Maybe Next Weekend
SEOUL SURVIVORS RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB IN BRIEF:
• Training is on at Jamwon Rugby Pitch every Saturday at 10am. As per usual.
• An optional training session is being organized for Wednesday evenings. Keep on an eye out for the latest info.
• Full contact rugby teams are springing up all over the peninsula. To participate in your local area check out the ‘Expat Rugby’ link at the Survivors website.
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Training with JK
• Dues for the year 2010 are 50,000 won. There will be a dispensation for those who register later in the year. You will receive a complimentary Survivors tie once they come on line.
• First YSC game April 24th in Guangzhou.
CONTENTS: Page 2: JK Dinner, Lost Survivors. Page 3: Player Profile - James Tucker. Page 4: Old articles. Page 5: Survivors Mailbag. Page 6: Busan Trip, Pitch Directions.
John Kirwan demonstrates new defensive techniques to an attentive Survivors outfit.
WEBSITE:
By Kurt Taogaga
www.survivorsrfc.com
In a huge coup for the Oakwood Seoul Survivors, the team was able to hold a training session on a chilly Wednesday night at the Seoul Foreign School under the tutelage of All Black legend John Kirwan. Hero of the 1987 Rugby World Cup and the face of depression awareness in New Zealand, Kirwan enjoyed a career in rugby that straddled both the amateur and professional eras and has experienced the upheavals and the opportunities that money brought to the game at that crucial juncture. Unsurprisingly, the turnout was strong for a chance to train under the current coach of the Japanese national squad. Bolstered by an enthusi-
astic contingent of Colts players, the Survivors were immediately put through their paces with warm-up variations on touch rugby designed to keep players moving at maximum speed and thinking on their toes at all times. JK, as he is affectionately known, also introduced a series of drills that he uses with the Japanese national squad to develop those players’ core skills in passing, catching and tackling. The drills have already been enthusiastically adopted by the Survivors’ coaching staff and players alike. JK referred to these drills as the Japanese players’ ‘rice and miso’, meaning that they were the basic staple of the Japanese national squad’s training sessions. If the Survivors adopt these practices as their ‘rice and kimchi’ perhaps the squad can go one better in the Yellow Sea Cup for 2010.
A Legendary Night with JK By Jacob Leonard How many “Rugby Legends” have you met? For a few lucky Survivors, that number is at least one. On the 18th of February, the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce presented “A Night with John Kirwan.” The dinner was held at the Grand Hyatt, a place Survivors usually do not frequent. First, the guests were treated with heaps of free or complementary beers and wine. They spared no expenses to provide the best of both. “Captain Cooker”, a fine Manuka Beer, and Hunter’s wine (Simon’s stash) were given to all who attended. Following introductions, attendees were graced with a J.K. speech. He spoke about life as an All Black and how tough times can be made easier with the help of others. The guests were then treated to an outstanding spread. During that lamb and beetroot jam feast, big screens flashed highlight footage of J.K.’s days as an All Black. Rugby World Cup
Survivors toast the night with former All Black legend John Kirwan. scenes from 1987 made the dinner a special night for everyone especially the Kiwis in the house. Following dinner and the “gay Auckland winger” highlights, an auction was held to raise money for rugby for foreign children here on the Korean Peninsula. All
together, nearly 4.5 million won was raised to aid in the future of rugby. Finally, guests were able to chat and drink the night away. They were able to ask the “World Cup Winning Winger” his thoughts on rugby and life. (Continued on page 6)
Survivors Rebuilding in 2010 The Oakwood Seoul Survivors have taken some hits this year. In 2009 and early this year, we have lost or are about to lose the services of some longstanding Survivors as well as those who were only here briefly but contributed what they could in the time they were with us. Let’s see this as an opportunity to blood new players on the field and in organizational roles and recruit others to join our great club and keep the momentum going this year. If I have missed anyone from the list below, please forgive me.
Nick Abas Cameron Bolstad Jonathon Decesari John Goddard Aisea Hoeft Sebastian Ibarra Richard Jones David Judge RJ Karas Rawiri King Juan Nieto Justin Painter Hendrick Perry Rafael Valdez Alexander Walsh
Returned to Canada Returned to New Zealand Moved to Mexico Moved to Hong Kong Moved to Italy Returned to the USA Returned to New Zealand Returned to England Moved to Australia Moved to Taiwan Returned to Venezuela Moved to Turkey Moved to Hawaii Returned to Paraguay Returned to New Zealand
Best of luck to all these Survivors in all their future endeavours!
