Asian junior rugby 10s Manila 2015

For most of us, it all started on an early Friday morning, extremely

excited to hop on a plane to Manila where most of us had never been to.
We
were dying for the school week to pass to hop onto that
plane bound to Manila. As we got onto the plane
and settled in, we already could feel our hearts
pounding with excitement.
When we finally landed after the 4-hour flight,
we boarded a bus which took us straight to the
Alabang Eagles club where we would spend
the next two days playing rugby.
We woke up with the sun shining right on our faces, even though our first
game was at 11am we still got up at 6am due to the excitement and
eagerness flowing through our blood. The whole team got up without any
fuss and jumped into the crowded shower room where everything got
wet and messy. 3 showers for 15 brothers, you probably know how well
that worked out, but nevertheless we got showered and kitted up and
had a high-carb, nutritious breakfast to give us all the energy we need
until lunch. Our first game was MBO which resulted in us having a great
win with a big score margin 42-0 to KL Saracens, this gave us a huge
confidence booster for the day. We advanced through the day without
any real completion from the Filipino teams but nevertheless they gave it
their all even though the score margin was big, The boys there have a
big heart and determination to win, they gave it their all and played the
best, walking off the pitch with a smile on their face.
It was our last game of Day 1 where we would face our match of this
tournament, Hong Kong Tigers. They showed us they meant business
and that they were no easy fly-by team... The score was tight for most of
the game, until the Tigers managed to make a quick break to secure
them the victory, however we will meet them again in the finals.
Exhausted from our day of hard rugby we headed back to our hostel.
After a quick turnaround in the showers we headed to dinner together
and enjoyed a satisfying feed after what was no doubt a long day of
physically draining activity. At the start of the tournament we had the

intent of wanting to swim and play the various games the Alabang
clubhouse offered. However, from the extended exposure to the sun and
beaten bodies we were almost fainting from exhaustion at around 6pm
The u16 boys had an early night as it would be a much earlier start the
following day.
The tournament consisted of the first day being a round-robin style
competition where the teams will gain points to determine what position
they would place in the pool the next day. We had to play another group
stage game against MBO once again. The match again saw a
pleasurable result with a large score-line and no points conceded. This
meant we had placed second out of the five teams and would thus go
against the team that came third. This meant we were playing Clark.
After around an hour break and several confusing changes to the
timetable we were set to enter the semi-finals. However we started slow
and Clarke scored a quick try within the first minute. We were shocked
and responded with a try straight after kick off to bring the score to a tie.
The whistle for the end of the first half went and we gathered to discuss
the positives and negatives of our performance. We came to the
conclusion to play a forward focused tactic as we outweighed them in
size and strength. The second half was eventful with Saracens coming
away with three more tries, resulting in the victory and advancement to
the finals. This is where we would face our contenders for the cup.
Both teams gathered for their final team huddles where the last few
words of advice were said before the whistle sounded for the start of the
cup final. KL Saracens were set to kick off. Almost straight off the kick
off, the Hong Kong Tigers sent it wide and scored on the wing. We were
automatically disheartened and had the wind knocked out of us.
However we stayed strong and fought to get back in the game. We
focused on hitting the ball up in the forwards and slowly sucked in more
and more men whilst gaining yards efficiently. However once again, from
poor defensive work, the Tigers found a gap on the wing and scored
bringing the game to 12-0. Moments before the half time stoppage, we
sent the ball wide quick off a scrum and Alex L, the French lad, scored a
great try bringing us slightly closer to the Tigers initial two tries. The
second half saw Tigers scoring another two more tries, one converted,
which pretty much cemented their glory of winning the cup final.
Saracens scored a consolation try in the last few moments in the game,
which resulted in a bit of a fight to end off a heated game.

This tournament had thought us boys many things even though we did
not get the result we expected to get, we still learnt how to be brothers.
After all the disappointment faded away we looked back on the whole
experienced and realised how much closer we got, all of us acted as a
real team. How much closer can you get? We showered together, slept
in the same rooms together, played together and ate together.
I would like to say thank you to Coach Steve who has been an absolute
legend this year, he pushed us beyond our limits and showed us what
passion is like to coach a rugby team. Not to forget Paul Lingan who is
our club manager who had invested so much time and effort into this
club, organising games, chasing players along with Coach Steve for
replies and also teaching us whats rugby really about.
I would like to give a big shout out to Norli who or organised this trip to
Manila and the many parents who came along to support us and to help
us in any way they could.
I would also like to thank my teammates and brothers for such an
amazing experience, probably one that I would cherish for a very long
time.
Written by: Alex Bouman and Julian Holle.