Survivors Look For Strong Finish vs. Rams

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 4 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 4

IN BR I E F :

• The Survivors host the

Guangzhou Rams at the Jam-

won rugby pitch this Satur-

day 6th of June. Kickoff is at

12:40pm. All welcome. Game

will go ahead rain or shine.

• Korea finished a disappoint-

ing 3rd place in the Asian 5

Nations. Unsurprisingly, Ja-

pan retained the title with a

fast-improving Kazakhstan

taking the 2nd spot.

• Money urgently needed for

the Philippines trip to play

the national squad. Contact

Brian Bruckman immediately.

• Next Saturday the 13th of

June will include training, a

visit to our orphanage charity

and a round of movie-

themed pub golf. Busy, busy,

busy!

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

struggles which many of the Chi-

nese squads have always seemed to

have transitioning from the easy-to

-use round chopsticks, which they

are so accustomed, to the flat,

metal variety that are native to the

land of Kimchi and Soju has lead to

quite a home field advantage for

the boys from Seoul.

In order to take advantage of the

home field the Survivors will be

looking for another strong per-

formance from their vocal leader

and coach Rawiri King. Ra, as he’s

known to the locals, is vital to

Seoul’s success. As a self-

proclaimed “utility player” Ra has

the skills to play anywhere from

flanker to fullback and brings a bit

of finesse along with that bruising

mentality that so many Kiwis are

known for. Many wonder where

the useful utility man finds the

strength that it takes to carry such a

burdensome load ... some might

say it’s the fire that burns inside his

heart for the game; a passion that

(Continued on page 3)

their second consecutive loss in

Yellow Sea Cup play, dating

back to last year’s final.

Clearly, by their initial per-

formance, the Rams have made

it known that no longer will

they be known as the doormats

of the China Pub Company

Yellow Sea Cup.

Though the Rams will have an

ample amount of momentum

coming into this weekend, and

certainly should not be under-

estimated by a young and spry

Survivors side, a daunting trip

to the peninsula awaits for

Guangzhou. Said trip has pro-

vided countless headaches to

many a foe. Since the inception

of the Yellow Sea Cup many

opponents have found that Ko-

rean peninsula serves as a sort

of kryptonite to their otherwise

skilled play. Tests have shown

that their is most definitely

something in the water that

flows adjacent to the Survivors

pitch; that, compounded by the

By RJ Karas

After an epic battle with the

Shanghai Hairy Crabs, which

left the Seoul Survivors search-

ing for answers as to how they

let the defending champions

pinch three points off of them,

the Hanboks look to rebound

this Saturday against a surging

Guangzhou Rams side.

Although the Rams are not a new

opponent to the Survivors, this

edition of the Rams side seems to

have made several key improve-

ments to a starting XV that was

quite easily dismantled by the

Survivors last October in Hong

Kong. Guangzhou, who were the

recipients of the China Pub

Company 2008 Wooden Spoon,

kicked off their 2009 Yellow Sea

Cup campaign with a surprising

win versus the Beijing Red Dev-

ils. The Rams walked away from

the match with the full allotment

of points after handing Beijing

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.

England Counties vs. Korea President’s XV The England Counties team is in

town and on Friday the 5th of June

they will take on the KRU Presi-

dent’s XV at Seongnam Stadium

just south of Seoul. The venue has

previously hosted the Asian 5

Nations encounter between Korea

and Singapore where Korea ran

out convincing winners playing

an expansive and clinical brand of

rugby. The local boys will hope to

emulate that form against a team

compromised of the best amateur

players from throughout Eng-

land.

The England Counties team has

had an indifferent start to their

2009 touring season drawing

with Irish Clubs 13-13 in Dublin

and going down in a hard fought

match to the French Amateurs

27-19 on their Twickenham

debut. Presumably, their opposi-

tion, the KRU President’s XV,

will be mostly composed of the

Korean national squad who will

be keen to get over a disap-

pointing third place finish in the

Asian 5 Nations campaign this

year. Both sides have a lot of

pride to play for and will no

doubt acquit themselves well on

the field.

This is the biggest rugby event

to hit the peninsula in quite some

time and it comes at the most

opportune of times for enthusi-

asts of the sport. Rugby is

(Continued on page 3)

they come to grips

with the expansive 10s

brand of rugby. Hope-

fully, this exposure

will garner more re-

cruits for the team and

help them kick off a

good rugby schedule

In an unprecedented

honour for any Survi-

vor side, the Seoul

Survivors Colts have

been invited to be the

curtainraiser match for

the England Counties

vs. KRU President’s

XV clash at Seong-

nam Stadium at

5:30pm Friday June

5th. In their first outing,

the Colts will play a

10s match against a

Korean high school

side. This will be the

first test for the Colts

after many weeks of

practice at the Jam-

won pitch.

The side, captained by

Louis Galtié, will have

a lot on their plate as

for 2009.

Under the guidance of

Coach Dan Grover,

the Colts have made

good progress in

training. The age of

the players range from

13-18 years old and

they come from all

manner of rugby

backgrounds.

The early kick off

means it’ll be a stretch

for many of the Survi-

vors to turn up in sup-

port but there will no

doubt be at least a

handful there early

enough to cheer the

lads on through their

first full contact game

together.

