Following her contribution to promote the sport, the international community recognized the efforts of Ada Milby when she was included to the list of 50 Most Influential People in Rugby.
Milby is a member of the PH women’s national team that won the silver medal in the Southeast Asian Games last year, and has played in sevens and 15s for the Philippines.
However, it was through her administrative roles that she is able to deliver and contribute in promoting the sport, which led to her inclusion to the list of influential persons by World Rugby Magazine.
“It’s a big honor of course to be part of that 50 list,” said Milby, currently with the Philippine Rugby Football Union. “I didn’t know that I was being considered so it was a surprise yet humbling experience.”
Milby, whose brother Sam Milby is an actor in PH cinema, said the citation allows the international community to be informed that the country is also passionate with rugby.
Also, from a marketing standpoint, Milby said that this could somehow lead to foreign athletes with Filipino lineage to consider playing for the national team in various international tournaments.
“The magazine is published internationally, so if they read about the Philippines, maybe this could help us in getting players from different parts of the world,” said the 37-year-old Milby.
Aside from being the first woman to sit on the World Rugby Council in 2017, her contributions in growing the game led to Milby’s inclusion to Asia Rugby’s executive committee as head of its gender inclusion division.
Since the introduction of rugby in 1998 by Americans and Australians expats, the country’s men’s team – the Philippine Volcanoes – bagged the 2015 and 2019 gold medals in the SEA Games.