Player Profile: James Tucker Nickname:
The Stain
Position:
Centre
Birthdate:
21/03/1983
Hometown:
Wendover, England
James “The Stain” Tucker has anchored the Survivors potent backline throughout 2009. His no-nonsense attack and confrontational tackling style earned him the respect of his peers and a starting spot in this season’s big fixtures. An unusual sternum injury punctuated his season, leaving The Stain sideline for much of the Fall. Having recuperated in time for the 10s at Yonsei, he’ll be looking to confirm his spot in a competitive 2010 line up. First rugby memory: The wing is no place to be during English winters. What are you doing in Korea? Teaching and rearing kids. Favourite thing about Korea: The food and the cost of living. Least favourite thing about Korea:
What are your interests outside rugby?
Litter and shoddy architecture and a lack of proper bacon.
I do a lot of painting.
What do you enjoy about your position? Crash ball and tackling. What don’t you like about your position?
Do you have a favourite quote or saying? The whole of the British Empire was built on cups of tea and if you think I’m going to war without one,; you’re mistaken, mate – Nick Moran, “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”.
Not a lot right now. Do you have a good luck charm/ritual for games? A good strong cuppa a few hours before. What do you miss most about home? Mates, family, London. What do you like most at training? Tackling practice. What do you like least at training? Realising how uncoordinated and unflexible I am during Jonny’s drills .
How would you like to improve yourself off the rugby field? Better disciplined and more driven. If you were to die tomorrow, what would you be remembered for? Being a good mate, a good Dad and for my painting.
Stories From Last Year... Due to technical difficulties a number of stories went unpublished last year. They will be reproduced here for posterity.
The Survivors Travelling Road Show By Brian Bruckman On October 10th a small contingent of boys from Seoul left their lair to support rugby in the small town of Gumi, which is just outside of Daegu. Originally the game was planned as a friendly game of 15s but numbers were quite surprisingly weak, especially from the Seoul side. With numbers being a problem, the game was changed to four quarters of 10s. With just two subs on each side after Seoul donated two, the game began. Playing against a hardy foreign side that was quite evenly matched the game was quite competitive. The first try was scored quite unknowingly as there were no lines on the grass field that was in the middle of farm country. A huge lifting tackle by the defense
actually brought the ball down in the try zone, unknown by the ball carrier, which was more intent on not loosing the ball in contact than to worry about actually scoring. The game was filled with huge hits, loads of stolen ball and a bunch of nice tries on both sides. By the second half, the sub situation was looking grim as injury started to creep in. Both sides showed excellent potential and rugby was the real winner of the day. The final score was 3 tries Seoul, 2 tries Gumi. (We could have seen a higher scoring game if someone would have known that you can’t run the ball out of the try zone!) No worries the infraction was punished later at the sponsor bar. Off to the bar and apart from excellent rugby, the Gumi team really knows how to have a social. The local
team combined the after party with Oktoberfest celebrations. What a novel idea, large amounts of beer to be consumed with a bar full of rugby players. Needless to say it was a hit. After numerous boat races, nail hammering competitions and the occasional dance display, the boys turned in. All waiting until the next time we meet up and play the boys from Gumi. A special thanks to those who made the trip. (Wish there were more.) It is imperative that we as a team support all rugby in Korea, especially smaller teams just trying to make a start. If we can foster good relations and support other teams, they will prosper in return and give us more of what we want. RUGBY!
Survivors Overcome Spirited Beijing By Kurt Taogaga The Oakwood Seoul Survivors capped off what is likely to be their final Yellow Sea Cup match for 2009 with a hard-fought 22-3 victory over long-time rivals the Beijing Red Devils. In a later than usual 4pm kickoff, the Survivors made tough work of their fall outing as the light dimmed over Seoul’s Jamwon rugby pitch. The undermanned Beijing showed huge mettle in defence and good tactical nous to lead 3-0 at the break via a penalty chance from one of the Seoulites’ numerous ruck infringements in the first half. A torrent of penalties against the locals and poor handling skills contributed to a lacklustre opening half and Seoul did itself no favours when hardy warhorse Brian Bruck-
Jeff Rands leads the forward pack on another Survivor foray into the Beijing defence.
