Maybe Next Weekend
SEOUL SURVIVORS RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB IN BRIEF: Good effort from the lads at the ITS, going down in the semifinals in a drop off to the eventual winners. More on the ITS in the next issue. Huge thanks to Brian Bruckman and the players that volunteered to do security at the Ka-Brew riverside music festival. The club is still looking for coaches to help out the Han River Pirates with touch rugby and introduction to contact. Sessions will be held at Dulwich International School from Sunday, September 19th at 9am. Colts training starts this Saturday at 12pm at Jamwon, directly after the seniors. Club dues are still owing from the beginning of the year. Contact Kurt.
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 5
SEPTEMBER 2010
Survivors Brave Southern Heat for Tens Honours
CONTENTS: Page 2: Expat Rugby Map. Page 3: Explosion of Rugby in Korea. Page 4: Expat View. Page 5: Survivors Tributes. Page 6: Warm Down. Page 7: Player Profile: Ibrahim Zylstra. Page8: Other news.
WEBSITE:
www.survivorsrfc.com
The SS Killer Bs’ Richard Jarvis charges headlong into the Changwon Crusaders defence (L) and the Survivors A squad pile into the melee against the Cheongju/Jeonnam combined squad (R). By Kurt Taogaga 21 August 2010 - The Changwon leg of the Korea 10s League took place in the epic heat of Korea‟s southernmost reaches. Forty minutes north-west of Busan, the Palyongdong Sports Centre, set in an unforgiving maze of apartment block towers, played host to the third gathering of expatriate rugby players in 2010. The venue allowed little breeze to penetrate the field and players received no respite from the cleat-melting heat. As well as being the third in a four leg series of Rugby 10s tournaments, the Changwon event also doubled as Survivor/Barbarian player Joshua „Bumbles‟ Pearce testimonial ahead of his departure for China the following week. Expected to lead his home team, the Changwon Crusaders, the Otaki man had organised a tight schedule of three games for each team in the baking midday heat, reducing the games to seven minute halves with extended half-time breaks to minimise the effects
of the August weather. The Gumi Barbarians, rebranded as the Changwon Crusaders in honour of the hosts and the main provider of their playing strength for the day, successfully promoted the rugby message to their home crowd, fielding a number of local rookies, and organised an awesome day and night of rugby and festivities. Unfortunately for the hosts, a lack of some of their seasoned campaigners meant they went down in every game and finished in last place. The Cheongju Knights and the Jeonnam Aliens both attended with weakened squads, due to it still being the vacation season. An amalgamation between the two teams produced a competitive side that rallied bravely against the Crusaders and the Killer Bs to take second place in the tournament, despite the limited cohesion of a thrown-together squad. The team‟s aspirations were thrown into doubt when star winger Dan Ropp went down with heatstroke midway through their match against the (Continued on page 6)
Expat Rugby on the Peninsula Seoul Survivors Ilsan Gentlemen
Suwon Stormers
Cheongju Knights
Gumi Barbarians Gunsan Air Force
Ulsan Panthers Changwon Crusaders Busan Bulls
Jeonnam Aliens Approximate Strength
Activity
Busan Bulls
5-10
Training and outsourcing players to other squads.
Changwon Crusaders
10-12
Training and outsourcing players to other squads.
Cheongju Knights
15+
Possible 15s squad (v Jeonnam and SS development); active 10s squad.
Gumi Barbarians
15+
Active 10s squad.
Gunsan Air Force
5-10
Training and outsourcing players to other squads.
Jeonnam Aliens
10-15
Possible 15s squad (v Cheongju); active 10s squad.
Seoul Survivors
40+
Yellow Sea Cup; 10s tours; 7s tournaments, etc.
Ulsan Panthers
5-10
Possible 10s squad (v Maritime and Pusan National).
Ilsan Gentlemen (touch only)
10+
Interested in contact rugby.
Suwon Stormers (touch only)
10+
Interested in contact rugby.
