Day One
Athena Siam Coffin Dodgers Tournament
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| Great Rugby Weather |
This
was a trip down memory lane for many of the northern hemisphere
players. Playing in condition of mud, rain, mud, storms,mud, tropical
downpours and more mud,mud,mud it was like pigs wallowing in the
proverbial..., having said that it produced some excellent rugby with
the forwards, who are normally left puffing and grunting around the
pitch looking for action in the shorter forms of the game, being at the
forefront once teams adjusted to the conditions and realised that, with
the slippery ball it was the short game that would produce dividends.
Those glory boy backs with the Brycream bounce were suddenly in reach
& the grunters duly took there due, it was payback time !! Some
tremendous hits during the day saw the medical tent kept busy and as the
rain continued to fall it became a contest to see who could aquaplane
in for a score from the furthest distance !
In Group A Wanderers Wrinkleys started where they left off after
last years event by making a clean sweep of all their group games with
their toughest game against Hong Kong Bulls who finished group runners
up. The Asian Japanese Dragons who never seem to age finished a
creditable 3rd in a tough group and the Cottesloe Pirates who struggled
with the conditions and late nights down town to finish a disappointing
last.
Group B saw last years Champions the Moorabbin Rams Vets from
Australia drawn in the proverbial group of death with the Taipei Silver
backs, Bedok Kings Vets & the other Cottesloe team the the Olde
Gulls. True to form the Rams came out firing and were lucky to scrape a
7-0 win against a very committed Taipei Silver backs side before beating
the Bedok Kings 19 points to 5. The Gulles were then demolished 31 - 0
to end up being the tournament whipping boys.
In Group C the first game was the hosts Phuket Viagrabonds taking on
old rivals Ye Olde Bangkok Bangers in the Weasel Cup. After a hard
fought first half the Viagrabonds turned
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| Bedok Wets |
up the pressure & produced a
great victory to retain the trophy for the 3rd year running.
A bruising encounter against the Singapore Bucks Stags ended in the 5
all draw for the home side and a close 10-7 loss to the Gulf Legends
meant the Viagrabonds would face a tricky Plate semi final against the
Taipei team. The Bangers after their shaky start produced fine wins
against the Gulf Leg'Ends 17-0 and the Bucks Stags 7-0 to proceed into
the cup competition with a semi final against the Wanderers Wrinkleys
where they went down by 26-5. The other cup semi final was between the
Moorabbin Rams & HK Bulls with the Rams running out 24-0 winners.
Cup Final a repeat of last years Wanderers Wrinkleys v Moorabbin Rams
0-12.
Rams Athena Siam Coffin Dodgers Champions for 4th year in a row.
In the other competitions Plate semi final was between The Gulf
Leg'ends and Bedok Kings who won 26-0 and the Viagrabonds v Taipei
Silverbacks who prevailed 15-0 Plate Final Bedok Kings v Taipei Silver
backs
In the Bowl Semi Final the Coettesloe Pirates sank to the Asian
Japanese Dragon Vets 32-5 and the Bucks Stags took out the Cottesloe
olde Gulles in a close game 12-7 Bowl Final Asian Japanese Dragons Vets v
Bucks Stags.
Day Two
Phuket Heineken Cup Competition
The
day started with fine weather and weak sunshine trying to fight through
the clouds but heavy overnight rain had left the pitch a mess but it
started drying out quickly and didnt dampen the spirits of the teams
eager for some serious action where the young studs with the odd old lag
making up
numbers were finally able to strut their stuff & the weather stayed
fine
for most of the day although the odd hairdo did get mucky in the mud.
Although the conditions were at times more suited to water polo than
rugby the quality of play throughout was outstanding and once again as
the short game was better suited for the mud and the big bruisers of the
pack came into their own with some tremendous hits close in and around
the
ruck area and exceptional ball skills. There were glimpses of brilliance
in the back line too where despite the worry of how the hair was
looking due to lack of decent gel, many tries were scored though open
running rugby and slick handling.In
Group A one of the favorites for
the tournament the Roosters from South Africa topped the standings
after over coming The Singapore wanderers, Melanins from Japan & The
Asian Japanese Dragons to move into the cup quarter finals.
