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Banger Banter Newsletter 4th Quarter 2011

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  • 8/2/2019 Banger Banter Newsletter 4th Quarter 2011

    1/38Stews Views Ancient Quill Five Minutes Ask Nantida Tom Kerr

    INSIDETHIS

    EDITION

    With Court Williams

    Finding The Motivation

    The Best Rugby WorldCup Ever ?

    My Wallabies Fail Me

    Why Hooker Throw InAt Lineouts

    Hamish On Rugby

    Rugby History

    Strewth

    exclusive

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    ou Will Always be A Banger

    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    35

    Court Williams

    Hamish Watters

    Bangers Originals Night 13

    18

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    ger Banter. October - December 2011 5

    ater, water everywhere. Life in Bangkok has changedfor many over the last few weeks. It has affectedeverybody including those in the water free zone.

    There are some tragic stories with people losing all theirworldly possessions. One thing you can say about the Thaipeople, they are resilient and still manage to smile in the faceof adversity. That one the joys you notice living here.

    The ood brought an abrupt halt to the Thai Rugby Union

    competition Understandable. The Colts were doing well

    tucking in a couple of wins under the belt. The Colts will justhave to go out and do the same next year

    The Bangers have continued training despite the oods.

    Lumpini Park has been the venue most Sundays however,Patana International School could be open again shortly.

    The Rugby World Cup lived up to its hype. We were indeed

    fortunate in Thailand where coverage was available from threenetworks. Tenderloins Sports Bar & Steak House was thevenue of choice for club members. Some great games evenin the pools amongst the second tier teams. New Zealandprobably deserved to win it but France came a very closesecond. How the game has grown up over the last ten or soyears.

    The Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club 10th Anniversary partywas success, with many of the Originals turning up at therst headquarters Wall Street Bar & Grill, to celebrate the

    occasion. As would be expected, the party went long into the

    night. There was good mix of players and social membersfrom all eras.

    The Bangers have entered the new Asian Club Championshipwith clubs from Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia,Philippines and Thailand participating. Great concept and

    deserves our ll support. It will be interesting to see how

    far the club has risen above the mediocre since its humblebeginnings.

    The Banger Banter our club newsletter is now ve years old.

    Thanks to all the contributors over the years.

    Editor.

    EDITORIAL

    Andrew Mc DowellRoberto GuoloAndrew TatamDes GistRick OSheaGeoff McKennaKevin Hulton SmithTom KerrChris HartleyHamish WattersMike Laloli

    CONTRIBUTORSJean Francois KlentziCourt Willams

    PHOTOGRAPHY

    Robert BrewerMike Laloli

    PROOF READER

    Roger Fitzgerald

    WEBMASTERMike Laloli

    The BANGER BANTER is published quarterly bythe Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club for mem-

    bers, sponsors and friends of the rugby club. TheBanger Banter can be downloaded from the clubweb site. Members contribute all editorial andphotography. The layout and design is providedby Ruck Graphics - a member of the Old BangkokBanger Rugby Club

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    ou Will Always be A Banger

    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    -

    www.oldbangkokbangers.com

    t seems a long time since the last Banter, maybe that is nothelped much by Michael having to wait for my contribution. Itseems a while since we have played any games but then I was

    away in New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup and on my way backthe night we played The Bald Eagles. From all accounts, there wasa lot of fun and enjoyment on and off the pitch.

    Before I go any further, I would like to express my sympathy to allwho are negatively affected by the oods. Among our membership,

    some of the luckier among us may be unaffected, but our thoughtshave to go out to those whose homes are badly damaged and evenperhaps uninhabitable. If you hear of anyone in need please pass iton to the committee to see if there is some way we can help.

    The Thai Rugby Union season was short this year as we already know and was cancelled in the

    end due to the disastrous ooding that is affecting thousands in Thailand. We did play two games,

    which we won convincingly. The games were played in the right spirit and were tough gamesbut clean. It is important that we play our games with a measured effort and with an emphasis ofbeing known as good sports.

    Bob Pearson tells us we can expect to get our Polo shirts soon so look out for him to claim yours.We have ordered new shorts, and we are in process to place an order for a new Ancients kit.Unfortunately, we have had to pull out of the Chiang Mai Tens, as we could not get a full team

    together even when we looked at putting a joint team with the Pattaya Panthers. As mentionedabove a number of our members and players are affected by the oods.

