Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Selectors scout for England Counties rugby side to tour Korea
The scouts are out at the English league matches, searching out the best side for the England Counties XV trip to Korea in June. The team will fly out immediately after the English County Championship final on May 31 and meanwhile, Korea are making their own preparations to give the distinguished tourists a very warm welcome...warm weather, hot food and red hot competition on the field. Since Korea will have just finished the Asia Five Nations, and assuming the selectors pick the strongeest possible Presidents XV, then the Korean squad should be well drilled and in perfect shape to put immense pressure on a touring team that will not have had the opportunity of playing together....bring it on!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Korea Touch alumnus pioneers the sport in Tripoli
From our own correspondent
Well we had the first run of touch football in Tripoli last friday!!!
had a good group of about 14 , played at the International school, on a
dirt pitch. Good surface, it was very even, but no grass on it. Trying
to start up the weekly comp, lets see how many we get this weekend.
Not sure where our first tour will be to, but HK or Seoul might be a bit too much
of an exposure for us!
Well we had the first run of touch football in Tripoli last friday!!!
had a good group of about 14 , played at the International school, on a
dirt pitch. Good surface, it was very even, but no grass on it. Trying
to start up the weekly comp, lets see how many we get this weekend.
Not sure where our first tour will be to, but HK or Seoul might be a bit too much
of an exposure for us!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Taiwanese and Japanese Rugby Team Visit Seoul City Hall
A rugby team from Taiwan and Japan visited Seoul City Hall respectively in 1962 and 1963.
Mayor Oh also should do something for rugby in 2009, don't you think? :)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Korea Rugby Union re-elects Choi, Won-tae
In a closely fought election, the incumbent Choi, Won-tae beat off a challenger to retain leadership of the Korean Rugby Union. Despite being an alumnus of Dankook Uni, a famous rugby playing university in Korea, Pres. Choi was not a player himself. However, he has apparently committed himself to the role and has backed his candidacy with funds to support the development of rugby in Korea. In addition to his role within Korea, Pres. Choi is also the current president of the Asia RFU, a post he has held for a couple of years.
It will be interesting to see if stability brings rewards for Korean rugby. The sport desperately needs a coherent strategy, consistently implemented in Korea. Remaining number two in the HSBC-sponsored Asia Five Nations is not a given without improvements in the infrastructure and a substantial increase in the player base. Hong Kong, who certainly do have high ambitions backed by concrete actions, are progressively narrowing the gap on Korea…the shame experienced by the Koreans in a shock loss to HK at sevens should have been a wake up call. However, the KRU is notorious for its internal focus with key figures preferring to bask in the dubious glory of grand-sounding titles while doing little to build the sport. Their current approach is likely to leave a legacy of a painful, humiliating and lingering death of the rugby here on the peninsula.
All this is in sharp contrast to previous glories of the 80’s and early 90’s when Japan and Korea were neck-and-neck as leaders of rugby in Asia. A revival of those heights would surely bring credibility to co-host a world cup, something that would be very dear to Japanese hearts and at least consistent with the Korean government’s attempts to bolster the economy with tourism. An even earlier take on history reveals the true roots of rugby in Korea and perhaps provides the spark needed to ignite the patriotic fervour needed to be a great rugby nation. During the colonial period, it is said that the only opportunity the Korean people had to get one back on their oppressors without fear of reprisal was on the rugby field. A story, determinedly not apocryphal, tells of the time when one Korean high school beat all its Japanese opponents. It is on these kinds of foundations that rugby can build and, with the inherent Korean competitiveness and determination not to be outdone, you have the makings of an attitude that could be shaped to boost the obvious sporting skills that exist here.
So, Pres Choi has the mandate and now we’re waiting for the plan….followed by action which will eventually lead to results. Winning an election is not enough, Pres. Choi has now taken on the burden of delivering a better future for rugby in Korea. We wish him well and offer our support as we implore him to act with great energy and urgency to do what it takes to take Korea to its full potential in world rugby.
More coverage of this story can be found at http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=102&oid=001&aid=0002445257
It will be interesting to see if stability brings rewards for Korean rugby. The sport desperately needs a coherent strategy, consistently implemented in Korea. Remaining number two in the HSBC-sponsored Asia Five Nations is not a given without improvements in the infrastructure and a substantial increase in the player base. Hong Kong, who certainly do have high ambitions backed by concrete actions, are progressively narrowing the gap on Korea…the shame experienced by the Koreans in a shock loss to HK at sevens should have been a wake up call. However, the KRU is notorious for its internal focus with key figures preferring to bask in the dubious glory of grand-sounding titles while doing little to build the sport. Their current approach is likely to leave a legacy of a painful, humiliating and lingering death of the rugby here on the peninsula.
All this is in sharp contrast to previous glories of the 80’s and early 90’s when Japan and Korea were neck-and-neck as leaders of rugby in Asia. A revival of those heights would surely bring credibility to co-host a world cup, something that would be very dear to Japanese hearts and at least consistent with the Korean government’s attempts to bolster the economy with tourism. An even earlier take on history reveals the true roots of rugby in Korea and perhaps provides the spark needed to ignite the patriotic fervour needed to be a great rugby nation. During the colonial period, it is said that the only opportunity the Korean people had to get one back on their oppressors without fear of reprisal was on the rugby field. A story, determinedly not apocryphal, tells of the time when one Korean high school beat all its Japanese opponents. It is on these kinds of foundations that rugby can build and, with the inherent Korean competitiveness and determination not to be outdone, you have the makings of an attitude that could be shaped to boost the obvious sporting skills that exist here.
So, Pres Choi has the mandate and now we’re waiting for the plan….followed by action which will eventually lead to results. Winning an election is not enough, Pres. Choi has now taken on the burden of delivering a better future for rugby in Korea. We wish him well and offer our support as we implore him to act with great energy and urgency to do what it takes to take Korea to its full potential in world rugby.
More coverage of this story can be found at http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=102&oid=001&aid=0002445257
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