Club
Explosion of Rugby in Korea By Kurt Taogaga 2010 has witnessed a veritable flourishing of the game in Korea among various expatriate communities dotted throughout the country. From Gunsan to Busan, new teams are have sprung up nationwide, recycling old heads back into the mix and attracting novices to a new sport that combines physical exertion, mental endeavour and ironbound camaraderie .That sport is, of course, rugby. These new contact rugby teams are currently in varying stages of development ranging from the oldest and most established club, us, the Seoul Survivors, who are able to field two full men‟s sides with enough hangers-on to form a Masters side, to teams in an earlier stage of their progress. In Korea‟s rural heartland, the Cheongju Knights and the Jeonnam Aliens, from the deep south, have earlier demonstrated their ability to put together a XVs squad whilst the remainder have used the inaugural Korea 10s League to build a platform from which to launch their names further into the sporting consciousness of their respective local communities. Earlier in the year, the Cheongju Knights defeated the Jeonnam Aliens 17-10 in Cheongju in March. Jeonnam then hosted a 10s match against the Gumi Barbarians at home, once again going down, 25-20. In early…, our very own SS Killer Bs trumped the Cheongju Knights, 29-7 at Jamwon. Results aside, the links between the clubs have been solidified and have to lead to more rugby games in a few months than we would normally play in an entire year. The boom of expatriate teams in Korea parallels closely the rise of rugby on the
world stage. Worldwide, rugby itself is taking off in ways that couldn‟t be imagined in the amateur era. The abridged version of the game, Rugby 7s, has won entry onto the official schedule of the 2016 Rio Olympics and will most likely feature as a demonstration sport in London 2012. The IRB‟s flagship Rugby World Cup is the third most-watched sporting event behind the Football World Cup and the Summer Olympics, having reached a cumulative audience of 4.2 billion in 2007. On the national level, Korea itself found itself in a good position to exploit this worldwide growth in rugby. This year, the national squad had the chance to qualify for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Finishing second in the Asian 5 Nations would have granted them a repechage game against Uruguay, ranked two places higher on the IRB table at that time. Victory there would have secured a spot in New Zealand next year. Although Korea‟s World Cup campaign floundered in the Incheon rain, the ascendance of Rugby 7s has produced an opportunity for Korea to excel in a format of the sport where she is more naturally gifted; fast, fit and skilful are par for the course among Korean players. Worryingly, rugby in Korea (as in Asian powerhouse Japan) is the preserve of a cabal of prestigious universities, cliquey high schools and large corporations; in effect, an elitist sport. Last year, the President‟s XV was annihilated by the visiting English Counties team. The selection for the ill-fated President‟s squad was rumoured to be a second or third-rate side, squandering an opportunity to capture the casual rugby spectator‟s imagination, or at the very least
earn a minimal amount of respect, by treating the game so nonchalantly. Only recently have the Korean authorities begun to view expatriate teams (specifically the Survivors) on any sort of equal footing. Unsurprisingly, such late approaches by the higher-ups are viewed with suspicion after years of neglect and inertia. Impassioned individuals have come and gone on the peninsula without being allowed to make a mark on the sport in this country. But, at the very least, being approached by the Korean Rugby Union (KRU) is a step in the right direction. In these developments, both internationally and locally, we can envisage one of the most exciting times for our sport in this country since the founding of the KRU in 1946. Although these expatriate teams are not officially registered with the national body, more often Koreans are joining or wanting to play against expatriate sides, where they see the brand of rugby being played by foreigners mirrors more closely that being played internationally. To have a Korean player sacrifice the comfort and familiarity of a team full of his compatriots for a team composed mainly of foreigners shows that, even at the amateur level, the writing is on the wall for the hitherto sluggish KRU. In the Darwinian arena of professional sport, the mantra must be: “adapt or die”. How we cultivate these expatriate teams and engage with Koreans on the subject of rugby may well have an impact on the future of the sport in this country; but it‟s how well the Koreans themselves run with these opportunities that will determine the result at the final whistle.
Images of expatriate rugby - teams gather from all around the country. From left to right:: Dan Ropp of the Jeonnam Aliens confronts the Gumi Barbarians’ Philli O’Brien; O’Brien looks to offload under pressure from the Cheongju Knights’ James Nielsen; Cheongju’s Alexander Callagy attempts to work over Survivor Justin Jackson.
