International rugby comes to Phuket

[LivinLOS]

International rugby comes to Phuket

PHUKET: Rugby fans are in for a feast in the coming week as the first International 80-80 Rugby Tournament is staged on the island.

Matches in the four-team tournament will be played this weekend and in the evenings next week, culminating with the play-offs and final on Sunday, August 14.

80-80 rugby is a new format whereby players must weigh no more than 80 kilograms at the start of the season and no more than 85kg during the season.

The weight restriction gives nations whose people are more slightly built than those in the West a better chance of winning, and there are high hopes that the Thai side will do well against the opposition from New Zealand and Australia – two of the world’s top rugby-playing countries – and Japan, the top rugby-playing nation in Asia.

Apart from the weight restriction, 80-80 rugby is full 15-a-side contact rugby played under the existing International Rugby Board (IRB) laws fo r official under-19 matches.

“These Unions represent the ‘powerhouses’ of Southern hemisphere rugby and of course, Japan is the leading rugby nation in Asia, being the only one to have made it into a World Cup,” said Dr Marut Muangkeo, President of the Thai Rugby Union (TRU).

The schedule of matches, which will all be played at Surakul Stadium, is as follows:

Saturday, August 6, 2:30 pm: Japan v Auckland; 4:30 pm: Thailand v New South Wales.

Tuesday, August 9, 5 pm: Auckland v New South Wales; 7 pm: Thailand v Japan;

Thursday, August 11, 5 pm: Japan v New South Wales; 7 pm: Auckland v Thailand;

Sunday, August 14, 2:30 pm: playoff for 3rd and 4th places; 4:30 pm Final.

Organizer Don McBain said, “The matches have been arranged to provide the greatest opportunity for the people in Phuket to see some fantastic rugby.

“For this reason matches will take place at Surakul Stadium and are scheduled in the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday and in the evening on week days.

“The tournament favourites,” he noted, “must be Auckland. They have an established 80-80 competition and have been in intensive training for this tournament for three months.

“However, it is difficult to write off the other teams. New South Wales have selected their team from all over the state. With such a wide pool they are guaranteed to be strong.

“Thailand is fielding a side that is close to its full national team, apart from a few of the bigger players.

“Japan is the “dark horse”, but the fact that it is being managed by the Secretary of the Japan Rugby Football Union tells you they will not be a push over.”

The competition was originallly scheduled to take place in Bangkok, but the Ministry of Sports and Tourism decided to change the venue to Phuket as part of its post-tsunami recovery policy.

Dr Marut said, “When told of the venue change, representatives of Auckland Rugby Union and New South Wales Rugby Union were very enthusiastic. They will be spending some time in Bangkok as they pass through, but were more than happy [at the prospect of] playing their rugby in Phuket.”

Dr Marut explained, “When told of the venue change, representatives of Auckland Rugby Union and New South Wales Rugby Union were very enthusiastic. They will be spending some time in Bangkok as they pass through, but were more than happy to be playing their rugby in Phuket.”

The IRB is expected to send both technical development managers and media representatives to study and record the tournament; footage of the event will be broadcast worldwide on the IRB’s weekly Total Rugby program.

Brought to you by:
The Phuket Gazette
11:41 local time (GMT +7)

So where is that staduim ???

[faultytowers]

Originally Posted by LivinLOS

So where is that staduim ???

It is in Phuket Town near Darasumat School.

[LivinLOS]

Is anyone else around that enough of a rugby fan to hit these.. I will deffo make the finals but would give even the other matches a watch..

Could be an interesting competition..

[Captain]

Best place for rugby must be soi Bangla...lot of running, grabing, catching

[LivinLOS]

Odd shaped balls... ******s...

18 stone guys...

[ratpack1]

cant trust the nips,,,,,,,, they will send their best team,, all lightwieghts..
Dizzy, my moneys on them..........

[Coolhand]

Phuket _ Thailand scored an emphatic victory in their second game of the inaugural 80-80 Rugby World Championships when they overwhelmed Japan 67-8 at the Surakul Stadium on Tuesday night.

It was an excellent performance by the Thai team after suffering a 70-0 loss against the powerful New South Wales side in the opening match.

Against Japan the fast-moving Thai side went on the attack right from the start and outplayed their opponents with their swift moves as they moved into a 36-3 at half time..

Thailand continued to dominate in the second half as they completed their 67-8 triumph. Kitti Wangkanai scored four tries while Nantawat Wongwanichsilp also played very well.

In Tuesday's other match, New South Wales ''Trim-Tahs'' clinched a place in next Sunday's final with an upset 19-15 victory over pre-tournament favourite Auckland who had beaten Japan 86-0 in their opener.

In a game dominated by the forwards, Auckland took an early lead with a try but New South Wales fought back with tries by Andrew Wiles and fly-half Jake Havebond to give the Australian side a 13-10 lead by half-time.

The second half was a very tight affair but a field goal by Havebond and a second penalty by David Kehoe was enough to see New South Wales home by a four-point margin despite heavy Auckland pressure at the end.

Today New South Wales play Japan at 5 pm and Thailand take on Auckland at 7pm.

Next Monday the New South Wales squad will visit Kao Lak to give assistance to the Tsunami Relief Organisation.