Royal Navy (England Navy) vs Korea Air Force Academy

You probably don't know that Rugby used to be a popular sport in Korea around 1960 to 1980s.
The records that I recently found indicate that a lot of overseas teams visited Korea for rugby in 1980s.

It includes NZ (80), HK (83), Scotland (84), Wales (85), Cambridge University (86), Australia (New South Wales County, 87), the US (Life University School of Chiropractic,87), Ireland (87), and England (Cambridge University, Cornwall County Side, Combined services, Public School Wanderers, England Students, 87)

This must have been the reason why Korea rugby flourished from 1980 winning the Asian Rugby Championship three times consecutively at that moment (86,88,90).

I also found an intereting video showing that the Royal Navy team played the Korea Air Force Academy in 1960 (KAFA winning 9-0).

To watch the video:
http://film.ktv.go.kr/pop/movie_pop.jsp?srcgbn=KV&mediaid=250&mediadtl=1850&gbn=DH&quality=H

Pics from the last Korea Touch tournament of 2008

Survivors attack Cook


Safe hands Shane!

Jaesub lets Patrick run through!

Loren gets the pass away

Gallic flair!

Exiles look to unleash their scoring machine!

Hands let the ball do the work against the Exiles

Korea Touch Championship trophies awarded by Spire Group President

Wade Broderick of champions Te Wei Pounamu accepts the handsome Korea Touch Championship Trophy from Pascal Biannic-Leger, the President of Spire Group who sponsored this years Korea Touch Championship


Nathan Atkins collects the trophy for runner up on behalf of Tits for Hands

Roddy Bancroft and Ian Richmond pick up the third place trophy for Seoul Survivors.

England Counties rugby look forward to touring Korea

Plenty of excitement looking forward to next June's visit of England Counties XV to Korea....there will be more on this later but here are some comments from the tour's manager http://www.rfu.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/RFUHome.England_Detail/StoryID/21447

Spire Touch Championship awards ceremony, Friday 5th Dec Bungalow Itaewon...gathering starts at 7:30pm, awards at 9:00pm

Please come along to the Bungalow on Fri Dec 5th for the Spire Touch Championship awards ceremony. Trophies presented at 9:00pm but doors open at 7:30pm.

For a small glimpse of the Bungalow http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=AwQKeDw1NW0

ITS T-shirts.....the global fashion statement

Mmmmm, let's cosy up together...people will travel from continent to continent and get up close and personal with anything...to get their shot in the ITS T shirt and on the blog.
Rumour has it that a new brand will emerge for Touch football clothing (Touch rugby garments) (the terminology is deliberately targeted at google searches) featuring the special fabrics and Dow Corning printing materials....a must-wear for all serious Touchies....

In this fashion statement we have a small percentage of the famous te Amo family (Stef and JT either side of the elephant)....just another night in Bangkok...

Korea's Touch friends travel a long way!

Woojin Lee started playing Touch in Korea and on moving to India, he took his skills and interest and love of the sport with him. One of the early "Hangang Exiles" players, he's been exiled a bit further than most....but he's keeping in Touch....
Hey Woojin, it looks a bit warmer where you are!!

Korea Touch end of season party Dec 5

Friday December 5th in the Bungalow, Itaewon, celebration of a successful Touch year in Korea and the award of the Spire Touch Championship trophy...
From 7:30pm and with the awards being made approx 9:00pm by Spire Group's president (the owner of Bungalow).
This is a chance to meet up with other Touchies, finish the year and say goodbye to a few of the stalwarts who are leaving, thank our sponsors Spire Group and enjoy a BIG NIGHT OUT!!

And yet more publicity for Touch Korea

This time in the Korea Times http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2008/11/177_34341.html
with a good photo too!

Korea Touch hits the headlines

Nice write-up of aturday's tournament by Kiri Haggart in today's Korea Herald Expat Living page;
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/community/exp_index.asp

Check it out!!

TWP Spire Touch Champions of Korea

Well, finally it was the Hands that got sweaty palms while TWP kept a firm grip on their lead and Survivors looked like they needed just one more weekend (0r for Roddy to last a full tournament)...but it certainly was a peach of a tournament at the new Jamwon site and in beautiful sunny weather.