Expatriate View: Jeonnam’s Quick Rise in the Korea 10s As part of the focus on expatriate rugby, Iain Davey of the Jeonnam Aliens gives his match report for the Changwon 10s. By Iain Davey Thanks to everyone who made it out to Changwon yesterday for the tournament. Certainly the conditions for playing or watching rugby weren't ideal but aside from the heat and humidity, I think everyone had a great time of it. Things didn't start well for the Aliens, who were only able to muster six players (Dan, Gerry, Ben, Richter, John and myself); however the Cheongju lads were in a similar situation so we decided to combine into one team. We were first up, scheduled to play against a weakened Gumi side which had lost some key players to injury and travel. After quickly figuring out a game plan and who was playing where we got stuck in. The first half was fairly evenly matched. Gumi were characteristically hard hitting and tough in defence, but lacked the impact around the fringes of the ruck with which they've been so dominating in the past. We struggled to maintain possession, due in part to Gumi's excellent rucking and also some breakdowns in communication between our pods. Dan and Gerry however were able to combine well with James at fly half and make some inspired runs up the field, but at half time the scores were still nil all. After the break and some much needed water we got the breakthrough. Dan created some space for himself with a step and a chip, and then capitalized on a good bounce and a Gumi mistake to reclaim the ball and score under the posts. Richter grubbered the ball into the soccer net to keep things interesting, but our heads were up and with a few subs, some fortunate calls from the ref, and the shortened halves (only seven minutes), the five points were enough for the win. Next up for us was the team to beat, the Survivors A. In our previous three matches against the Survivors, we've gone down by 30-50 points. Typically, the Survivors put a few points on the board, get some momentum going and simply muscle us out of the match. Our aim in Changwon was to try and control the pace of the game as much possible, and not to panic under pressure or under the high-ball at the kick-off. For the whole match I feel we were able
to achieve both goals quite well. Both teams were determined in defence, and even with the Seoul boys spinning it wide and putting pressure on our much smaller backs they were unable to break through. Similarly, we had plenty of trouble breaking the Survivors' line, their defence around the fringes of the ruck and the first channel was brilliant. Finding it difficult to get far past the advantage line led to our game became increasingly and unnecessarily frustrated. This led to us (myself, specifically) making some poor decisions which threw away possession. When this happened in both the first and second half the Survivors were quick to turn the ball over and overwhelm our scrambling defence. However we can be happy with holding them to only 14 points, and I feel like with some more fine-tuning we can get that margin even lower. However, the elusive first try against the Survivors still eludes us, and may continue to do so for a while yet. During the Seoul match we lost Dan to the conditions...even having had drunk plenty of water and being fitter than the rest of us put together, it was inferior genetic material that got him in the end (bad circulation, apparently). After the initial scare the boys got him cooled off and under-control, but our offensive power-house would be out for the last match, the play-off for second place against the Killer Bs. The Killer Bs are almost a new team every time we play them, which is as much a good thing as it is a bad thing. It's good in the sense that they seem to lack a coherent game plan or decision making process, and a bad thing in that often we're going up against players we've never seen or played against before. We decided to stick to the game plan, keeping it very simple with an emphasis on support and maintaining possession. We've seen in all our other games that the Bs' defence doesn't shift and James was able to take advantage of that almost immediately with a diagonal run across the line and a pass to put Ben 'Face'/'Silverjew'/'Lizard King' Silverblatt into space down the sideline. The Face was brilliant in drawing and beating a B defender then making a textbook offload back to James for an easy five points under the post. Colin
