Survivors Take On The Philippines

S E O U L S U R V I V O R S S E O U L S U R V I V O R S S E O U L S U R V I V O R S S E O U L S U R V I V O R S

R U G B Y F O O T B A L L C L U BR U G B Y F O O T B A L L C L U BR U G B Y F O O T B A L L C L U BR U G B Y F O O T B A L L C L U B

J U N E 1 8 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 5

IN BR I E F :

• Training at Jamwon rugby

pitch scheduled for 10am

Saturday. Make your own

way there or meet Kurt out-

side Itaewon Paris Baguette

at 9:15am. Please be there

before 10:00am and ready to

go on the dot. Remember to

send your apologies if not

available.

• There will be free beer for

the Scrooge Pub relaunch

from 5pm till 12am this Fri-

day night. It is also Aisea’s

farewell, so be there to sup-

port Mr. Ken and see off the

big man.

• Dragon Boat Race: July 11,

we need a handful more guys

and a small photo from eve-

ryone participating to make

this happen. See Kurt at trai-

ing.

CONTACTS :

• Ted Gray (Club Captain) 011-287-9558

• Roddy Bancroft (Manager) 016-494-7363

• Simon Walsh (Pitch Captain) 010-9417-9554

• Kurtis Taogaga (Media) 010-7263-5878

• Rawiri King (Coach) 010-8698-4982

• Justin Jackson (Social Officer) 010-5465-6122

Maybe Next Weekend

assured anyone with more

game in them can have as

much as they can take!

Our team will be a very

mixed team of youth, experi-

enced, very experienced and

guys who have not played for

us in a long while but have

stayed true to the “Once a

Survivor always a Survivor!”

mantra. True, we are missing

many of our Kiwi brethren

and I am not sure if any Aus-

sies are even stepping upto

the plate, but our team will be

aptly represented by Canadi-

ans, Americans, South Afri-

cans, some Kiwis and a token

Brit. Just wish there were

more! Look for our team to

have some excellent talent in

the backs and as always a

strong performance in the

forwards. Win or lose, this is

an opportunity one should not

miss.

ora of emails and vigorous

recruiting, a thinner squad than

expected has signed up and

will take the field come June

20th 2009. Three weeks before

the game was set to be played,

Matt Cullen told Brian Bruck-

man (a long time Seoul Survi-

vor) that there will be two

games or more for us to enjoy

when we came, followed by a

BBQ party with the local expat

team and of course the team

we are set to play. At that time,

the role call for more players

was mandated and yet another

intensive drive was sent forth

to recruit. Some of the new

guys picked up the charge and

will be joining us there. Sens-

ing a lighter than expected

turnout, another team has been

put together to play the second

national squad taking the bur-

den of two full games off the

Survivors. However, I was

By Brian Bruckman

Long time friend and head

coach of the Philippine National

Rugby Football Club, Matt Cul-

len asked our own dear dictator,

Ted Gray if the Seoul Survivors

would be keen for a game

against his squad. The main

thrust of this friendly game

would be for the coach to see

his players in real action for

selection purposes. (I person-

ally think that Matt was im-

pressed with the Seoul Survivor

performance in the Manila 2009

tournament, where we as a team

gained the respect of many

teams who watched our game,

judging from the hardy applause

given to us after our final game).

Ted Gray agreed and sent out

emails recruiting players to play

in this once in a lifetime oppor-

tunity. Quick to answer were

some of the older “seasoned

veterans” of the club. They

knew from experience that this

opportunity seldom arises and

should be taken very seriously.

From the very beginning we had

a small crew of players but as

time progressed interest grew

from the younger generation in

our ranks. With Yellow Sea Cup

commitments many players had

to make a choice as to what and

where they can play. The result

is many fine rugby players will

have to simply live vicariously

through those brave enough to

travel to Manila. With a pleth-

P ITCH D IRECT IONS :

• Leave Apgujeong Station

through Exit 6. Walk straight

down two blocks and turn

right between Hyundai High

School and Shinsa Middle

School. Walk to the end of

the street and turn left fol-

lowing the highway embank-

ment until you can enter the

River Park area about 50

metres ahead on your right

through the tunnel. Look for

the rugby posts.

The Survivors will hope to replicate form from the Manila10s played earlier this year

Survivors Make Statement Against Rams By RJ Karas

�eeding a result desperately to stay in

contention for China Pub Company’s

2009 Yellow Sea Cup, the Seoul Survi-

vors took to the pitch against the

Guangzhou Rams and did not disap-

point. From the opening whistle the Survivors

seemed to have an inherent motivation

that many long-time Hanbok supporters

had never seen before. It was almost as if

the Rams had kicked the Survivors puppy.

