By Bridget Tunnicliffe
A local mixed-side team made it three from three, while a visiting team took out the men’s competition at the fifth international touch rugby competition in Seoul over the weekend.
Twenty teams were involved in the tournament and it continues to be one of the largest sporting gatherings of expats in Korea, if not the largest, with Korean players also entering the competition.
The Hands team which came together at the last minute to try and defend its previous two titles had an early wake-up call in the form of the National University of Singapore team, an all women’s side, which took all the teams in the mixed-section by surprise.
The tournament was without a women’s division this year, so the only option was for them to play in the mixed section, but they gave a few lessons to the other sides in terms of their defensive effort, discipline, and communication on the field.
NUS went through the preliminary round unbeaten and first up opponents Hands, rusty from a lack of preparation, were soundly beaten.
Nathan Atkins, captain of the Hands side admitted they initially underestimated the petite women.
“They look little and they’re young but they came out and they attacked us, fortunately as the day went on and we played more games together we improved each time and we played with far more intensity in the final against NUS,” he said.
They eventually won the tightly contested final 4-3.
This was the first time the Singapore team had played at ITS and they didn’t quite know what to expect but they definitely prepared well. Player/coach Karen Cramer said the girls practice twice a week and they work hard on communication. “It’s the way we defend as well, we stick to our defensive player and we corner them so we can dictate which way they go,” she said.
In the men’s competition the Korean sides didn’t fare so well. The final was played between the Tokyo Warriors, and the Hong Kong Thunder. The Thunder took it out 3-2.
Hong Kong player, Wiupang Lai, said winning was a nice reward for the players, some who have been playing together for 10 to 15 years. “We’ll try and get back here next year, ITS is better than other Asian tournaments we’ve been to especially in terms of the organization and the way the visiting teams are looked after,” he said.
Organizer Shane Lowndes was grateful to the weather gods for providing a sunny day in the midst of the monsoon weather. He said this year was notable for the large number of international teams that made up nearly half of the draw. He’d like to see more local sides next year and encourages anyone interested in playing to come along to the regular Saturday pick-up touch sessions in Apgujeong-dong, southern Seoul. “Guys, girls, people with no experience, everyone’s welcome, it’s an easy sport to learn and a great way to meet new people,” he enthused.
For more information about playing touch in Korea go to https://www.koreatouch.com