Another March-Madness, rubgy-style, has come and gone, and for the tenth year in a row the Survivors made the annual pilgrimage there. As always, it was a weekend to remember, and as the subtitle suggests it was a typical animal-act kind of weekend. Even without the Snake or Moose in attendance, the Chicken did indeed run (almost out of the restaurant with an empty stomach), Froggie went a-courtin', and Puma galloped along in his usual stately gait; sandals, socks and all. The weekend concluded with the normal array of bumps, Bruises, scratches, scars, and a variety of other skin ailments....and as per usual none of them came about from on-the-pitch activities.
First of all, the rugby. We started off slowly, in true Survivor style, and had the misfortune of being placed in a rather strong pool on the first day. Two of the three teams we played, in fact, made it to the Cup round on Sunday. Still, we played quite well & managed to be right in both of our first two games despite losing to Saipan and Valley from Hong Kong 19-0 and 22-0, respectively. Our final game on Saturday pit us against the host club side Asian Lizards, where we got it together very well and came out 36-0 victors, the biggest margin of victory I can remember from a Survivor side in Manila. Much of the credit for that goes to the speed and strength of our backs, anchored by Cuddles and Jandals; both of whom put in a great effort throughout the weekend.
The following day saw us seeded in the Plate round, as the top #3 team from the day before. Our first game was against a Hong Kong team known as the Tequila Mockingbirds...a tough and very experienced side, which came out very strong at the start. We held them off & the game remained scoreless at the half, with both teams playing very well defensively. The second half continued much the same way, with the final break coming for us near the end, when the Chicken made his big Run; securing a 7-0 victory for the good guys. That finished, we moved on to the Plate semis, against Macau...or at least we were scheduled to play Macau, but as often happens in Manila the Sunday teams bear only a scant resemblance to the Saturday teams. As it happened this time around, the Macau team managed to secure a handful of 1st division H.K players, including one who plays for the national side. Another chap apparently had just played the week prior for his club in Wales....all this info was given to us by our loyal spies, AKA the Pot Bellies, who stood by our side both on and off the pitch, as they always do. The game was a see-saw battle throughout, but unfortunately we eneded up on the short end of a 19-12 score; with Macau scoring twice in the last 3 minutes. No shame though, as the boys gave it their all.
Speaking of boys...as I mentioned in an earlier transmission, the biggest star of the weekend was reserved for the girl; "Bruiser" as her new (and appropriate) nickname goes was a standout throughout the tournament...impressing everyone there "...hey, did you see the tackle that chick just made?"...especially the tournament officials, who voted her the Player of the Tournament. How about that? Another Survivor first...well done Steph - a well-deserved award indeed. By the end of the first day, teams were coming over and asking if she could play for them. The Fonz was certainly starting to feel more like The Pimp.......
Having played our last game, it was time to get back to Phase II of the Manila weekend...the social phase. Many of the boys had a pretty good head start at this one on nights prior. Some of them even seemed to be the lucky recipients of two-for-one coupons at some of the local establishments....no mere tadpoles, they. In fact, we certainly set some kind of record for having the largest crowd sitting under our tent during the tournament....standing room only. Nothing like having loyal fans to cheer us on. Some of those fans were even hospitable enough to offer evening cultural shows. But the finest (and perhaps most disgusting) cultural show yet, came courtesy of a Hong Kong Scorpion and his own special "tricky" animal act. Good thing I managed to miss that one. The team dinner was again a joyous occasion, as we gathered at a Chinese restaurant for a special end-of-the-weekend soiree. This was another break with tradition, as the Italiannis we usually eat at had moved to a new location since last year. We are all seriously wondering if that move was due at least in part to our rather obnoxious performance last time around, when they threatened to call the police if we didn't leave the premises at once. Thank you Sebastian - next time try eating you dinner on the table rather than under it. Anyway, the dinner was fantastic & everyone seemed to enjoy it - with the lone exception being Chicken, who for some odd reason seemed to have trouble keeping his food down. Still no explanation for that, except that perhaps it's not really true that rugby players make good cannibals.
Tweet, tweet. Otherwise all went well & we can all be assured that this was the only Chinese restaurant in the world equipped with a waiter from Portugal. Another Survivor first. Speaking of which, there will be new dress-code regulations in effect for all future Survivor tours....no long pants to be worn under one's sarong & for God's sake no socks with sandals....ever. Unfortunately the Papparazzi was there to record it all, so there's no path for denial.
Well...that about wraps it up. Many thanks to all the boys (& girl) who made it down. A special hats-off goes to Dutchie for getting the good-traveler award for coming the furthest to join us - great to see him again. Honorable mention must go to Serge and Froggie for making the trip back in full kit (in business class, no less). I look forward to seeing them all again next time around...although I'm not sure if Don Won will be able to make it as it seems he will be staying in Manila to go to barber's school. Perhaps he will be snipping away right next door to Puma's fashion academy, but I can't be too sure about that.
As for next year; well Manila 2003 is just 358 days away and counting....if we don't end up in Indonesia by accident, then we'll certainly be back for another round.
Next stop for the animal circus will be the Phuket 10s, May 26th & 27th. Hope to see you all there.....
Ted