In the plate, the Exiles looked like making a glorious return to their roots but the Waegook Cook pace and fitness, honed on the high veld, was too much and soon into the drop -off period, the Gumi side roasted crowds favourites again.

On the theme of cooking, good Breton crepes were the favourite breakfast order as the Frogs travelled in regal style, something that surely impressed Pascal, the Spire Group president (Antoine may be getting a call from La Cigale in Itaewon?).

Good order was kept throughout, both by excellent refereeing and the tight management from Chris and Allie...in their makeshift HQ fashioned from large cable spindles...

This has been an extraordinarily successful for Touch in Korea, best wishes for the team in Shanghai on Nov 29.....

Latest standings in Spire Touch Championship

Can anyone stop the mighty TWP? Well, yes, they can!

The early running in the season was set by the Survivors but a "no-show" proved costly for them. "Maybe next weekend" is a great motto, but not when it comes to winning championships! TWP, meanwhile, gained strength and pulled away from the pack mid-season but nearing the end of the season, Tits for Hands have emerged as the real deal, belying their rather dubios name (have you noticed, it never appears in the papers like that?). All three teams can win it this weekend and with big prizes up for grabs, it could get tasty.



Critical issues? For the Survivors, it will be staying cool under pressure. They have rarely finished a tournament with all the toys still in the pram and with refereeing getting higher quality and more strict, this could be the time to eradicate that weakness. T4H meanwhile have to weather the departure of Brad Dowson, the skipper who has shaped this team through the season. And how about TWP....will they have playmaker Wade Broderick back? He is rumoured to have selected himself for the Shanghai gig late November so this should be just the job to shed the rust following a shoulder reconstruction.



Amongst the also-rans, there is still room for someone to cause an upset or two. Yonsei/Princes could, finally, progress beyond the semis and Waegook have been progressing steadily but the early session on the bus up to Seoul normally puts paid to any serious challenge they might mount. My contacts tell me the Frogs are on fire now, so Jamwon could see some grenouille grille this weekend. And will the Exiles respond to a return to their home track? Without chefmeister Schenk, it is hard to see but with star performers being passed over for the trip to China, they will have a serious point to prove. Perhaps the big question is, will they ever recover the loss of Duncan Cole? The Stormers also flirted with greatness on their own turf (read "sand") but faded later in the tournament...could they hold it together this time? And last but not least, is this the time for Sisters to get one over on the boys? The crowd would love to see it happen....and strange things do happen in Seoul....like we'll be playing on a dedicated grass pitch for starters.



Good luck one and all, 10:30 at Jamwon on Saturday November 8 and the first match touches off at 11:00. Festivities should end approx 3:30pm. Come on down and bring the friends, family, dog etc etc

How to find the new Touch and rugby pitch in Seoul

Following the arrow....after going between the two schools, you turn left at the end of the road and then go along about 50m and turn right into a tunnel (which goes under the Olympic Expressway). Be careful, it gets competitive going through the tunnel which only has room for one car at a time!

New Touch and Rugby pitch in Jamwon, Seoul

Looks good, doesn't it!
Directions;
Roughly speaking, it is over the Hangang bridge heading south and on the left, between Hangang and Dongho bridge. Right down by the river (accessed via a tunnel).
This Saturday it's where the last in the Spire Touch Championship will be held.

Top rugby tantalisingly close to Korea

Well, at least that is what hundreds of Korea-based rugby fams thought as they boarded planes for this weekend's Bledisloe Cup match in Hong Kong. The first time that NZ and Oz have played this type of fixture outside their two countries and the magnificent stadium in HK, host to the world's best rugby sevens tournament, would surely be the perfect stage for these two great rugby nations to showcase rugby to Asia.

However, whether it was because the All Blacks had already beaten the Aussies twice or whether it was the pitch that cut up badly and made for some treacherous running conditions or whether it was some sleepy refereeing....it left the crowd feeling pretty irritated for much of the game.