added the extra two points with no trouble. Going 7 down in the first half sharpened the Bs' up remarkably, and they used their bulk impressively to cross the gain line a number of times, however they were unable to get any momentum going, being handicapped by some lucky calls for us and some poor handling by them. With ball in hand the Aliens continued to play well but fatigue was definitely showing. I for instance screwed up a screamer of twoon-one with a quarterback-esque forward pass to Richter, and there was a chip-and-chase which didn't include a chase. However, by the middle of the second half we stringed three great phases together to get within striking range of the Bs' line with a 2 man overlap down the blind side. The scrum half didn't see it but Gerry did and made the pass to James who put in a brilliant grubber to beat his man and give me on the wing an easy five points in the corner. With only 30 seconds left and being 10 points up the game was in the bag, however the Bs' showed a lot of character to score a 90m try after the siren. In the end, both ourselves and Cheongju decided to forfeit the points, but we took the second place silverware. For my mind, our best players were the Face (who gets better every game) and Gerry, who was his typical best in making aggressive and incisive runs around the ruck. Special mention must also go to Colin (Cheongju scrumhalf) whose service at the base of the rucks and scrums was almost always perfect and to James (Cheongju journeyman) for combining excellently with our backs throughout. A big thank you to all the Cheongju lads too, who played with a lot of heart for a combined team, and of course all the fans that made it up. The next fixture is in Gumi on October second, and hopefully we'll have a friendly down here near the end of September as a warm up. As always, it's important to get to training so we're all on the same page and ready to acquit ourselves well in the coming months. I feel confident that with the full strength team that we potentially have, and with some luck but more so discipline, we can take out first place in October. Let's work towards that.
Survivors Mourn Tragic Losses By Ted Gray It is with great sadness that I must report the passing away of a great friend and legendary Survivor, Nick Van Gelder. He was with us on the pitch from 1999-2000, and with us off the pitch until his untimely death on July 18 of this year. One week prior to that date, he suffered a massive heart attack from which he was unable to recover. Nick was healthy, fit and young...the attack was just a case of horribly bad luck. On the pitch "Lovey Dovey" played with us memorably on our tours to Saigon, Vietnam in the fall of „99 and to the Guam 10s in our first appearance there in 2000. It was in Guam that Nick played his final game of rugby. After leading our team to two victories at the start, he suffered a terrible leg injury in the third game and was taken to the hospital with multiple tears in his knee. We didn't win another game in that tournament after that. Suffice to say losing him was the end for us as well. He was an exceptionally good back and had the ability to turn a game with his
clever passing and running. Perhaps it was in his genes - his father, Malcolm, played a few games for the Wallabies back in the 1960s. After retiring from rugby, Nick continued to be an ardent supporter of our club and of rugby in general. He got us our first big (and to this day still by far the biggest) sponsorship deal through his company, Macquarie Bank. This sponsorship deal did a lot towards getting us going in the first Yellow Sea Cup. As well, he did a lot of work trying to promote rugby in Korea - he put together an international match between the national sides of China and Korea towards that end a few years back. Nick's work moved him and his family to Singapore in 2007 - I was very sorry to see him leave, but glad in knowing that he would still be coming to Korea a few times a year for work. Nick could always be counted on to show up at Scrooge for a few rounds whenever he was in town. I often wondered, though, if he was just checking to make sure I was taking good care of his ex-baby the bike I bought from him before he
left! Sadly, his last visit here was just shortly before he died, on June 17th, where he took a final spin on it. Neither one of us had any idea at the time that we wouldn't be seeing each other again. Nick is survived by his wonderful wife, Samantha, and his two beautiful daughters, Alex and Anna. My heart goes out to them all.
Rest in peace my friend.....
In further tragic news, young Colts winger James Sprake passed away in a diving accident in Malaysia in July during his family vacation. Sprake displayed great talent as a winger with genuine pace and power. He also doubled as a model and was an enthusiastic skateboarder during his time in Seoul. The thoughts and prayers of the club go out to his family and friends in this difficult time. The Survivors will wear black armbands in the next Yellow Sea Cup match against Beijing in honour of Nick and James.
Nick van Gelder (centre) with Survivors Chris Edwards (current President of the Beijing Devils) and Chris Morrison.
