The Rugby Movement in Thailand

Rugby in Bangkok

There are quite a few rugby establishments set up in Bangkok and thus the aficionados of this game have a wide variety of options when it comes to playing format. Either you want to play 7’s, 10’s, 15’s, or in the veterans’ team, all you have to do is put on your gear and join one of the expat-run rugby clubs that operate in Thailand.

One of the bigger rugby clubs based in Bangkok is the one belonging to The Southerners Sports Club, which traces its beginnings back to 1994, when a New Zealand rugby team toured and played in Thailand alongside the Thais and other international teams. From here to setting up their first rugby team called “The Southerners” was just a small step, but one which required a lot of passion.

Today, The Southerners Sports Club is a not-for-profit club numbering among it’s members a great variety of nationalities from different walks of life, such as Thais, Kiwis, Aussies, Welsh, Brits, Scots, Yanks, Canadians, French, and Japanese. Among the 500 social and sporting club members, you can count wrestlers, teachers, jewelers, military officers, bankers, journalists, personal trainers, engineers, and many more. Although they get together to play their favourite game, the atmosphere at the club is relaxed and a lot of emphasis is put on the social aspect of their gatherings.

The club’s calendar is full year-round with tournaments and competitions taking place not only in Bangkok and around Thailand, but also internationally. For those who don’t play rugby, there’s an option of engaging in other sports, such as netball, touch and cricket while the weekly meet-ups and yearly functions round off their busy club life.

Rugby training is on most Thursday nights and there’s also an informal fitness group on Tuesday evenings. Check out their website to find out the different locations where the games take place.

Rugby in Pattaya

Not far too from south of Bangkok, you can also join the players at The Pattaya Panthers RFC. Their Captain is Adrien Simon, a 26-year-old French national who has started playing rugby at the age of nine while he was living in England. As soon as he set foot in Thailand, almost two years ago, Adrien has started playing rugby straight away.

As the format in Asia is mostly orientated towards 10 a-side rugby (whereas traditional rugby is played in teams of 15 players), Adrien plays fly-half (number 10). The 10 a-side format is well suited for tournaments spread across one weekends such as the Pattaya 10’s held every first weekend of May or the Bangkok 10’s.

Referring to the numbers of members in the club, Adrien said that, “This year we have had more than forty players come to training, but I would say that we are a core of twenty players that train regularly.” It is worth mentioning that the youngest player is aged 15 and the most senior player is over 60 years old. “We are also proud to have some female players train with us,” confessed the Pattaya Panther’s Captain. Joining the club includes no membership cost, but the players do chip in for a bit of “light money” to cover the lights cost on training nights.

A few of the Pattaya Panthers players, including Adrien Simon, also play for the Old Bangkok Bangers which is a team of expats based in Bangkok. Pattaya Panthers RFC has participated in many tournaments all over Thailand and also in neighboring countries. They played in the Bangkok 10’s last February and more recently, in June 2012, they won the EADS Trophee Byron Kelleher Charity Rugby Tournament, a tournament held by the rugby stars Byron Kelleher and Serge Betsen to raise funds for charity.

The Pattaya Panthers train at 7pm every Thursday at Horse Shoe Point in Pattaya. A lot of the club members can also be found watching rugby in their clubhouse, Jameson’s Pub, located on Soi Sukrudee.

Rugby in Phuket

If you live or are headed further down south, then Phuket Vagabonds is another club rugby lovers might want to consider. The one responsible for starting rugby on the island is Patrick Cotter, a 52-year-old British expatriate who has first started playing rugby in junior school when he was only seven.

Patrick has lived and has played rugby union in Phuket since 1987 and he is also the organizer of the Phuket International Rugby 10’s, which is now in its 14th year. On top of all these, he has also started a youth training program, The Phuket Lomas, which is aimed at Thai youth from deprived backgrounds. “They have come along very well,” Patrick said.

The number of members depends on who is around when they have games, but the youth program is quite stable and strong, with more than 60 boys and 17 girls in their program. Last year, ten of these kids were taken to the Lord Mayor of Manchester Touraid rugby festival in the UK where they finished runners up in the tournament. “It was a wonderful experience for the kids,” remembered Patrick. This year, for competitions in Thailand, the youth program will have an unprecedented three teams for boys U12 and U17 and girls U16.

When possible, the Phuket Vagabonds always send teams to the Bangkok 10’s and the Pattaya 10’s. The youth development side also competes in the national rugby 7’s championships and The Phuket Lomas are the southern regional champions. Club registration is free of charge.

The Thai Rugby Movement

Referring to the rugby movement in Thailand, Adrien Simon believes that “Rugby is already quite big in the Kingdom and is getting bigger and bigger. Ten years ago, the expatriate teams were the better teams in Thailand but now the tendency has completely changed.” Currently, the best teams in Thailand are the Thai Navy, Thai Police, Thai Army, Thai Barbarians, and the Thai Legends. At national level, the country is also doing well as they have just reached Division 1 of the HSBC Asian League, making them one of the top ten teams in Asia.

As a proof that rugby is spreading in Thailand is also the fact that some new clubs are emerging from all parts of Thailand, such as the Surin Elephants or Prince of Songkla from south of Thailand. In 2016, 7 a-side rugby will become an Olympic event and so the Thai Rugby Union (www.thairugbyunion.com) is currently putting an emphasis on this kind of rugby in the hopes of qualifying for the games in Rio de Janeiro.

Rugby in Thailand is a very spectacular sport to watch, as it is fast and less physical. “The biggest difference between rugby in Asia and France comes from the difference in body built between European and Asian players. Indeed, in Asia rugby players are smaller and lack a bit of physicality. But they compensate this lack of strength by their speed, their reactiveness, their agility and their passing skills,” said Adrein.