    We have a number of family oriented occasions coming up, the rst being the weekend in Khao

    Yai, then in December we will have the Family Carol night. We are looking at arranging a Sponsor

    Thank You evening, and the Banger Christmas Party will be held as usual in December which isnot far away. Please make an effort to bring the family and to join the other events.

    Please do not forget to support our sponsors and their products whenever you have a chance,they are extremely important to us and we could not do all the things we organise without theirgenerous support.

    Please make the effort lets make sure all we meet know we are about Fun, Fraternity, andFriendship. Lastly, to all members, stay safe and take care.

    Yours in Banger Rugby

    Andrew

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    ger Banter. October - December 2011 7

    A Man Goes For A Shave

    A Drunk Man Went Into Bar

    Controlling The Coyote Population

    Jake Was Dying

    Jokeof the

    Quarter

    A man enters a barbershop for a shave. While thebarber is foaming him up, he mentions the problemshe has getting a close shave around the cheeks. Ihave just the thing, says the barber taking a smallwooden ball from a nearby drawer. Just place thisbetween your cheek and gum.The client places the ball in his mouth and thebarber proceeds with the closest shave the man

    has ever experienced. After a few strokes, the clientasks in garbled speech, And what if I swallow it?No problem, says the barber. Just bring it backtomorrow like everyone else does.

    One night, a police ofcer was stalking out a

    particularly rowdy bar for possible violations of thedriving under the inuence laws. At closing time,

    he saw a fellow stumble out of the bar, trip on thecurb, and try his keys on ve different cars before

    he found his. Then, sat in the front seat fumblingaround with his keys for several minutes. Everyoneleft the bar and drove off. Finally, he started hisengine and began to pull away.

    The police ofcer was waiting for him. He stopped

    the driver, read him his rights and administered theBreathalyzer test. The results showed a reading of0.0. The puzzled ofcer demanded to know how

    that could be. The driver replied, Tonight, Im theDesignated Decoy.

    There was once a man who was in a bar, terriblydrunk. The bartender noticed this, and when heasked for another beer, the bartender politely toldhim that he was too drunk to be served anotherdrink. The man leaves. He walks in the side doorand asks the bartender for a beer. A little frustrated,the bartender repeats the answer he said before.The man leaves. He then comes in the other sidedoor, walks to the bartender and asks for a beer.

    The bartender is annoyed, and tells the man he istoo drunk and to get a ride home and leave his bar.He leaves. He then comes in the BACK door, comesthe the bartender, and before he can say a word, thebartender explodes at him. I told you already, youare way to drunk, you can not have another beer!Get out of my bar! Disgruntled, the man looks at the

    bartender and asks, Man, how many bars do youwork at?

    The Sierra Club and the U.S. Forest Service werepresenting an alternative to the Wyoming ranchersfor controlling the coyote population.It seems that after years of the ranchers using thetried and true method of shooting or trapping thepredators, the Sierra Club had a more humanesolution to this issue.What they proposed was for the animals to becaptured alive. The males would then be castratedand let loose again.All of the ranchers thought about this amazing ideafor a couple of minutes. Finally an old fellow wearinga big cowboy hat in the back of the conference roomstood up, tipped his hat back and said; Son, I dontthink you understand our problem here... thesecoyotes aint f*ckin our sheep... theyre eatin em!

    The meeting never really got back to order. .

    A married man was having an affair with hissecretary. One day they went to her place and madelove all afternoon. Exhausted, they fell asleep andwoke up at 8 PM.The man hurriedly dressed and told his lover to takehis shoes outside and rub them in the grass and dirt.He put on his shoes and drove home.Where have you been? his wife demanded.I cant lie to you, he replied, Im having an affairwith my secretary. We had sex all afternoon.She looked down at his shoes and said: You lyingbastard! Youve been playing golf!

    Jake was dying. His wife sat at the bedside. Helooked up and said weakly:I have something I must confess.

    Theres no need to, his wife replied.No, he insisted, I want to die in peace. I slept withyour sister, your best friend, her best friend, andyour mother!I know, she replied, now just rest and let thepoison work.