Group B saw another contender the Thai legends produce some great rugby
to top their group with a 3 out of 3 record over Singapore Bucks,Bangkok
Bangers Colts & Taipei Baboons to earn a quarter final meeting with
the Moorabbin Rams B side the Lambs.
Group C was headed by yet another contender for the cup in their 10th
anniversary year the Moorabbin Rams who were looking to win the cup for
the 2nd time since their first victory almost 10 years to the day. After
over coming some spirited performances by Hong Kong Raiders, YCAC from
Japan & Prince of Songkla Uni from Hat Yai they finished top of
their group with a perfect record and broke the points barrier by
scoring 122 for & 0 against. Looking good for their quarter final
against Al Ain Amblers.
Group D was a lot closer affair with the Emirate Flying Muppets beating
Al Ain Amblers 5-0, Bedok Kings 12-7 and the Groote Eylandt Mudchucks
10-0 to advance to a quarter final against the Singapore Wanderers who
qualified for the cup competition as one of the best runner up.
The final Group E was also a tight run thing with the Pattaya Panthers
stealing the group from The Moorabbin Lambs, Phuket Vagabonds &
INSEAD to take on the Roosters in the quarters.
After a reasonably dry day with 3 games remaining the heavens opened and play was suspended for 10 minutes to let the rain ease.
Contenders for the Plate knockouts were
Hong Kong Raiders v Phuket Vagabonds
Singapore Bucks v YCAC
Bangkok Bangers Colts v Melanins
Bedock Kings v Taipei Baboons
In the Cup competition it was a tense day with the Roosters looking
to win the cup for the 2nd time in three years and the Moorabbin Rams
from Melbourne Australia looking to take out an unprecedented 3 titles
over the weekend and the Thai Legends hoping to be 1st time winners.
Contenders for the cup quarter finals were
Roosters v Pattaya Panthers
Thai legends v Moorabbin Lambs
Moorabbin Rams v Al Ain Amblers
Emirates Flying Muppets v Singapore Wanderers
Losers of the plate drop down into the Bowl competition and the
losers in the cup drop down to join the Plate competition
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| Unlucky to lose Edwina |
Tour Virgin Beauty Pageant
In what was probably the most eagerly contested of all the beauty competitions to date and host & 70's Porn Star Rob "The Welsh Knob" Brewer had his hands full trying to keep the contestants in
order as they all wanted to be on stage to show their wares and try to influence the judge. In the end it was all down to style with a strut off between Edwina from the Emirate Flying Muppets and Bruce from the Moorabbin Rams who prevailed to take the prestigious title
Tour Virgin Beauty Pageant Winner
Bruce
Moorabbin Rams
Day 3
The weather had not improved over night and torrential
rain and high winds greeted the players for the 1st of the Plate matches
where home town boys the Phuket vagabonds were without captain Dan
Ashburn who had been knocked out on Saturday unable to play. After
losing out in a couple of close games the previous day the vagabonds
found their scoring touch to beat Hong Kong Raiders by 20 - 5 to advance
to the quarter finals. Bangers Colts were next up against Melanins
& ran out 31-5 winners. Singapore Bucks got a walk over v YCAC when
the Japanese side couldn't field a team. In the final game of the round
the Bedok Kings took out the Taipei Baboons. Losing teams dropped down
into the bowl competition.