In the aftermath of the 71-0 dismantling of

Guangzhou speculation was running ram-

pant ... what was the spark that ignited

Seoul’s offensive outburst?

Some supporters pointed to the overall

team effort as key to the resounding vic-

tory, “All of your efforts were mighty!

Cohesion in the backs rewarding out-

standing forward play ... it was a pleasure

to watch”, said Survivors Treasurer Les

Edwards. The captain for the day, Rich-

ard Jarvis, said simply, “we finally man-

aged to pull all the individual talent to-

gether into a great team performance.”

One unnamed supporter also credited the

Survivors Social Chairman for his efforts

to be as hospitable as possible to the

visiting Rams the night before the match.

Looking at the standings it is clear what

has spurred the current resurgence of the

Hanboks.

Although Seoul leads the five-team tour-

nament in points scored with 79 through

two matches the more telling statistic is

that the Survivors are just as strong

without the ball as they are with it. At

the midpoint of the 2009 campaign the

Hanboks have allowed a staunch ten

points to its opposition. The Survivors

are clearly taking pride in their defense

and creating points from the mistakes

that their opponents are making.

With the full allotment of points in hand

the Survivors now only three points away

from the top of the table. With two

matches still to come the Yellow Sea Cup

is by no means out of reach. Although

Seoul does not control its own destiny

there is nothing but sunshine on the hori-

zon as the Survivors head into beach

season eager to stay fit and focused on

bringing home China Pub Company’s

2009 Yellow Sea Cup.

China Pub Company Yellow Sea Cup

Prop Justin Jackson charges against the Rams defence with Jacob Leonard (obscured), Richard Jones and David Judge

A rare sight: a Rams player in possession shadowed closely by David Judge and Simon Walsh (in tights)

Yellow Sea Cup Standings 18/06/2009 Played W D L PF PA PD BP Pts

Shanghai Hairy Crabs 2 2 0 0 50 30 20 1 7

Seoul Survivors 2 1 0 1 79 10 69 2 5

Beijing Devils 2 1 0 1 68 31 37 1 4

Guangzhou Rams 2 1 0 1 17 77 -60 0 3

Macau Rugby Club 2 0 0 2 36 102 -66 1 1

vors faced off against

players that were

much older and more

physically mature

some who were al-

ready 20 years old.

Despite going down

36-12, Captain Louis

Galtié was satisfied

with the inexperienced

Colts’ performance

stating, “We focused

on our strong points

and put up a good

fight”. He noted that

although the Koreans

were larger they shied

away from the physi-

cality of the match.

The Colts’ two tries

were scored by lofty

Centre Florent Darrou.

By Kurt Taogaga

The SSRFC Colts had

their first hit out against

a Korean high school

squad in a 10s match as

the curtainraiser for the

England Counties vs.

KRU President’s XV.

The Colts fought

bravely with many nov-

ices to rugby among

their ranks.

Backed by a good num-

ber of supporters includ-

ing family, friends and

Survivors, the Colts

were excited to put their

training into practice.

Disappointingly, bthe

Colts weren’t able to

gain a level playing field

from the very beginning.

Ranging in age from 14

to 17, the young Survi-

The first one coming

off an Antoine Peren-

nou chip kick and the

second after a skilful

draw-and-pass move-

ment with Galtié that

ran almost the length

of the field.

Coach Dan Grover

also expressed satis-

faction with the efforts

of his young charges

expecting this match

to lead to more games

and a better schedule

for the Colts in Korea.

Name: Jean-Baptiste

Paquereau

Nickname: JB

Position: Flanker; Hooker

Birthdate: 04/07/1976

Hometown: Arvillard, France

Player Profile Brave Colts Go Down In Debut

The man from the French Alps, JB, injured

his shoulder early in the season. Despite

his misfortune, he has continued to sup-

port the club closely and, presently on the

road to recovery, will look to claim some

game time over the coming months.

First rugby memory:

Jean-Pierre Rives bleeding after complet-

ing the Grand Slam in 1981 during the five

nations tournament.

What are you doing in Korea?

I’m an engineer for Bosch Diesel System,

in charge of making sure Korean cars ex-

ported to Europe meet new emissions

standards.

Favourite thing about Korea:

The rugby family friends, shops witch are

open 24 hours a day and the safety in

Seoul.

Least favourite thing about Korea:

I will never understand why Koreans have

to domesticate each wild part of their

country. I hate stairs when I am climbing

the mountains.