    One Night A Police Ofcer

    A Married Man Was Having An Affair

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    WING A BANGER SCRUM TIME PIECE IS MORE THAN AN INVESTMENT. IF YOU ARE

    UGBY FORWARD WITH A PASSION FOR PERFECTION, METICULOUS CRAFTSMANSHIP

    OU DESERVE ONE. IT IS ABSOLUTELY SYMBOLIZES THE HIGH END TECHNIQUES OF

    ATCH MAKING. TO WEAR SUCH A STUNNING TIMEPIECE YOU WILL DRAW ATTENTION

    ND SET YOU APART FROM THE CROWD, SINCE IT IS DEFINITELY A SYMBOL OF RUGBY

    TATUS - I AM A BANGER

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    You Will Always be A Banger

    ger Banter. October - December 2011 9

    hat a start to our new season with newplayers being welcomed and enjoyingthe Fun, Friendship and Fraternity that

    our wonderful club is so proud of.

    Our opening tournament was the Royal BangkokSports Club Tournament which took place on

    Thursday evenings in the glorious surroundingsof the Sports Ground. This year three teamstook part with the Southerners and the RBSCcompleting the line up.

    Having won the tournament last year the jurywas out if we could follow up our success with

    several of our players having moved on tonew pastures.

    We need not have worried as theold and new squad gelled quickly

    to win all of our games. We

    celebrated long and hard atthe end of tournament partywhere the superb buffetand complimentary beeraccompanied the

    Banger karaoke effort.

    Next up, the Old Boys stepped into the limelight atthe annual British Club Vinarco International Tens.Once again we were defending champions. A verydifferent team than won last year, pulled on theBangers shirt and battled to the Final. We beat our

    old foes, the Southerners with an extra time goldentry which capped off a ne day for veterans rugby

    and the mighty Bangers.

    The Thai Rugby Union competition was next with

    a new format of an A division and two B divisionswith a cross over semi and nal. We started

    strongly with two ne wins over a University side

    and the Thai Army and at the time of writing, onlyneed one more win from our nal two games to

    progress to our rst semi nal of the competition.

    The oods in Bangkok have meant that recent

    games have been postponed. I hope that allBangers will answer the call when we are able totake the eld again to turn our potential success

    into reality!

    Our nal match to report was against the California

    Bald Eagles who were on an Asian tour and havinga great time doing it. We started the afternoon withthe Ancients led by Foxy playing the Californian over50s Foxy scored his very rst try for the Ancients in a

    tense 5-5 draw.

    The Banger Vets then took to the eld sans a full

    team. A few Ancients were asked to play again and acouple of Colts were press ganged into the squad.

    Our ne running game opened up their defence. A

    four to two try victory was just reward. I popping upon the wing for one of the tries. A great night followedat the Red and White with over 100 large Heinekenshitting the deck.

    The Rugby World Cup has been a big part of ourlives for the past couple of months. The Bangershave enjoyed watching the games at our new homeTenderloins.

    New Zealand nally got their monkey off their back

    however, the French can be justly proud of theirperformance in the nal. It was a real nail biter.

    Tour to Chiang Mai has been cancelled but there isthe weekend in Khao Yai. The fun never stops.

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    ou Will Always be A Banger

    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    iao. We have had a glorious year so far winning the Royal Bangkok SportsClub tournament again. In the Thai Rugby Union competition we won two

    pool games until the competition was suspended because of the oods in

    the Bangkok. I was particularly happy with the way the new guys stepped upand contributed to our hard fought wins in both events.

    One thing I have learnt from my time with the Bangers is that we nevergive up. This is now a tradition we should all be proud of. Our clubspirit is alive and well. We are proud to wear the Red White & Blue.and to do all we can to uphold our brief history and heritage. Its nowour responsibility and our privilege.

    As players we are grateful to the dedication of the committee thatensure the club moves in the right direction and ultimately resultsin the Old Bangkok Banger Rugby Club being a great club to play

    with.

    We tour each year, hold dinners, and we regularly organise trips and outings. Despite that our most popularevents are after our training sessions and matches. That what rugby is all about.