This was definitely a game of two halves...in the first, the Australians scored a couple of tries through sloppy NZ defending and were pegged back steadily by Dan Carter's boot....which even on the off-day he was having performed slightly better than that of his opposite number Matt Giteau when it came to place kicking. Both missed kicks they would normally get with ease.

In the second half, the AB's changed tactic (or at least they introduced a second tactic since the first half consisted entirely of them launching high kicks too deep to the Aussie right wing and then defending as the Australians ran it back....and since the Aussies also seemed to have no game plan for this steady supply of easy possession on their ten yard line, both sets of supporters could be forgiven for wondering who'd been in the bars before the game, them or their heroes?). The step up produced immediate results and eventually, NZ sealed it when they also ran in a try down the right side. They had the extra numbers but the Australian defence helped them out by commiting their last three defenders to the same man....

The final whistle was something of a relief to all but the Australian supporters and the crowd quickly headed off for the real business of the weekend.

So, since the purpose of this exercise was to (i) showcase rugby, (ii) add supporters and sponsrs to NZ and Aussie rugby, (iii) boost the coffers of Oz, NZ and HK rugby unions and (iv) boost the local economy.....couldn't Seoul be persuaded to host something next year? With Seoul doing it's best to bring in tourists and with the KRW being so weak, it seems like a perfect opportunity for the Korean Rugby Union to talk Mayor Oh into putting his weight behind it...before the Japanese beat us to the punch!!

Upcoming Touch tournaments in Seoul and Taejon

November 8th at Jamwon; I hear TWP, Exiles, Frogs and a couple of teams from Waegook Cook will be there...are there others?

Nov 9th in Taejon, the Dragons host a kids tournament....great chance to bring along kids who are thinking about taking up Touch. If you are interested in coaching kids teams in your area in Korea, pls contact seoultouch@gmail.com

Korean Players in Japan

Several Korean players are playing in the Japanese professional rugby league, Top League.
Young-nam Yu, who made the last try of the opening game of the A5N against Japan by intercepting a pass from the Cherry Blossoms, received a man of the match in Japan for the first time.

In the second picture, the scrum half helping Yu give a speech at an after-match funtion(left) is the first Korean who participated in the RWC but represented Japan. He moved to Japan after graduating from Yangchung High School.

Something for the girl or boy with everything!

ITS 2008 shirts, those famous tournament shirts, are on sale and make the ideal seasonal gift for friends and relatives....they look good and they carry some special meaning for everyone who was there and on top of that, they promote Touch in Korea! Fabulous prices too!! 30,000KRW a pop!
Limited sizes available.
They will be on sale at the two tournaments featured in the posting below....

Final Touch tournaments of 2008

At Jamwon, the new pitch, on Nov 8th the final in the Spire Touch Championships so there we should see the 2008 Champions crowned!! Sign up for this at seoultouch@gmail.com if your team is not already registered.

For the kids, on Nov 9th, there is a tournament down at Taejon, hosted by the Taejon Dragons, I'm sure they could do with all the support they can get as well as a chance to showcase Touch for kids.

Rugby Korea; England Counties to tour Korea

Sounds like the proposed tour of England Counties XV to Korea will take place in June 2009...sponsors are sought for this very exciting prosepct for local rugby development!!

New Touch and rugby pitch in Seoul

For the Hangang Exiles, it may seem ironic that the Seoul Metropolitan Government has chosen a new pitch dedicated to Touch and Rugby (I'll redefine "dedicated" shortly) by the river at Jamwon (between the Hannam and Dongho bridges on the south side) since this is where they originally played and were regularly turfed off by the local (very officious) officials. In fact, the reason it may be possible to play there is probably due to the weekly sacks of sand and soil hauled down from Itaewon to make good the surface and to bury the dangerous debris (in a related move, the Grand Hyatt is now across the road from Starbucks in Itaewon High St). Anyway, all great news and I'm even promised some pics....

However, now we need to examine "dedicated".....which appears to mean "if you can book it" because so far the grand "da-dah, have I got a pitch for you" has been followed up by "oops, sorry, due to high demand..." etc.

