Han River Pirates kicks off new season

2010 is the fifth anniversary season for the Han River Pirates Touch Tag Rugby Club in Seoul. This is the club that brings together kids of all ages, boys and girls, expats and locals to play rugby and touch together in Seoul. This year, they are very fortunate to have the support of the newly opened Dulwich School in Seoul as hosts and the expert training from Seoul Survivors (which is how it started in 2005). With expected numbers of boys and girls playing to be around 35-40, it has always been a friendly and supportive group with as much fun for the parents and supporters on the touchline as for the kids on the park.
This year, the usual tournaments at Taejon are expected but word reaches us that rugby and Touch is also being played elsewhere on the peninsula so maybe tournaments will be expanded to accomodate?

Info on the Han Rover Pirates can be found here http://www.hanriverpiratesrugby.com/ or contact club President Matt Gurr.

ITS 2010 another massive success!

Touch in Korea goes from strength to strength and ITS 2010, their showpiece tournament was testament to that a couple of weeks ago in Seoul. A big contingent of teams from around Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore all were represented) as well as teams from across the peninsula. Once again, standards of play and refereeing rose and once again, the visiting teams paid tribute to the special welcome they get in Seoul. Read more from the Korea Times here http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2010/09/177_72709.html

Joe Day, Seoul Survivors inaugural life member

Congratulations go to Joe Day, Seoul Survivors club man for thirty years and their inaugural life member. Here is the scamp pictured a couple of years ago as a referee in the International Touch Seoul tournament. Enthusiastic, knowledgable and most of all, committed to rugby, Joe 's great efforts are well recognised by this award.

Oakwood Cup stays in Seoul

Seoul Survivors hosted the Oakwood Cup at the weekend and it sounds like a very even competition ensued. Survivors A, their second string Killer B's, the Tokyo Gaijon and a combined Korea + Yonsei Uni contested.

Korea hold their title at Shanghai Sevens

Korea hold their title at Shanghai Sevens

A brilliant display by Shanghai and especially captain Kim, Won-young whose buzzing presence and constant sniping marked him out as player of the tournament.

Korea beat China in the final by 38-24, a score at the final whistle making things look a lot more comfortable than they had for the last five minutes. The second half in the final was probably the only time the Koreans had been under serious pressure for the whole tournament and it showed as they made poor decisions (such as kicking penalties dead or into touch) as they tried to use up time. China played very well, deserved finalists and while they got too far adrift in the first half of the final, they came back strongly in the second and showed the form that had taken them past the other favourites, Hong Kong.

In the earlier rounds, Korea cruised through the group stages and quarter finals but must have been concerned to come up against Japan in the semis. They needn’t have been as they trounced their erstwhile main rivals by a huge margin. Quite simply, Japan were never in it which let Korea turn on the style and show boat, once again never letting the ball die and making outrageous passes even when over the try line….it was more than rubbing it in….so watch out at the next event!

Shanhai Sevens- Asian Rugby Sevens Series

As part of plan to develop rugby in Asia, 4th-5th September will see Shanghai stage an intensely fast and furious rugby tournament – “Shanghai Sevens” which was sanctioned by the international Rugby Board (IRB), the China Rugby Football Union and the Asian Rugby Football Union. It will become the newest stop for international rugby sevens with 2-day rugby festival incorporating international club7s tournament, vets 10s and exhibition matches.




In its effort to promote and grow rugby in China, the IRB aims to connect its Asian Rugby Sevens Series event withthe existing Shanghai Guinness Rugby Sevens Tournament. We will see the supporting games from its most successful amateur rugby tournament in Asia, which has over 15 teams participating.

http://www.shanghai7s.com/

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Changwon to Host Next Leg of Korea Rugby Series

Changwon, South Korea – August 9, 2010 — Changwon, west of Busan, will host the next round of the Korea 10s League rugby series. The third of four planned tournaments will be held on Saturday the 21st of August from 12pm to 5pm, continuing the growing success of expatriate rugby on the peninsula.

The tournament has space for six teams and the hosts expect to welcome squads from Seoul, Cheongju, Gumi, Jeollanam-do and Busan.

The last two tournaments have been dominated by the Seoul Survivors, although other teams are catching up fast. In the latest round in Cheongju, the Gumi Barbarians pushed Seoul’s A squad very close, only letting the previously dominant side win by a solitary converted try.

The Korea 10s League is a four round series held in cities throughout Korea aimed at promoting and developing full-contact rugby. The last tournament is planned for Gumi, north-west of Daegu, in early October.

10s Rugby tournaments have been held in Korea before but this is the first time that a coordinated league has been developed in order to provide rugby players with the opportunity for year-round competition against other competitive sides. 10-a-side rugby requires less player numbers and resources to run, maximizing the amount of teams and players, both foreign and Korean, that can participate in the tournaments.

Each individual tournament is played in a round-robin format. Points accumulated throughout the season will decide the winner of the series.