    The Originals Anniversary night was a proud memory for our club. It was great to see so many of the Origi-nals turn up to enjoy the evening with the younger club members. The Colts I am sure can learn a lot fromyou guys about enjoying your rugby. The Banger Vets have toured the planet, not bad for such a young club.

    After the recent farewell match for Teru, who is returning to Japan, the Bangkok Japanese made a presen-tation to the Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club recognizing ten years of Banger rugby. I was honoured toreceive the plaque on behalf of the club. Thanks guys.

    Its a pity we have had to cancel the trip to the Chiang Mai Tens. I was really looking forward to this one.

    Tante cose.

    Roberto

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    You Will Always be A Banger

    ger Banter. October - December 2011 11

    he last few months have been a blur, with the Rugby World cup and the

    challenges and problems we have all had to face personally and profes-sionally with the rampaging ood waters that have held Thailand to

    ransom for the last six weeks. I know we are facing a national calamity whenyou cant nd our beverage of choice Heineken in our local hypermarket.

    Andy whats going on with this?

    The topic of this issue of the Banter is Discipline .

    I was fortunate to travel to New Zealand to watch a number of pool games andnals. It struck me that the teams who maintained ascendency were the teams

    that maintained their discipline. They listened and obeyed the refs warningshence kept the ref out of the game and supported each other when things went astray. In the nal the All

    Blacks showed unbelievable discipline in the last ten minutes of the game with the Froggies attacking the

    gain line over 15 phases by not giving away a penalty. A ruck penalty could have cost them the World Cupand perpetuated the glee of all other nations to call them chokers. You could visibly see the players react-ing to the refs call in defence.

    The Bangers have also during the TRU competition showed both spectrums of theDiscipline curve. In the

    game that we lost our discipline we nearly snatched defeat from an unassailable position. Where we main-tained our discipline we had the ascendency all game and came away with a comprehensive victory. Win-ning beers taste much better in this environment.

    Discipline is bound up in the 3 rs.

    Respect the ref - listen dont speak unless your the captain.Respect your team mates - support dont criticize

    Respect the opposition - smash themFitness helps clarity of thought , which improves discipline so im looking forward to the oods reciding and

    getting back on the training park..

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    You Will Always be A Banger

    ger Banter. October - December 2011 13

    he recent Banger Originals Anniversary Party was resounding success. However, the club nearlymissed this memorable occasion.

    It was late in piece that the club committee found out that the Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club wasclose to being ten years old. Rick OShea the publican at Wall Street happened to let the date out of the bag,as he had planned to hold a modest party for the Originals to celebrate the event. Nothing elaborate.

    For those younger Banger members unaware of our clubs history, the Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Clubwas conjured up over a few beers at Wall Street Bar & Grill, during and after, a Super 12 rugby game in

    September 2001. The Rugby Club was the brainchild of John Beard, an Australian, who was working inBangkok and a regular Wall Street customer at the time. The idea was tossed around on the infamous WallStreet, Wall of Knowledge by those present and bingo, it was decided to go ahead and form an over 35sveterans rugby club. They obviously saw a gap in the market!!!

    The founding members were John Beard, Jake Meerman and Michael Rick OShea. John pushed for thename of the Old Bangkok Bangers and it stuck. On 12th September 2001 the rst club meeting was attendedby six people. John Beard was elected the inaugural Chairman, Jake Meerman the Secretary/Treasurer and

    Rick OShea the Thai Rugby Union liaison member.Once the anniversary date had leaked out, the Banger committee got on to it straight away. E-mails ew

    backwards and forwards between committee members and an anniversary party was proposed. Personalinvitations would be sent out to the twenty two Originals that were involved in starting and playing with theOld Bangkok Bangers, to attend an Anniversary Party. In addition, the Old Bangkok Bangers would fund a

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    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    party at Wall Street Bar & Grill, the founding club rooms.

    Andrew McDowell the Club Chairman, Grant Signal the Treasurer, Mike Laloli and Rick OShea undertookthe task of tracking down and contacting the Originals and inviting them to the evening. Not all of the Origi-nals live in Thailand these days. Many have retired to their home country or are scattered at other portsaround the rugby planet.