What do you enjoy about your posi-

tion? When I’m playing flanker, definitely

tackles. When I’m playing hooker, scrums.

What don’t you like about your posi-

tion?

I’m getting older, so I’m sometimes

wounded during contacts as I am currently.

Do you have a good luck charm/ritual

for games?

Unfortunately, I am not superstitious. I

have also to break a rumour: even if we

are French, we don’t drink wine before a

game (not always)!

What do you miss most about home?

My mountains, the Genepi flowers, cheese

and French wine.

How would you like to improve

yourself off the rugby field?

Big program! I have to be more

tolerant towards my host country.

I would like to improve my English

skills. I have to save money to

repair my chalet in the French

Alps. After that you are all wel-

come to visit me.

If you were to die tomorrow,

what would you be remem-

bered for?

The love my parents gave me all

life long and the unforgettable

moments I had with my wife since

I met her 15 years ago.

What do you like most at train-

ing?

Meet my friends, have a break

from the reality during a couple of

hours.

What do you like least at train-

ing?

It is too short, never enough. I

would like at least one more train-

ing during weekdays.

What are your interests out-

side rugby?

Mountain climbing, ski, surf.

Do you have a favourite quote

or saying?

“On the first ruck, the opposite

team has to talk with the moles”.

Jake Attawell restarts the match for the Colts

The Colts are now taking a break for the Summer.

Counties Match A Fizzer

By Kurt Taogaga

The England Counties

match against the KRU

President’s XV came and

went the night before our

fixture against Guangzhou.

The game was all over as a

contest by the twenty min-

ute mark. The Koreans,

shorn of their top line play-

ers due to Japanese club

commitments, went down

without so much as a

whimper against a slick,

battle-hardened England

Counties outfit. Down 61-0

at halftime, the much

hoped for Korean fight back

never materialised and the

Counties boys blew out the

score to 108-10. Korea’s

only try came from winger

Choi Si-Won in the 60th

minute.

The crowd was the largest

in Korean rugby history

thanks to some great pro-

motion, especially to the

expat population who

turned out in force. How-

ever, supporters would have

been disappointed not to

have seen a better and more

competitive match from the

hosts.

Survivors News Page

The Survivors Bucket BBQ

took place on Sunday and

drew a good number of guys

many of whom were still

recovering from the revelry

of the night before. The

weather held out for the most

part and all had an enjoyable

day swapping tales and eat-

ing good grub. Big thanks to

Dan Grover and partner Emi-

lie who were kind enough to

host the event at their hillside

pad. Thanks also to Nathan

Farren, Roddy Bancroft and

Tim O’Connor who turned

up earlier to prepare the food

and tend the brai.

Bucket BBQ

Ed: How can an event where there’s free booze, table-dancing, dress-up and someone drinking their own blood ever be consid-ered a failure?

By Justin Jackson

Well, The Seoul Survivors

once again attempted to play

a round of pub golf on Satur-

day June 13th. Things got

off to a rocky start with only

two people showing up at

the proper time and every

one else showing up when

they felt like. Luckily, peo-

ple still dressed up so hearts

were in the right place. After

much deliberations, pub golf

was cancelled and the idea

was put forth to go to Jin's

opening party and drink free

beer. This was put forth in a

vote, ratified and decided to

be agreeable by all parties.

Beer was drunk, tables were

danced on and much fun was

had by all. And thus ended

the First Annual Survivors’

Pub Golf Adventure; it died

before it ever got a chance to

live. To date, the Seoul Sur-

vivors are 1 for 4 in pub golf

attempts. That’s one success

and 3 failures. Maybe Next

Weekend!

Pub Golf Fails To Fly, Fun Still Had

Survivors meet at Scrooge in movie dress-up for Pub Golf

Veteran Survivor Aisea Hoeft is

departing the Peninsula for

greener pastures. Although his

official Survivor farewell was at

the Guangzhou aftermatch, his last

night in Seoul will coincide with

Scrooge Pub’s relaunch tonight.

After their Korean experience,

Aisea, wife Charlotte and new-

born son Jagger will recuperate in

Florida before heading to their

new posting in Italy. All the Sur-

vivors wish Aisea and family our

warmest wishes on their new jour-

ney.

Farewell Aisea

Credits

Editor: Kurt Taogaga Co-editor: Ali McCannell

Contributing writers: Brian Bruckman, Justin Jackson, RJ Karas and Kurt Taogaga

Photos: Manila10s - Paul Mancktelow; Guangzhou Match - Louis Galtié; Pub Golf - �ick �eumann

Aisea’s farewell drinks kick off at Scrooge at 6.30pm.