BUBBA IN BANGKOK

I have been out of action and off the air, since my recent move to Singapore. My first weekend here I went with the Singapore Barbarians 7’s team to Bangkok for the weekend, it is only a 2 hour flight away. Bangkok is a great town 24hr traffic jams, stalls selling everything all over the sidewalks. It was certainly an experience and the Rugby was great too.

It was Saturday and the tournament started at 2.00pm so we jumped on the bus and went to a big park in the middle town to have a stretch and light run. I was glad I was not playing because it was about 34 degrees and the humidity was really high. I resembled a sweating pavlova standing in the shade of a tree watching the boys go through their motions.

We went back to the Hotel to relax and get ready for the afternoon tournament. At about 12.30 we got back on the bus and headed to a Thai Army Base which was still in town and only 20mins away. The Royal Thailand Armed Forces love their Rugby and entered in the tournament were the Thai Army and Navy Teams. All levels of Rugby are supported by the Royal Thailand Armed Forces in some fashion.

I have never seen Thai Rugby players and I was surprised by their skill level and speed. Our Singapore side went through the day undefeated and we lined up against the Thai National side in the final. It was a hard fought final and we went down to the Thai side 4 tries to 3. The boys were absolutely stuffed at the end of the day, it must have been at least 36 degrees mid afternoon. I was shattered and I was in the shade all day.

The Thai National Coach is a Fijian mate of mine Usaia Biumaiwai, he was a stalwart of the Nasinu Club in Suva when they were the best 7’s team in Fiji. He invited me back to his place that night after the tournament. The most dangerous part of the trip was the Taxi ride to Usaia’s apartment. The taxi driver was absolutely insane he was driving on the wrong side of the road at a 100km per hour, I was begging him to slow down and he just laughed insanely and went faster. I should have throttled him when we got to Usaia’s place but I was so glad to be alive I knelt down and kissed the ground.

I can’t comment on the Super 12 because I have seen no games, they get 3 games a week up here but they are on at odd times. I saw the Italy/Scotland game and it was a beauty. I was very impressed with the Italian forwards during the World Cup. They continued this form against Scotland and absolutely belted them up front. They have a world class front row and shoved Scotland all around the park.

I have been getting reports from Coff’s Harbour about Stormin Norman’s activities and they are interesting to say the least. Now Stormin has moved to Coff’s they should rename the place Melrose Place. I could not believe it myself when I went up there and a Kylie Minogue lookalike walked through the door and introduced herself as Norman’s “friend”. The Kava gang up there are in shock and there are new developments everyday. I am now hearing about mysterious visits to the south involving 5 star Hotels. I can’t wait for the next installment of “Melrose Harbour”.
Remember you can contact me anytime at bubbaemu@hotmail.com

Regards
Matt (Bubba) Ryan
bubbaemu@hotmail.com