    The following names are the twenty two Originals invited to attend the Anniversary Party : John Beard, Greg

    Jackson, Steve Donnelly, Tom Watters, Jake Meerman, Steve Rieger, Peter Bowden, Dave Kennedy, JohnnJaspers, Keith Coljohn, Alby Adeane, Colin Hastings, Shane Caldwell, Jim Everist, Norman Young, RogerFitzgerald, David Duffal, Rick OShea, Geoff Hodds, Dick Stone, Geoff McKenna, Graham Jackson.

    The evening started around 6.30pm. Wall Street was spruced up anddecked out to t the occasion. A welcome banner to the Originals was

    hung on the wall. A truckload of free beer was supplied by Wall Streetand Heineken and a fabulous spread of food was supplied by Ten-derloins Sports Bar & Steak House. This was the makings of a greatnight.

    Twelve Original members turned up, together with a good cross sec-

    tion of players and social members from the formative years. TheOriginals that remain in Bangkok have all moved on from rugby andnow ride big motorbikes around Thailand, in a forlorn attempt to keepold age and decrepitude at bay !!!

    They regularly meet at Wall Street to plan their next ride. It does makean impressive sight when you see the bikes lined up outside the clubrooms. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learnt from these wise men.

    This was a memorable evening and one that will be long remem-bered by all those attended. The evenings formalities were kept to aminimum. Andrew McDowell the Club Chairman, in his address ac-

    knowledged with admiration and gratitude the role the Originals played during its rst ten years of the club

    and proposed a toast to absent founding members and friends. JohnBeard has a lot to answer for.

    Each Banger Original attending, received a framed certicate as a

    memento, celebrating their ten years with the club they helped start.

    The new generation Bangers that turned up, got quickly into the spirit

    of the occasion partied hard as you would expect they would. The toneof the night lent itself to that. The atmosphere and camaraderie wassecond to none.

    It would seem everyone regarded the anniversary night as an out-standing success. Rick OShea was certainly pleased to see the clubrooms full and the cash register ticking over after the free beer ran out.

    It was a late night early morning affair for many.

    Like most anniversary occasions, you hear plenty of remarkable andhumorous yarns told with scant regard to the truth. Never let the truthspoil a good story. Ultimately, someone pipes up with We could write

    a book about that. Perhaps someone should.

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    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    ell, at last reports, Still aliveanyway,.... remember, nokicking in open play!

    What a great turnout for the Vinarco10s Ancients Game at Patana Sports

    Complex! We had 24 willing, and

    almost able,veterans enthusiasticallytake to the eld for a contest of fun,

    frolic and friendship.

    As usual Oncewasasuperman, ourgallant Chairman, joined the eld.

    The fact that he kicked off to his ownteam went unnoticed, but causedsome confusion, as they were all onthe halfway line, while our team werestanding back, waiting for the ball.

    However sanity was restored and the

    unique Catch-and-Grab Ancients typegame progressed at the usual furiouspace.

    The Chairman, who still claims to befaster than a tall building managedto stay on the eld longer than his

    normal thirty seconds. Perhaps hewas hoping to make amends for thewrong direction kick-off by causing

    more confusion, as no one was sure whose side he was playing for. I was expecting him to score over hisown try line, but he says own-goals are for pussies like soccer players.

    The game was played in tremendous spirit. All players following the rules to the letter and paying very care-ful attention to the off-side rule and keeping ve yards back at the breakdown

    Thanks to the referee (Mr Signal,Sir), the roll-the-ball method of release worked very well and added tothe ow of the game. It also gave the odd players who needed it, (only a couple) a chance to catch their

    breath again.

    As per the Rules of Ancient Rugby, the score line ended with the mandatory draw. Thanks to every onewho took part. Our team list is growing with every game and the players are becoming more and moreskilled in our particular and peculiar brand of the great game.

    Particular thanks are due to the four Gheckos and the two Japanese who joined in the frolic. We hope to

    see you involved again, and recommend that you introduce this type of Ancients Rugby to your own respec-

    tive clubs.The strip is beginning to suffer from continued abuse (and also from wear on the eld), It is starting to look

    like it was worn by the original Webb Ellis side. We have been promised a new kit soon although the designand style is, for some reason, a carefully guarded secret. Maybe its by Versace?.

    Keep up the good work fellas, Well see you all at the next venue.

