ark Foundation, four years ago and now have U8, U10, U12, U14 and U16 teams.
“It started with about maybe 20-30 Thai kids with a couple of expat kids, and they enjoyed it and had so much fun that their friends wanted to join. It grew to about 50 kids, and then when we partnered with a second NGO, and are supported by the Atlas Foundation, which allowed us to expand. We have about 70 kids who regularly come on a Saturday now.”
Matt explained, “Last year, I looked at how much money it costs to tour, and we said what we could do as a club is we could just not tour, and we could absorb all that money and set up a league. So the money went to paying for the field, and we paid for the referees, and we would do the organisation.”
Having a Thai core group was fundamental. “We wanted to give them opportunities which we expats take for granted. We can head down to Bangkok, Hanoi, or Pattaya for these tournaments. But a lot of the young local Thais can’t do that.”
He was also quick to point to the importance and relevance of The Prince Royals College, which he said is the reason rugby exists in the north of Thailand and that there is a Thai community that has been playing for years and years.
The club has also started to host touch rugby tournaments, as touch has grown as well.
“We’ve seen that it’s a huge stepping stone in terms of skills. With contact, you can come to practice, and you can tackle as much as you want, but if you can’t catch and pass a ball, then you won’t improve,” explained Matt.
Lanna Lionesses
The club had to rebuild the senior Lanna Women’s team, the Lanna Lionesses, as some key members left, and then the pandemic also impacted player numbers.
“There was a point where I didn’t win a game for two years as a coach when I first took over. Like my first win was at the Chiang Mai 10s with the women, and it was against the Bangkok Belles, which was absolutely amazing, because the Belles are phenomenal.
The players have been amazing and dedicated, and they work really hard – the community that they bring is phenomenal as well. Chiang Mai has a strong female community in general, and that’s been useful in terms of recruitment.”
Lanna has also partnered with other clubs in the region to team up for events.
“Our players have been welcomed by other teams such as the Hanoi Women’s team, Saigon Geckos and some players from KL Tigers, and we play as the SEA Barbarians. There are a lot of women who want to play, but their teams might not enter, so we banded together. We had a player from Hua Hin, and some of the Vietnamese women who work with ChildFund Rugby also joined.”
For 2025, Matt told us, “We have a team coming in August 2025 from Taiwan to play our women’s team, and they use it as a pre-season preparation.”
That match takes place on Sunday, August 17th 2025, as the National Taiwan University will be playing the Lanna Lionesses and Thailand Sports University Chiangmai in a round robin 7s format.
The club is also looking for sponsors to help support their women’s section and said: “We’re still in search of sponsors who want to make a real difference to Women’s rugby in Thailand. Over the past few seasons, the Lanna Lionesses have gone from strength to strength.
This includes winning the Plate at the Chiang Mai 7s, coming runners-up in the National Thailand 7s and Chiang Mai International 7s and winning the Hanoi 10s (the only Thai team to do so).
We love seeing women in sport and seeing our Lionesses grow both in confidence and in numbers. If you want to partner with us in doing so, please reach out.”
Local Thai success stories for Lanna Rugby Club include:
- Their girls’ programs have been strong. “We’re pretty proud that our U12s qualified for the national championships as they were Northern Thailand champions last year, and they came third in Thailand!”
- One of our U16 girls got called up to the Thai National team, and in total, three girls were called into the extended squad to train with the Thai National team in 2025
- Some of the girls played in the All Girls Sevens tournament in Hong Kong in 2025..
- One of the Thai players was instrumental in helping the Lanna Men win the Bowl at the Pattaya Tens – he was their top try scorer.
Chiang Mai International Rugby Sevens 2025
Matt explained that Northern Thai Rugby Union started supporting Sevens, which was a huge step forward, both in terms of getting kids playing rugby but also in terms of allowing for more positive relationships with the Northern Thai Rugby Union and Lanna Rugby Club.
The Chiang Mai International Rugby Sevens will be played from 20 to 21st of September 2025 and includes youth, men and women divisions. There has been interest from teams from different parts of Asia and Australia.
“Those previous learnings helped us with the idea of forming the Chiang Mai Sevens.”
Matt said, “Thais love Sevens and they are really good at it. We’ve seen the success of the Thai national women. We held our first tournament last year, which was well attended. The Guam national team won the women’s section, and the Thai police, who were the national champions, won the men’s section.”
“We want to expand our women’s program and give them an opportunity. So if there are any more women’s teams interested, they are more than welcome.”
Of why teams should enter and visit Chiang Mai, he told us, “It’ll be fun, and that’s part of who we are. We’re looking at making it really Thai and maybe having a Songkran theme – like a water festival, but we are exploring other activities throughout the day. We want to include the young people, so it is more than just rugby, and make it community-based.”
Based on the expressions of interest, it will be a two-day tournament with two pitches, which Matt confirmed is a big step forward from what they had before.
“We will help teams to go out and see the sights. Chiang Mai is beautiful and we’ve got the mountains, water parks and temples and other cultural things to see. It’s very relaxed and easy to get around.”
The weekend is also the same time as the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, and Matt said they can suggest places for teams to watch the matches
“Chiang Mai is an amazing place to live, and I want everyone who comes to enjoy seeing the beautiful sights of Chiang Mai and fall in love with it. And then move to Chiang Mai and join us!”
15s League 2025 – North Thailand Rugby
Matt spent his Summer holidays in Chiang Mai coaching and getting fit to play in this season’s upcoming 15s league, which local teams will be involved in. When we spoke, they were hoping it would include between 4-6 teams and be played as a round-robin rather than a home-and-away system.
“We had four teams last year. We now have five confirmed, and I know that there are other university teams which are looking at joining in the future, as the Thai Rugby Union (TRU) have been doing more development work and trying to get youths playing in the Thailand University Games.”
Last held in January 2025, the University Games include Sevens and Fifteens rugby, and Chiang Mai University plans to send teams to compete. As a major university, Lanna hoped they would be allowed to join the league, which would bring the total number of teams to six.
By the start of August 2025, details for the North Thailand XVs 2025 confirmed that six teams would be competing. They are Lanna Rugby Club, The Prince Royals College, Cobras Rugby Club, Chiang Mai All Stars, TNSU, and Phitsanoluk in a round-robin format starting the weekend of 9 August 2025.
Why join Lanna Rugby Club?
As Director of Rugby at Lanna Rugby Club, Matt said, “I think our ethos speaks for itself – it is about having fun, no matter if you’ve never picked up a rugby ball.
We treat each other like family. We’re a family that a lot of us lean on when it’s tough, and enjoy things together as well, which is why we’re united.
Join us if you want to be part of something where you’re going to leave no one behind, and just experience the best feelings in the world, knowing that you’re giving opportunities to people who just would never have them if you weren’t there.”
Asian Rugby News
- The Best Social 2025 Rugby Tournaments In Asia.
- Your Guide To Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Calendar 2025.
- Japan Rugby League One 2025-2026 Season Schedule Announced.
- Sakura Fifteen Rugby World Cup 2025 Squad Announced.
Trending Now
