Scenes from the last Spire Touch championship

May 24th we'll see the same kind of action and excitement as the March tourny and we'll have sunshine and green grass....with big prizes on offer, what's stopping you?
Sign up your team by emailing seoultouch@gmail.com
(Here we see Waegook Cook trying to dance around Han River Pirates....I could show you what happened next.... ;-) )

SPIRE KOREA TOUCH SERIES - Round 2, 24th May

The next round of the Spire Korea Touch championships is taking place on Yeouido on May 24th and anyone who went to the first is bound to be back for this second event. First time around the winners were Survivors....who will it be this time

The championship is a series of tournaments held over the course of the year. Teams participating collect points depending on where they finish in the event. This means that even if your team is weakened or misses a tournament, you are still "in play". Over the course of the year, it is expected that about five tournaments will be held and thanks to generous sponsorship from Spire (owners of La Cigale de Monmartre, Bungalow, Il Tavola and Embassy Club in Itaewon), big prizes are awarded.

In round one, eight teams and more than a hundred players fought it out in beautiful sunshine on the rugby pitch at Yeouido. The tournament lasts about four hours so there is plenty of opportunity for spectators, supporters or the vaguely curious to come and check it out.

Register your interest by emailing seoultouch@gmail.com

Seoul National Uni v Tokyo Uni rugby

Next Wednesday, these two famous universities slug it out in Seoul....with plenty of history between them, it should make for a good contest...

Korean rugby needs more of these encounters, exposing the local game to different types of opposition will raise standards and they are a good reality check of the progress of the game here...

ITS 2008...location, location, location!

The first two ITS tournaments were held, courtesy of the Korean Rugby Union at their Oryu Stadium. However, that presented some problems in the first year (too dusty) and the second year a hundred mm of rain overnight made the surface unplayable early on and delayed the start. Good humour and good sense by the teams got over that problem but it certainly isn't something anyone wants to risk this year!

So, now the hunt is on for better facilities; no mean task in Seoul since sports grounds are so few and normally those available are bereft of normal supporting capabilities. Not to worry, we will get there.

Now is the time to start rallying the troops and registering an interest....we want to make it another big one!

Tournament date is Sept 20 2008 in Seoul. Open competition.

Japan and HK go two from two in Asia 5 Nations

Japan thrashed Arabian gulf by a hundred points and then HK narrowly beat Kazakstan in front of a big crowd in HK (Seoul please n ote, here's one way to boost your tourism figures). http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/03052008/3/hong-kong-beat-kazakhstan-asian-five-nations-rugby-match.html
Despite teh fact that both HK's wins have been close, their coach still believes they can win the inaugural championship! Maybe it is because the teams have such different shapes, styles and sizes? Kazakstan are reputed to be a big and heavy side which may make them more of a handful for Japan...but it is tough to believe that the gap will be so big.

Korea's next game is on May 9th against the Arabian Gulf in Doha....can they chalk up their first win?

Korea v Japan on TV

Showing at 7-9pm Sunday on Star Sports http://www.espnstar.com/tvtimes/tvtimes_index.jsp plug in Korea as teh country (or Korea Skylife if that is your supplier, then rugby as the sport and the dates you want to search, and note that the times shown in the link are HK times, add an hour to get Korean times).

Meanwhile, Japan put a hundred past the Arabian Gulf....which puts HK's narrow victory there into perspective! http://www.espnstar.com/rugby/newsdetails.cmd?id=7040560

BCCK Rugby night photos

Lots of photos of a great night out with the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea can be found here http://www.bcck.or.kr/activities/photo_gallery.asp