May 4, 2012

Act 3: Lions lose Pride

The Tokyo Gaijin RFC kept alive their hopes of making the semi-finals in Division 1 of the Tokyo Cup with a convincing 50 v 17 win over the Blue Lions. The result was quite impressive considering the Tokyo Gaijin RFC (TGRFC) were without their captain Alaister Nimmo, vice captain Shinichiro Nakayama and previous match's MVP David Chan due to social commitments. The team received good news before kickoff when prop John 'Viking' Herger decided to play despite a yet unhealed broken finger from a previous match, and Sam Deroeck passed a searching fitness to take his place at fullback. Dereocks's inclusion allowed the TGRFC the luxury of playing Takeshi Kawai at otuside centre.

April 25, 2012

Act 2: Total Domination

The Tokyo Gaijin RFC got back on the winning track after going down in the first round of the Tokyo Cup with a big win in their second pool game over the Gentle Giants to the tune of 72 v 12. Big Fijian Joe Nawaqavanua got the ball rolling with 3 early tries and a committed forward pack kept the opposition at bay for most of the game to annihilate the Giants.

April 16, 2012

Tokyo Cup 2012 : Scene 1 Act 1

15th of April, 2012

The first game of the season for Tokyo Cup 2012 was against a team with a formidable record.  They had previously played in higher divisions and won the 1st Division last year.  Koryo who is a team made up of a large number of players who had attended the North Korean School here in Tokyo and were renowned for the tough approach to the game and strong team work ethic.  From the outset it proved to be a tough battle with not alot in it at the end of the game.

April 11, 2012

Manila 10’s, 2012 – The Mike Parks Diary

The tournament started for me on Wednesday night when I arrived at the Oxford Suites Hotel and met up with Team Manager Chris Lucas, who was good enough to make sure that I was all checked in and well looked after.
 
I then went downstairs to the hotel lobby where the waiting started...
 
The one thing I've noticed about rugby tours is that you spend ages waiting for everyone to arrive.  Usually most people are on time, it is just the last 2 or 3 that result in everyone hanging around for an average of about half an hour while the dozy few take their time getting there - on one occasion that was me after closing my eyes for "5 minutes" after taking a shower! :-(