Never mind, neither Rome nor Seoul were built in a day and the very fact that the SMG senior officials now have the good intent is highly appreciated!! Many thanks for a great step forward!!

ITS 2008 photos of the big Touch tournament in Seoul

You should now be able to get access to all the photos from then tournament here http://its2008.multiply.com/ (thanks Nancy and Jackie). Downloading the pics only gets small images but full size should be available on a memory stick (which will have to be paid for) by emailing internationaltouchseoul@gmail.com

With probably a thousand pics, you have to be able to find yourself somewhere!

New pitch for Touch and rugby in Seoul?

I think there is!!!

Tens rugby in Korea

The Waegook Cook are expanding their range of sports from Touch to rugby and their teams are wondering if there are any teams playing or keen to play 10's rugby. "We would travel and we can arrange with the farmer to play on our grass fields by the river if people are keen". Farmers field? Sounds like my westcountry home ooo-arrr! "We can't field a rugby team yet but this could be a stepping stone... and 10's is a great game anyway!" says captain Wille Sproule and he hadds "Cheers for a great season everyone- we're looking forward to the touch season next year and maybe some 10's rugby".
Contact Wille on huntersproule@hotmail.com or go looking for Waegook Cook on facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32850540684&ref=ts

Photo's from ITS 2008, Seoul's International Touch Tournament

We have about a thousand photos from the ITS 2008 Touch tournament and teams can now contact internationaltouchseoul@gmail.com to get access to 60-odd of the best pics...online.

More coverage in the newspapers of ITS 2008, Seoul's Touch tournament

Joe Moon, the JoongAng Daily reporter visited the ITS tournament and met and interviewed a lot of people. Here is his summary of the day, and although he mixes Touch with rugby, he has a simple and effective description of what makes Touch unique...
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2895211
This is the second article published in JoongAng about Touch this year. This newspaper is sold alongside the International Herald Tribune in Korea....

Hands keep hometown flags flying in ITS 2008 Touch tournament, Seoul

This is the famous Tits for Hands team (have you noticed how the newspapers only refer to them as "Hands"?) who belied their name this weekend as they held off the foreign challenge to keep one of the major ITS titles safe on the peninsula.
This is the second tournament in a row won by T4H and they look good now, timing their run to perfection in the Spire Touch Championship.
Talking of which, there should be one more tournament before the year end and Taejon is ruimoured to be itching to host it.....time to get on the road again!!

ITS 2008, Seoul's touch tournament gets wall papered

Lots of coverage for ITS in Korea Times and JoongAng Daily on Wed 24th Sept....check out the great photo and some queasy quotes in this article; http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2008/09/139_31495.html
It has to be said, Monsoon were a complete revelation....and they lived up to their bold claims in the tournament programme!
More photos from ITS 2008 will be available and the location to find them will be announced on this blog shortly.

New location for Touch in Korea?

The Seoul Metropolitan Government are rumoured to be considering a new location where Touch can be played alongside the river. If true, this would resolve the longstanding issue that hampers the development of the sport in Korea. With the Hangang Renaissance project removing the Yeouido rugby pitch, the situation had been worsening, despite the obvious and increasing demand for the facility amongst Koreans and foreign residents. The new pitch will be a real leg up for sport and collaboration between the host and foreign communities.

Meanwhile, Touch continues to be played every Saturday morning 9:30-11:30 on Yongsan Family Park. Just bring your gear and join in....

ITS 2008 "VIP and First Aid...a heady mix"

The first aid at ITS was provided by East-West Neo Clinic and here is the organiser and tournament nurse enjoying a tonic (of some sort) from the VIP tent right next door....fetching outfit this one and with the heavy rain, it became the look of the day....

Thanks Anne for making sure such an important function was provided and administered so well!

ITS 2008 is everywhere in Yonsei, Korea, Seoul Women's and Samyook University and PAGODA!

Thanks to 옷 애 (Osae, guess what it means!)

Pagoda kindly publicizes the tournament at its five branches and on the website.

The two rival universities, Yonsei and Korea university teams, will participate in ITS 2008!

Samyook and SWU are just five minutes away from KMA, so we expect more audiences from them!