The Seoul Survivors RFC

are proudly sponsored by:

Colts Score Curtainraiser Coup

Seoul Survivors Colts Logo

Game Tip #1: Warm-Up and Cool Down A good feature of our match prepara-

tions last week in Shanghai was our

warm-up. It was thorough, vigorous

and ticked all the boxes in terms of

preparing the body for a game. Repli-

cating that this weekend will ensure

that our bodies are primed to perform

the job, prevent injury and assist re-

covery.

WARM-UP

Completing a warm-up before games,

rugby practices, and physical condition-

ing sessions (eg. weights or running) pre-

pares the mind and body for the harder

activities to follow. Please note the fol-

lowing features of a warm-up:

• Duration of 10 – 25 minutes.

• Intensity needs to progress from

easy (eg. jogging) to moderate (eg.

running) to high intensity (eg.

sprinting) activities and exercises.

And:

• Incorporate movement patterns and

dynamic stretches that are similar to

what you are about to do in the ses-

sion to follow. For example, com-

plete kicking patterns if you are

about to do a kicking session, or

body weight squat movements if

you are about to do some Barbell

Back Squa t s i n t he gym.

COOL-DOW/

Completing a cool-down following

games, rugby practices, and physical

conditioning sessions (eg. weights or

running) allows the mind and body to

relax and commence the process of

physical recovery. Please note the fol-

lowing features of a cool-down.

Duration of 5 – 15 minutes.

• Intensity needs to be easy (eg.

walking or jogging);

And:

• Incorporate static stretches.

www.coachingtoolbox.co.nz

Jagger ... who will

subsequently be mak-

ing his Survivors de-

but as a reserve on

Saturday ... will be out

to prove that, though a

year older, he still has

what it takes to anchor

the forward pack at

number eight.

With a strong side the

Survivors will look to

make up some of the

ground that they lost

in Shanghai. With a

good showing the

Seoul Survivors will

find themselves back

in the mix for China

Pub Company’s 2009

Yellow Sea Cup.

has drawn compari-

sons to the Macho

Man Randy Savage of

WWE fame. Others

may attribute his

overwhelming power

to the traditional,

Maori tattoos that Ra

carries with pride.

Those that know him,

however, will be quick

to point out that it is in

fact Ra’s rat-tail that is

the source of his

strength. Historically

Ra draws comparisons

to that of Samson, the

longer the iconic mane

grows the stronger Ra

becomes and it takes

nothing more than a

tug to get Ra’s atten-

tion.

Another Survivor that

will be ready to make

an immediate impact

will be Aisea Hoeft.

The Tongan, who was

unable to make the

trip to Shanghai due to

the birth of his son

(Continued from page 1)

Survivors vs. Rams

gradually seeping into

the Korean conscious-

ness through the

popular television

show Boys Before

Flowers where the

main character plays

rugby as part of his

career training.

Watched by over 30%

of all Korean house-

holds, it is bound to

have some positive

impact on the game

here.

Many Survivors have

pledged to attend the

match and should lend

some vocal support to

both sides as has been

previously witnessed

at Asian 5 Nations

matches played in

Korea.

(Continued from page 1)

England Counties

A native of the City of Lights, the unimagi-

natively nicknamed, Frenchy brings a burst

of Gallic aggression to the Survivors forward

pack. An ardent fan of ‘Les Bleus’, the bulky

lock emulates the passionate play that his

countrymen are known for.

First rugby memory:

The silence in the changing room before a

game. And the 1999 World Cup, semi-final.

What are you doing in Korea?

I'm Financial Controller for Valeo, a French

company which supplies air con to carmak-

ers.

Favourite thing about Korea:

I would say Incheon airport and Korean

barbecue!

Least favourite thing about Korea:

Driving in Seoul. You never know what they

will do.

What do you enjoy about your posi-

tion?

The ruck!

What don’t you like about your posi-

tion?

Being substituted!

Do you have a good luck charm/ritual

for games?

Since I'm in Korea, I never wear underwear

when I'm playing.

What do you miss most about home?

Paris: lots of culture, lots of good food, lots

of places to be.

What do you like most at training?

Meet you there, guys.

What do you like least at

training?

Only once a week. That's why Im

getting fatter!

What are your interests out-

side rugby?

Drinking and travelling.

Do you have a favourite quote

or saying?

"When we start to lose, we start

to fight."

How would you like to im-

prove yourself off the rugby

field?

Improve my English and call my

family more often.

If you were to die tomorrow,

what would you be remem-

bered for?

Good question, but if I'm dying

tomorrow, my mother will proba-

bly kill me!

Name: Jonathon

Decesari

Nickname(s): Frenchy

Position: Lock

Birthdate: 14/10/1983

Hometown: Paris, France

Player Profile

The Survivors

would like to

thank Scrooge

Pub for its

continued

support.

Credits

Editor: Kurtis Taogaga Co-editor: Ali McCannell Contributing writer: RJ Karas

A bus will leave

from outside the

Hamilton Hotel at

5:30pm Friday to

Seongnam Stadium.

Invite all your

friends and family

members to the

match. Cultivating

a large and loyal

supporter base will

assist us in future

fundraising efforts

for our club and for

our charity.