(Continued from page 1)
Survivors A squad. Thankfully, the Aliens speedster was the only participant to succumb to the stifling heat and humidity of the Korean summer. Unsurprisingly, the Survivors A squad remained the team to beat on the peninsula, winning all three games comfortably. Standout performer, Manasa Tuilau, recently returned from an enforced layoff with a broken nose, carved defensive lines seemingly at will. He was aided in the engine room by the sterling work of man-of-the-tournament Steve Ko, vet-
eran Brian Bruckman, enforcer Rico Colón and captain Simon Walsh. There was little room for the Survivors backs to make their make mark as the heat contributed to uncharacteristic handling errors from all sides. The Killer Bs looked to improving their table standing and their overall play and achieved both goals with a 3rd place finish in the tournament. Player-of-the-day for the Bs was Luke Reidy who used his scintillating pace out wide to gain good yards and touch down for the Bs. Other standouts were Richard Jarvis and Fijian
newcomers, Naceni Lagicere and Joshua Wainiqolo in the backline. The Changwon Crusaders can take pride in a well-run event that built further upon the objectives of the Korea 10s League. The after-party was well attended and supplied with food and beverages if a little bit on the hot side. Thanks go out to Joshua „Bumbles‟ Pearce and his Changwon crew for organising the tournament, Simon Walsh for organising the bus and all the supporters who came down on such a hot weekend to support the Survivors and rugby in Korea.
Left to right: Survivors Rico Colon and Kenneth Park help a heat struck Dan Ropp from the field; a Changwon Crusader cops a Killer B shoulder to the neck; Tim O’Connor receives a face wash from his opposite; Crusader Joe Higgins hangs on to Survivor Simon Walsh for dear life; Killer B Matt Butler comes to grips with the Changwon Crusaders’ Aidan Maloney.
The Benefits of the Warm Down The main reason for warming down is to improve recovery and to help avoid muscle pain especially between events at a tournament. The reason for the pain that athletes feel after exercise is often mistakenly called lactic acid but in fact that clears out from your body very shortly after exercise. The reason for the muscle aches that people feel is due to an increase in the level of acidity in the muscle and a rise in the level of hydrogen ions in your muscles. Warming down helps the body to stabilize its acid level as well as lower the levels of hydrogen ions in the muscles by pumping fresh oxygenated blood into the muscles. This also helps your body restore its stores of ATP (energy stored in the muscle) to help you recover faster and perform at your best sooner. For most sports, including rugby, light jogging and total body stretching is all that would be required. Around two laps of the field should help recovery followed by an energy drink or bar to help restore what you may have burnt during a game.
Contrary to popular belief, when wanting to gain weight (muscle mass) it is more important to increase your carbohydrate intake than protein. Protein makes up your muscles but the energy
used to make this transaction happen comes from carbohydrates (lots of them). For any tips on training or nutrition Email me at nattkins@hotmail.com and keep an eye out in the next newsletter.
Warming down after sport is equally as important as warming up before it.
Player Profile: Ibrahim Zylstra Nickname:
Ibe
Position:
First-Five
Birthdate: Hometown:
05/10/1985 Brantford, Ontario
Zylstra debuted for the Survivors in early 2010, arriving in the winter off-season; a fortuitous recruitment for the club, given the loss of experienced five -eighth Richard Jones at the end of last year. He has made the number 10 jersey his own this season, starting in the Manila touring team, Yellow Sea Cup squad and the Survivors A 10s squad. In addition to steering the Survivors around the field, his accurate passing and jinking sidestep has wrongfooted many opposition players and opened up space for the Survivors attack-minded backline. First rugby memory: Grade 8. Never played rugby and was heading to high school the next year to join the team. My older brother took me out for a run around to show me what the game was all about. After the first 10 minutes of fitness I nearly shit my pants. No joke. Ran to the washroom and swore never to play again. What are you doing in Korea? Trying to be a groupie for T-ara. K-pop is the best!
What do you like most at training? Post training showers. Cause I’m the ‘biggest’ guy.
Favourite thing about Korea: Girls who hold hands.
What do you like least at training? Contact.