The quarter finals saw the losers of the Cup quarter finals join the
plate competition and some awesome rugby was on display with more than
one player being carried off after being mullered by the forwards in
close combat conditions. The Vagabonds took on the Wanderers and after a
close encounter went down 10-5 to say good bye. The bangers Colts were
also knocked out by the Moorabbin Lambs 24-0 to end their quest for a
trophy at this years event. Singapore Bucks broke a 7-7 deadlock and Al
Ain hearts with a stoppage time try by Mark Brinn to win 12-7 and move
into a semi final clash with the wanderers. In another close game
Pattaya Panthers beat Bedok
Kings with a score of 7-5 in another thrilling encounter. Semi Finals saw Wanderers go down to the Bucks 12-5
and The Panthers going down to the Lambs 5-0 in a tight finish. Plate Final Singapore Bucks 12
Moorabbin Lambs 0. Plate Winners SINGAPORE BUCKS
The Bowl Competition is always a feisty affair with teams determined to
show their competitive nature and this year it was no exception. The
Mudchooks who had won over the crowd during the weekend with their
Chooka pre match ritual were more than at home in the conditions but
lost out in a close quarter final 5-0 to the Hong Kong raiders. Asian
Japanese, Prince of Songkla & Taipei baboons all progressed to the
semi finals where PSU defeated Hong Kong raiders 10-0 & Taipei
Baboons beat the Dragons 24-0. Final Taipei Baboons 21 Prince of Songkla
RFC 0. Bowl Winers TAIPEI BABOONS
The Cup competition always produces rugby of the best quality
and this year was no exception and in the Semi flnals the Roosters
taking on the Emirates Flying muppets was a game of the best quality and
will go down as the game of the tournament. In a game that had it all
the Roosters scraped through with a try right at the end to secure a 5-0
victory. The other Semi final was on a par with the Rams taking on the
Thai legends who with their in the face tackling and speed on the ball
had the Rams on the back foot for much of the game but the bigger Rams
centers finally secured a very hard fought win 12-5
The Final
In horrendous
muddy and wet conditions an epic final was fought out on a
field more reminiscent of the Somme rather than a field on a tropical
island between close rivals the Roosters from South Africa and the
Moorabbin Rams from Australia who are celebrating their 10th anniversary
trip to the 10s and also 10 years since their only cup victory in the
tournament. In a bruising encounter it was all square going into the
final quarter when an incident off the ball was to prove the turning
point in the game. During a phase of play one of the roosters was taken
out off the ball unsighted by the referee. Play continued on for a
couple of minutes
culminating in a Rams try. After the intervention by the linesman a Rams
player was sin binned but the ref ruled that the incident didnt
interfere with play so the score stood and this was to prove the only
score of the game with the Rams winning 5-0 !! A controversial end to a
fantastic tournament that had it all, tropical storms, mud, fantastic
rugby skills, brutal tackling, on & off the ball incidents, good
beer, good food & most of all good company.
A big thank you to all the teams who produced a brilliant tournament
under extreme conditions along with the refs who had the most difficult
of jobs. A special thank you once again to Heineken and Athena Siam for
their support, Phuket International Hospital for the medical support,
Bubble Bee, Maria and strategic Sports for the organisation, Khun Eam
and Kata Group for use of the ground, Shires Pies for all the hearty
winters fare, Phuket News, 89.5 Live radio and Phuket Direct for the
media support, Bob & Taipan for hosting the TV Beauty Pageant. Macoocoo.com. Last but not least Ken for helping me mark the pitch !!
Most of all we should applaud Roelien and the Asia Center Foundation for all the work they do.
See you all next year !!
The 14th Phuket Heineken Rugby 10's 2012
Champions
MOORABBIN RAMS
(Australia)
Plate Winners
Singapore Bucks
Bowl Winners
Taipei baboons
Player of the Tournament
Dickie
Roosters ( South Africa)
Athena Siam Coffin Dodgers Tournament
2012
Champions
MOORABBIN RAMS VETS
Plate Winners
Taipei Silverbacks
Bowl Winners
Asian Japanese Dragons Vets
Vets Player of the Tournament
Paul Gasgoigne
Moorabbin Rams
Weasel Cup Winners
Phuket Viagrabonds
