Phuket Lomas Rugby

The excellent sports facility at Patana International school in Bkk was the setting for the BKK Lions Youth Rugby 10's tournament. The Phuket Lomas Youth Rugby program had teams in the Under 12 & Under 16 divisions.

Saturday 18th February 2012

First team in action was the Lomas U 16s against one of the favourites for the cup CIMB Cobra from Malaysia. In a tense hard fought game in which the Lomas gave as good as they got and came close to scoring on a number of occasions but the Cobras prevailed scoring with the last play of the match to run out winners by 7-0. In the 2nd game it was up against the British International School from Shanghai. In a game similar to the first Lomas dominated possession & territory only to go down to a breakaway try mid way through the match & pushing forwards at the end to try and even the score gave up an intercept to lose 12-0. Two great games for no return. Last game of the day was against Nak Suu Tigers from BKK and this time everything came together for a convincing 19-0 victory. Some hard games on day one with only one victory to show for some very enterprising rugby & the lads were a bit disappointed but could be proud of their performance.

The U 12s were in action against the BKK Japanese in game one overwhelming them by 25-0 in a great display of controlled rugby. Next up was a tougher prospect of the AGOAL Rugby Academy from Sri Lanka but the lads were full of confidence & played a great game to record a strong 20-0 victory. Two out of two with the two toughest games to come. Lomas V BKK Lions always produces a classic game in all age groups and this was no exception. The Lomas went ahead early with two tries with the Lions coming back strongly to score and leave the result in the balance but some great defence saw the Lomas hang on for a deserved win 10-5. Last game of the day saw the Lomas up against Sandy Bay from Hong Kong, always a strong side & last years champions. Lomas started strongly with their bigger forwards making inroads into the opposing defence and setting up two tries early on. There followed a period of stalemate before Sandy bay surged back into the game and scored with two minutes left on the clock to ensure a tense finish but again great Lomas tackling saw them hold to to record a famous victory 10-5
Lomas U 16's
Played 3- Won 1 Lost 2
Lomas U 12s
Played 4- Won 4

Sunday 19th February 2012
Once again it was the Lomas U 16s first into the fray & who better to open proceeding against on day than old friends & adversaries the BKK Lions. In a mirror image of the U 12s game the previous day it developed into one of the all time classic encounters between these two close rivals. The Lomas started off the quicker of the two teams and some enterprising play saw them surge ahead with two converted tries to take a half time 14-0 lead but the Lions are full of heart as their name suggests and came back strongly in the 2nd half of the match and strong forward play forced a score under the posts which was converted to leave the game delicately poised. Once again intense pressure from the Lions Pack forced a penalty close to the Lomas line and good work from Alex Brewer saw them crash over in the corner to score. The conversion was missed and that proved to be the last play of the game for Lomas to win a fantastic game 14-12. Last of the pool games was against AGOAL from Sri Lanka & games against these sides has been a feisty affair in the past & this was no exception with both sides giving no quarter with furious tackling & rucking by both sides & the ref hard a hard time keeping the lid on things & eventually the whistle blew for an entertaining and hard fought 0-0 draw. This result meant that they would both meet again in the Plate final & again this produced a hard fought match with neither side giving anything away and Lomas made the breakthrough to score in the corner to secure a 5-0 half time lead. Some altercation with the Sri Lankan coaches, staff & parents with the referee & organisers meant a delay to the 2nd half & when it resumed seemed to have influenced the referee who proceeded to penalise the Lomas at every opportunity which eventually led to AGOAL scoring a try in the corner with the last play which was brilliantly converted for AGOAL to win by 7-5. Lomas were devastated to lose but earned a creditable Plate runners up medal for their weekends work.

In the meantime the U 12's were in action against Nak Suu Tigers in the last of their pool games and battered their way to a 15-0 win to ensure a place in the cup semi finals where they played Nak Suu Tigers again and ran out 20-0 winners & a place in the Cup Final against Sandy Bay
Sandy Bay always travel with a big crowd of supporters and they made sure of a boisterous atmosphere for the final. Lomas started off strongly with some big hits and solid back play and forced the 1st try of the game to take an early lead 5-0 which they held until half time. Sandy Bay came back strong in the 2nd half and an early score evened it up. With the Lomas under constant pressure the Sandy bay lads scored in the corner in the last minute to win 10-5.
A fine performance all round by the Under 12's who played superb rugby during the weekend and just came up short but a cup runners up spot is very credible and we would have taken that at the beginning of the weekend.
Well done to the Lomas & both teams are looking forwards to going a step further at next years event.
Big Thanks to Ahmed & the Bangkok Lions for putting on a great tournament & see you all next year

The seniors tournament at the BKK 10s was won by the New Zealand Legends who defeated COBRA from Malaysia in the final
The Bangers on a Bike also started their BKK to Phuket Charity bike ride and will arrive in Phuket on Friday 24th with their aim of raising money for the Asia Center Foundation for the 3rd year completed by 11 cyclists this year. More can be found from bangeronthebike@gmail.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Asia-Center-Foundation-Phuket-Thailand-NGO/130830796958357?sk=app_182667455607