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Sports
Notes
EXTRA
- AUSTRALIA'S CAIRNS BROTHERS
WIN ANGKOR 10 RUGBY TOURNAMENT -
October 2005
James Loving - National Radio Text Service - Sunday October 23, 2005 Australia's Cairns Brothers Take Angkor 10 Title - Expats Teach Khmer Youths Rugby - Khmer Strengths In Ruby - Piggies On The Loose - Khmer Players Talk. FIFA TOP 10 - National Radio's Top 10 + According To Google. AUSTRALIA's CARiNS BROTHERS TAKE ANGKOR 10 CHAMPIONSHIP - Khmer's Stride Forward Cairns Brothers Rugby Union Club of Australia walked away with the Angkor 10's championship by defeating the The Saigon Geckos 17-7 yesterday at Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium. The title earned the squad the ANZ Royal Championship Cup. Other results for the third and fourth place finish the Les Piliers Black team of Phnom Penh Cambodia defeated the Tequila Mockingbirds from Honk Kong 19-5 to win the Sharkey's Plate Trophy. This past year the Piliers team was split up into two squads Piliers Black and Piliers White. The Black team is more experienced and the number one side considered as being the national team. A clash between the Hong Kong Pot Bellied Pigs and the Piliers White team saw the Pigs triumph 12-7. Their win earned them the Complete Plumbing Services Bowl Trophy. The Pigs are considered as being the Harlem Globetrotters of rugby. The event was billed s the first and only Rugby tournament in Cambodia. It brought together foreign rugby players from the region to help enlighten and teach Cambodian youth the game. This weeks tournament games gave the Khmer players game experience on and International level and a chance to knock down some big foreign bodies.. As noted in the tournament program Kol Pheng the Senior Minister of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports said, "Sports are an important part of the social fabric of a nation. Besides giving us enjoyment and promoting good health and exercise, sporting competition can also teach us the values of hard work, self-discipline. Confidence, patience, teamwork, leadership and above all, fairness, honesty and respect for others."
That's the sizzle. HERE'S THE STEAK. Both Piliers sides are comprised of orphaned children. Some have been scavenging through the trash dumps of Phnom Penh to survive. "They come from the streets," said ESPN/Star "The Rugby Show"(Monday's) analyst Justin Sampson. Sampson was the tournaments special guest for the events gala dinner at the Raffles Hotel Royal Friday night. As a player Sampson played for New South Wales County in Australia who's competition included the All Blacks (1988) and the British Lions (1989). He also coached the Singapore national team for over four years. Sampson laced up the boots and played in some games Sunday. As a player, coach and ESPN Rugby Show sports analyst Sampson has played and seen a lot of rugby. So…. The question is: What are the Cambodian's strengths in playing rugby? "Strength and speed," he said. "Like the Thai's they are lightening quick." The results of the Khmer youth's efforts to learn the game was exemplified by the Sihanoukville Crabs a team that was put together only three weeks prior to the tournament by Frenchman Jean Baptiste. Baptiste coached and trained the squad resulting in competitive pool matches. They lost twice to the tournaments fourth best team the Honk Kong Mockingbirds. Baptiste did his best to remember the scores but came up with results of 19-14 and 17-14 in a rematch. The Angkor 10 organizers didn't have those scores available after the games. Baptiste credited the team's speed for their success but also noting, "They like to tackle." Lawrence Karatau coach of the Piliers White side formerly played for New Zealand's Maori All Blacks. His Pilier White team finished as the tournaments sixth best. Karatau excitedly said of the Khmer's rugby talent, "Look at the way they tackle. They take on those big guys. They're tackling guys probably 2 !/2 times their weight. They've got no fear, they're strong." Karatau went on to explain that the Cambodians have good ball skills with soft hands thus enabling them to pick up or catch the ball. Sampson later noted, "I'm really surprised that they have a team winning the plate (Pilier Blacks third place trophy) . It shows their level of talent." The Khmer players are so new at the game that when asked they didn't know who their favorite International team was. I was expecting to hear the New Zealand All Blacks, Australia or the South African Spring Bocks. What I was waiting for... never... happened. Pilier White player Sum Malen said he likes the game because he's around foreigners. The 21-year-old student also noted that he likes to run. Fireplug shaped 18-year-old high school student Rak Smey said, "I like (to) scrum." With Cambodia's Pillier Blacks third place tournament finish and Sihanoukville Crabs learning the game in three weeks and compete with International teams that have been playing for years raises the question how can the Khmers adapt themselves to a game so quickly? Sampson had an answer. "If (the players) have a passion and enthusiasm you can teach anybody anything in three weeks." Obviously the Khmers have both for the game of rugby. NR's TOP 10 According to Gaggle National Radio's Top 10 stories are: (1) Jim Murry, (2) Royal Palace (3) NBA Trivia, (4) Michael Jordan (5) Jerry West Builds Memphis (6) Fertile Boy & Girl Contest (7) OOPS FAT Did It Again (8) ASEAN Games (9) Cambodian Football (10) Angkor Wat Past Most Mentioned: (1) Walter Payton, (2) Marshall Faulk (3) Barry Bonds (4) Digital Divide Data. FIFA TOP TEN Rank/Team/Points 1. Brazil - 840 2. Netherlands - 797 3. Czech Republic - 783 Argentina - 778 4. Argentina - 778 5. France - 776 6. Mexico - 769 7. USA - 768 8. Spain - 764 9. Portugal - 754 9. England - 754 The next FIFA World Ranking will be published on 23 November 2005 © Copyright: National Radio. Any use of these materials, whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized in writing by National Radio. Contact: nationalradio@yahoo.com
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