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    Court Williams

    Old Bangkok Bangers v Thai National Team 2010

    Banger Colt

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    You Will Always be A Banger

    ger Banter. October - December 2011 19

    BANTER : Court. Thanks for nding the timefor the interview.

    COURT : The pleasure is mine.

    BANTER : Tell us about yourself, where born,age, raised, family, interests, sports experi-

    ence...?

    COURT : I was born in Olympia, Washington,in the northwest part of the USA and ad the

    youngest of four boys. My family eventuallymoved to the Washington DC area, where Ilived for twelve years before moving to Thai-land. The rst sport I played was baseball,

    and eventually American football.

    BANTER : Who were some of your sportingheroes as a kid ?

    COURT : As baseball was my sport of choicewhen I was young, most of my heroes werebaseball players. Mark McGwire is the rstone that comes to mind. I remember him as a

    home run hitting machine in the late 80s andthrough the 90s. You might remember himfor lying to the US Congress about his use of

    performance enhancing drugs. He recentlycame clean about his obvious use. I guess

    he didnt have a better explanation for how he added fty

    pounds of muscle to his body through his career, or howhe was hitting a baseball farther as he got older. Checkthe before and after photos. The bat looked like a tooth-pick in his hands.

    BANTER : Rugby was not the sport you played back inthe US. You played American Football I understand ?

    COURT : I starting playing American football in highschool. I played tight end, which translates to: We dontthink you are strong enough to be a full time blocker, andwe dont think you are fast enough to be a full time receiv-er. Lets split you between blocking and receiving. I hada few highlights throughout my career, the pinnacle beingwhen I caught a touchdown pass during the Homecom-ing game. (High schools celebrate homecoming shortlyafter the school year begins. It culminates with a dancethe next night). My glory was short lived, however, as apenalty was called on the play and my touchdown did notcount. Needless to say, my date the next night was notimpressed with my nullied touchdown against an inferior

    team we were already beating.

    BANTER : Presumably you had heard of rugby. Whatwas your rst exposure to the game?

    COURT: I honestly cant recall anything before my rsttraining session at Patana. I vaguely remember watching

    with

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    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    something on ESPN at 3.00am years ago, and being thoroughlyconfused. It must have been rugby. Before my rst training session

    I found a web site called, Rugby for Dummies. Yes, it is a real website and I frequent it routinely.

    BANTER : When you arrived in Bangkok, how did you end upplaying with the Bangers ?

    COURT : Well, that credit goes to Christo Lemmers. He and I wereteaching at the same school. Christos favorite thing to do when he

    was drunk was recruit me for the Bangers. Luckily he usually forgotthe conversation we had the night before. He eventually wore medown. I regret not having agreed to play earlier.

    BANTER :Now that you have a season under your belt, how doyou enjoy the game?

    COURT : I love it. I really enjoy the continuous play. Its somethingthat American sports lack. Even if you arent the biggest orstrongest, but have some speed and endurance, you can still be anasset. Its great that every player has the opportunity to handle theball. American sports are very specialized. In rugby, even though

    we have forwards and backs, both groups do many of the same things during a match.

    BANTER : We have a lot of Americans in the rugby club these day. What was your motivation to come outto Bangkok ?

    COURT: I had been teaching for two years in the States and was looking for a new adventure. Thailandssubstandard hiring practices allowed me to slip through the cracks and nd a job here. Ive been here for

    almost four and a half years.

    BANTER :What have you enjoyed most about your experience on the Banger Colts team?COURT: I really enjoyed the Bangkok International Tens tournament. It really showed me how popularrugby is worldwide, with so many teams traveling to the tournament. Im looking forward to the next one.

    BANTER :You must be doing somethingright. You were selected as the Newcomer Of

    The Year in 2010?

    COURT : Go back and check the othernominees. I think I was the only one inattendance that night. Even so, Im puttingit right next to my nullied touchdown in

    the Court Williams Pantheon of SportAchievements

    BANTER :The Banger Colts have hada great season so far winning the Royal

    Bangkok Sports Club tournament and

    stringing up a couple of victories in the Thai

    Rugby Union competition. You must be happy to be part of winning team?

    COURT: Its great to be a part of a winning team team but, the best part about the Bangers is regardless ifwe win or lose, we celebrate and look forward to the next match.