Least favourite thing about Korea: What are your interests outside rugby? Boys who hold hands and the man-purse (murses). Hustlin’, player hating and ripping phat rhymes like It makes me laugh uncomfortably. a lazy Susan. What do you enjoy about your position? Do you have a favourite quote or saying? Passing the ball off and watching others get Pee + poo = diarrhoea. smashed. How would you like to improve yourself off the What don’t you like about your position? rugby field? Everyone can see when you mess up. I want to fall in love. Do you have a good luck charm/ritual for games? I ritualistically scan the sideline for women I wish to impress..... they usually end up leaving unimpressed. What do you miss most about home? My moms, my parrot, fresh air, and good beer that’s relatively cheap.
If you were to die tomorrow, what would you be remembered for? Dukers (that’s slang for poo poo). Eat your fibre and stay regular everybody.
Editor: Kurt Taogaga. Contributing writers: Nathan Atkins; Iain Davey; Ted Gray; Kurt Taogaga. Photos: Changwon - Sara Parry; Page 3 - Robin Ash; Page 5 - Ted Gray.
Oakwood Cup Looms on the Horizon By Kurt Taogaga The long-awaited Oakwood Cup fixture between the Seoul Survivors and the Tokyo Gaijin looms on the horizon and the organisational gears have churned into action for another epic weekend of rugby. The Cup, so named because of the Seoul and Tokyo team‟s common sponsorship deal with Oakwood, has been long in the discussion and planning. As we enter the last two weeks before the Japanese expatriate squad lands on these shores, it is interesting to note some of the historical and cultural parallels that this fixture throws up, adding to the excitement and the folklore of the coming match. For one, the rivalry between Korea and Japan can be intense; at times even bit-
Youth Coaching In an effort to integrate age group rugby development into the wider activity of the Survivors, the club has encouraged its members over the last few years to take on coaching and mentor roles to young Korean and expatriate children at various clinics throughout the city. This has come both through our community work with the orphanage as well as through the work of our Youth Outreach
terly so. In the days of yore, the Japanese have used the Korean peninsula as a stepping stone to control of East Asia‟s natural mineral wealth; abundant resources that Japan herself lacks. Japanese invasions and occupations of the Hermit Kingdom are deeply etched into the minds of Koreans young and old, and even though the majority of Survivors claim no Korean heritage, the significance of a Seoul versus Tokyo rugby match still evokes the sentiment of an ancient confrontation. Today, the enmity between these longtime foes has dissipated into competing claims over small islands in the Sea of Japan (or is that the East Sea?). The modern spirit of Korea/Japan competition has replaced swords, arrows and turtle ships with GNP calculations, stock market performance, currency strength and battles on the rugby pitch – at least on September 25th it has. The Gaijin will arrive here looking to
emulate the Japanese national side in comprehensively handing the locals a shameful defeat. The Survivors will thirst for revenge with memories of a World Cup hopeful Korean side capitulating in front of home support earlier this year in the Asian 5 Nations. As the Tokyo team find it just as hard to tour as we do, the most likely format will be a 10s round robin between the Gaijin, the Survivors A, the Killer Bs and other teams from around Korea, subject to player availability over Chuseok. However, that may change as the Survivors look to get a 15s match before the final Yellow Sea Cup round for 2010 in Beijing. The after-party will be held at Scrooge, so come down and support the club at the match and enjoy the cool autumn weather on the riverside with some craft beer provided by Ka-Brew, courtesy of Brian Bruckman‟s security detail.
Officer Richard Jang. The Survivors have also been invited to supply coaches to the Han River Pirates for the fall season. Standard Chartered Bank recently sponsored a children‟s rugby coaching clinic at Jamwon rugby pitch. Held every other Saturday morning, the young children of Standard Chartered employees had the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of our great game. Survivor Richard Jang and other coaches sent by the Korea
Rugby Union, with a little help from Survivors enjoying their summer break, took their young charges through some fun drills and games in a sport which the youngsters have little previous experience with. In a nation dominated by soccer, the earlier children start to get the feel of the oval ball game, the better and faster they will develop into Korea‟s future rugby athletes. Hopefully, the Survivors can replicate this with the Han River Pirates.
For more detailed directions and other useful information go to our website at www.survivorsrfc.com