man was binned before the break for dangerous play. The home team spurred itself into action in the second half, down to 14 men and under huge pressure from the crowd, managing
to slot their own penalty opportunity and level the scores at 3-3 through the boot of five-eighth Richard Jones. Rolling the reserves ten minutes into the second spell worked wonders for
the Grey and Blacks with massive bench contributions from forwards John Goddard, Jeff Rands and wrecking machine Tobias Jerling ensuring the home squad front foot ball and turning
Survivors Overcome Spirited Beijing (Continued from page 4)
around a previously stagnant effort. Also, some incisive running from debutant fullback Adrian Konstant off the bench brought much needed attacking focus in the backline. The improved performance lead to Seoul finally breaking the deadlock midway through the second half when captain and man-of-the-match Simon Walsh regathered a lucky bounce to score from 15 metres out and send a ripple through the crowd. Walsh’s try signalled a dip in fortune for the Devils and prompted the Survivors to throw around a lot more ball and successfully find space in a tired Beijing defensive line. A brilliant team movement was finished off by centre Kurt Taogaga juggling a Walsh reverse flick pass to barge over the line and send the game almost out of the Devil’s reach. Number eight John Goddard then put the final nail in the coffin showing great strength and vision to crash down and send the supporters into overdrive and allow the home side to remain without loss at Jamwon in 2009. Nevertheless, the local boys were lucky to come away with such a scoreline which rather flattered the Survivors and wasn’t a fair indication of the Devils excellent defensive effort. Had the Devils travelled with a full complement of players, the outcome could have been very different. The Survivors will take a few hard lessons from the game, while Beijing will take heart in the fact that they kept a normally rampant Survivors scoreless for 40 minutes with only 17 players to call on. Despite the win, the Survivors lack of a bonus point leaves the fate of the Yellow Sea Cup out of their hands. The Devils now face favourites Shanghai in the Chinese capital. All the Survivors can do is watch and wait.
Credits Editor: Kurt Taogaga Co-editor: Ali McCannell Contributing writers: Brian Bruckman, Jacob Leonard and Kurt Taogaga Photos: JK Training, Beijing Robin Ash; Busan - Sunny Myung.
Survivors’ Mail Bag Surprisingly enough the mailbag was a bit empty this week ... although with the holidays and whatnot it is understandable. Remember, any questions that you might have for any member of the Survivors are welcome at: survivorsmailbag@gmail.com. Do you want to know where The Stain got his nick name? What’s up with the landing strip on Dan Grover’s chin? Maybe you’d like to know the proper way to straddle a sheep ... God knows we have enough Kiwis on the team to figure that one out. Again, any question is a good question!!! For now, though, we will leave you with a brief bit of humor at Australia’s expense...
“Robbie Deans takes the Wallabies out for a training run and first up he tells everyone to assume their normal position. So they all go and stand behind the goalposts and wait for the conversion.”
Jacob Leonard struggles against Beijing’s smothering defensive line.
A Legendary ight with John Kirwan (Continued from page 2)
Most that attended stayed until all the wine bottles fell empty. Special thanks go out to the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce for promoting rugby here in Korea, Dan Grover for the Survivors table, Simon Walsh for the great microphone work, Ian and Roddy for buying a couple of awesome jerseys for charity, and J.K. for his time. A great rugby player, a great night, and a perfect cause made “A Night with John Kirwan” a perfect evening.
Survivors Take the Show to Busan By Kurt Taogaga The weekend of the 27th of February, the Survivors took an expanded squad to Korea’s second city to take on the Busan National University Eagles and the Maritime University on an unexpectedly cold and windswept day in the peninsula’s south. The Eagles proved a worthy opponent for the Survivors using their speedy backs to score the first try and threaten the line on numerous occasions throughout the match. However, the Survivors were too large and well-drilled for the relatively novice Eagles and managed to eke out a win by a couple of tries over the Busanites. The Survivors also took on the Mavrik Jeon-coached Maritime University in 10s after the Eagles match. Both matches were played in good spirits and refereed very professionally. The Survivors were also complemented by players from the Gyeongnam Nighthawks and the Ulsan Panthers through-
out the day. The Panthers also had a good 10s hit out against the Samsung Old Boys Club and look to have some very talented players on their roster. The co-operation between the three expat sides and the quality of the players from Gyeongnam and Ulsan bode well for the future of the game among expats in South Korea. Post-match, the teams met up for a fantastic meal of Busan Samgyeopsal and refreshments further cementing the links between the clubs. Hopefully this encounter will provide all the clubs involved the incentive to organize more quality rugby matches throughout the country.
Public Transport: Apgujeong Station (#335) Exit 6. Walk down the road for about 500 meters and then turn right between Shinsa Middle School and Hyundai High School. Walk to the end of the road and turn left at the TT-junction. Keep walking, after 75 meters there is a tunnel on your right. This takes you under the Olympic Expressway and brings you out in a car park by the river. The rugby pitch pitch is on the right of the car park. Driving: Go south over Hannam bridge over the Olympic Expressway, turn right towards Apgujeong Stn. The road loops around and you head east parallel with the river but south of the Olympic Expressway. After 500m turn left at the traffic light between Shinsa Shinsa Middle and Hyundai High schools. Go to the end of the road, turn left and after 75m turn right through the tunnel under the Olympic Expressway. The rugby pitch is on the right of the car park.