    BANTER :Do you enjoy the training?COURT: Its not always my rst choice of an activity on a Sunday afternoon after a long weekend, but it iswhat has helped me become a better player because of my lack of experience. The club does a great jobof making novice players feel welcomed.

    BANTER :Would you play rugby when you return home to the US ?COURT: I plan to. Ive done some research and found several clubs where Im from.

    BANTER : You have obviously following the Rugby World Cup and the USA Eagles. Any comment?COURT: We denitely have the athletes, but its hard to outplay experience. At least we beat Russia!

    BANTER : Where do you think USA rugby will be in say 10 years?COURT: Well, we can only get better. USA rugby needs to follow the USA soccer model. Soccer hascome a long way in the past twenty years. We arent a powerhouse, but at least we are more competitive.The same can happen for USA rugby.

    BANTER : Court, Thanks for your time and best of luck for the rest of the season?

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    ger Banter. October - December 2011 21

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    Contact : EDDIE EVANS

    Barbecue Store21 Sukhumvit Soi 39Sukhumvit, Bangkok

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    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    Adirek Earth Muliwass

    James Corlett

    Lauren Notenboom

    Adirek or Earth as he preferred to be known, has been a member ofthe club for seven years. An athletic and skilful player, Earth playedmany of his games as an outside back or as a loose forward. His ver-satility has proved invaluable for the Bangers squads at all levels.

    Last year, his rugby talent were recognized by the Thai Rugby Union

    and was selected to play for Thai National Team in the Asian Champi-onships in Bombay. During the Bangkok International Tens 2011, hewas invited to play for the Bobby Skinstead Jam Boys select side thatwon the tournament.

    Adirek has recently completed his MBA and has taken up an assign-ment in Bejing with The Royal Thai Embassy. We wish him and his

    young family the best of luck in China.

    James was only with the club a couple of seasons and quickly rose

    to prominent. A quick and deceptive winger coupled with his ability to

    shrug and bounce off tackles.

    He displayed an aptitude for both sevens and the fteen a side game.

    Score some important tries to seal games, through his pace andnishing. A talented game-breaker who saved the Banger bacon on

    more than one occasion.

    James seem to enjoy the life in Bangkok and thrived in the club sociallife. His departure was surprise. We wish James all the best back inEngland. There are rumors circulating that he may come back.

    A tough as teak French forward whose take no prisoners presenceon the eld was always a major asset to the Banger cause. The hard

    work he puts in on the eld was something his team mates respected.

    This was especially noticeable in and around the breakdown, wherehe was both a powerful tackler and very good at competing for theball once the tackle had been made. He was a ne handler of the ball,

    astute reading of the game and capable of making his presence feltall over the eld.

    Lauren was also a great club man and with other member of theBanger French community, got involved in all club events. We wishLaurens and his family our best wishes in new appointment in Barce-lona, Spain.

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    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    n the moderngame it is the taskof the hooker to

    throw the ball intothe line-out. It hasntalways been theway, with earlier erasassigning the role tothe winger, half-backor other positions.The laws of rugbyhave never ordainedwhich position mustthrow the ball intothe line-out it has

    always been left to tradition, evolution and individualcircumstances and preference to decide.

    By the 1890s convention had seen the role fairlysettle upon the shoulders of the teams half-back.Looking back from today, it is probably seen as arather strange option. However, at that time, teamscarried two half-backs, with one either side of thescrum (left and right).

    At the line-out the usual practice was for the for-wards to try and catch the ball, and whether suc-cessful or not, the ball was soon on the groundwhere all the forwards would compete in a standingruck and shoving contest. That the half-back hadthrown the ball into the line-out mattered little, as hehad plenty of time to regain his position behind hisforwards before the ball emerged more often thannot it ended with the referee blowing his whistle andordering a formal scrum.

    The only other option taken at the line-out was tothrow long to a fast man at the end of the line, andhope to escape up and across eld before any con-test amongst the forwards could eventuate.

    When the rst New Zealand All Blacks arrived in

    England in 1905, they brought with them a formationthat gured just one half-back and two ve-eighths.