One of the biggest differences between rugby in Thailand and back home is that in the west we benefit from having leagues at all levels of the game from juniors through to vets. Since the advent of professional rugby, there is also an influx of specialist sponsors for tournaments which has lifted the profile of the sport. The Rugby Football Union is also very active in promoting the game at all levels and the International Rugby Board makes funding available to youth development which is one of the most important areas to develop the game.

“There is quite a solid base here in Thailand with a lot of talent but, unfortunately, as in most countries, sometimes the people with the most talent don’t always get selected for whatever reason,” said Patrick Cotter. “One of the biggest problems that I see holding Thai rugby back is the lack of a competitive 15 a-side league structure. Football has benefited immensely since the introduction of the Thailand league and rugby needs a similar format. Obviously it will be a lot smaller but there is no substitute for playing a game week in week out under a pressure situation such as a league.” If a competitive league could be introduced, there is no reason why Thailand cannot compete amongst the top teams in Asia.

Very recently Adrien was invited by a friend to play for his team Stade Khmer based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. “I discovered a mixed team of Cambodian and expat players. And I found out that the Cambodian players where street kids who used to be living in dumps and that had been taken under the wing of an associative school called PSE and that rugby was a very big part of this school. It was great to see these youngsters play rugby. It reinforced the idea in me, that rugby is a strong vector of social integration.”

Who is rugby for?

The good thing about rugby is that it is for everyone. In basketball for example, you have to be tall to be able to play, in football you have to be svelte, in sumo you have to be… big, whereas in rugby, no matter of your body build, there is a position for you. If you are heavily built you will be ‘a forward’ and you will be pushing in the scrums, if you’re small and slim you will be ‘a back’ and expected to run fast and score many tries. “Rugby is for everyone, for ladies, for kids, for experienced players, and for novice players. In fact, it’s for everybody as long as you can still stand up on your two feet. At Pattaya Panthers, we emphasize more on the learning and social side of rugby and spend a lot of time as a team outside of training. This is where the real team spirit is forged,” confessed Adrien.

But why should anyone start practicing such a physical sport? Some rugby players believe that playing rugby can be the best lesson in life. Values that this sport promotes are teamwork, solidarity, respect, effort, sportsmanship, and friendship. Rugby is not just a game; it is a way of life. By joining your local rugby club you will also make a lot of friends.

Other Rugby Clubs in Thailand

There are also many other clubs, tournaments and festivals that operate in Bangkok and throughout Thailand. Here are some of them:

Bangkok International Rugby Sevens is another long-standing club which was inaugurated in 1995 and has since then seen almost 200 international teams and over 250 Thailand-based teams compete in their event. This organization is fully endorsed by the Thai Rugby Union (www.thairugbyunion.com) and has high future objectives: qualification in the Olympic Games Seven competition in 2016. This year, their tournament program includes four divisions: senior men & women, U16 boys and girls. They train at the Royal Thai Police Club on Vibhavadee Rangsit Road (opposite Miracle grand Hotel).

Established in 2001, the Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club has the mission of providing “a fun yet competitive rugby environment for Thai and expats in Thailand.” Since then, they have participated in tournaments in the USA, Brazil and South Africa and are planning to travel to a tournament in Honolulu in 2014. Teams from New Zealand, France, Hong Kong, Australia, Russia and South Africa have also visited them in Thailand. “The Bangers” also support the coaching program for the rugby team at Rangsit University. Training takes place every Wednesday at NIST International School (Sukhumvit Soi 15, 7:00pm) and Sunday at Bangkok Patana School(Sukhumvit Soi 105, 4:30pm).

Bangkok International Rugby 10’s play out of Bangkok Patana School. They have now opened registrations for the men’s and veteran’s teams, as well as for junior teams which want to participate in the “2012 Bangkok Ten” games. The Bangkok International 10s have been around for seven years and are dedicated to helping their community. Much of the revenue generated during the event will be donated to charities.

Bangkok Lions Rugby is a club established in 2004 with the help of the Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club and aims at attracting children and youths between 4 and 17 years old. They play at the Sports Complex opposite Bangkok Patana School.

Under the motto “Transforming lives, one child at a time,” the Nak Suu Tigers Rugby Academy is a charity that runs rugby classes for children and teenagers.

You can also join the British Club in Bangkok for a game of rugby.

A shorter version of this article was
also published in “Bangkok Trader” (Vol. 6, No.11, September 2012)

Author V.M. Simandan

is a Beijing-based Romanian-born counsellor, coach, psychology teacher, and former competitive archer

More posts by V.M. Simandan

Join the discussion 4 Comments

  • becket says:

    Bonjour entour d’abore je me nomme N’da Becket Benoit je suis un jeune joueur de rugby j’ai 18ans et j’evolue au club de TBO veux dire Treichville Biafra Olimpic de cote d’ivoire .
    Alors moi je suis a la recherche d’un club et voilà que j’ai visité votre site de rugby et cela ma plus donc la raison pour la quelle j’ai decide de vous envoyé un EMail plus mon adresse Msn merci

  • English Cricket Player – I like the fact my ticket brings me a whole days entertainment instead of ninety odd
    minutes. The ICC, the game’s governing body, has ten full members. In a slog, the player has to score as many runs as possible within the given 10 overs.

  • Johan snyman says:

    South african citizen want to work and play rugby in thailand bangkok… Good cv seeking new adventures

  • Joseph Weir says:

    Anyone know of any rugby teams in and around the Ubon area? Thanks

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V.M. Simandan