    They also used the line-out as a chance to get theball out to their backs. Both of these changes werea revelation to the game in Britain, as the All Blacks

    Dave Gallaher and Billy Stead explained in their1906 book

    In England the scrum half is usually delegated todo the throwing in. This is a mistake. Nobody is orshould be better able to institute an attack of any

    kind than this individual, and it is a waste of hisvaluable time and services to put him to the taskof throwing in. Our plan is to give the ball to one ofour short hookers as some kind of a short rest forhim from his very arduous labours in the front rowof the scrum.

    The 1905 All Blacks original tactics did not catchon, and the half-back continued to undertake therole of throwing the ball into the line-out. By thelate 1940s it was nally recognised that the line-out

    could be an attacking vehicle to unleash the back-line, and that the half-back had to be ready to takethe ball from the forwards.However, it was not the hooker who took over fromthe half-back, but the blindside winger. The theorybehind replacing the half with the winger was thatnot only would gains be made by having the half-back ready to attack, but the winger had the neces-sary speed to sweep around and support in anybackline movement, as well as provide additionalcover defence.

    Some international wingers from the 1960s-70s arefondly remembered for their ability to accuratelythrow the ball into the line-out, including the Wal-labies twin wingers James and Stewart Boyce, aswell as All Blacks winger Grant Batty.

    Batty wrote in his biography that: Smart coachesknow that a winger who can throw-in accurately isas good as an extra lineout jumper, because coor-dination and timing between thrower-in and jumperis all important to ensure adequate lineout posses-sion is won.

    Thats not to suggest that only wingers could throwthe ball at a line-out, with exceptions in teamsacross the globe. John Reason and Carwyn Jamesnote the example of the Le grand Bziers:

    It is interesting to see that the wheel has comefull circle in that Beziers, the French club cham-pions, and the most successful club in the worldthroughout the middle and late seventies, againused the scrum half-back to throw in.

    Commencing in the mid 1960s and complete bythe late 1970s, it came to be the norm at line-outs

    for coaches to opt to make use of the hooker, whofor the most part had until then been an idle by-stander at the front of the line. It had taken nearly70 years for the example provided by the 1905 AllBlacks to be followed.

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    ou know I was really looking forward to the World Cup. Notonly did Ireland have a chance of going all the way but it wasgoing to be a great opportunity to get together with the

    Bangers to watch a few games. Actually the latter was a better bet,and would be more fun.Anyway, after watching a few of the early games and putting behindme the headline grabbing nonsense about Englands black strip

    (I dont mean Tuilagi jumping off a ferry or was that a fairy) Ithought what is it about the colour black that it got such a bad namethroughout all civilisations.

    No Im not going into another anthropological dissertation aboutprimitive belief systems. However, prex the following with black

    and see what you get death, arts, mail, hole, magic, and decker.Now take the word white and prex it to knight, wedding, lightning,

    house, wash.

    Why is black bad, white is good, blue is rude (of course the French and Italians wear it), green is (dont anyof you dare to refer to the intellectual capacity of mycountry of birth) environmentally desirable, pink is

    gay (sorry British club rugby club). I suppose a whitefern stands my thesis on its head.

    Now lets talk about so-called stats. Watching thegames of the World Cup is like watching the WallStreet ticker (not the Soi 33 version). We haveconstant stats for possessions, territory, kicks totouch, missed tackle, ofoads, passes, lineouts

    lost etc. etc. Now, if we take the same approachto these stats as with colours and add randomassociations then we see, that we should not getcarried away from our core love of the purity of old fashioned rugby speak where buzz words and stats were

    not needed.

    Here we go :-

    Now, dont start me about the inane so-called punditspopulating our screens on obscure TV channels inbetween the four hundredth replay of Wayne Looneys redcard, or should that be Red Looneys Waynecard.

    There was one cheap-suit wearing anaemic nobody tryingto analyse the statistics. who had worked on oil rigs ortimeshares in Obscursistan, and qualifying under the 3

    year residency rules (excluding home country leave within

    the taxable allowance), had earned an international cap.He got it all wrong, again and again and again.

    Id love to nd his facebook and add Trevor Day as a friend. At the end of the day the real honest story

    comes from your rugby mates. What wrong with saying about your team we were shite .

    Thats it in black and white.

    Possessions Exorcism

    Territory Occupied

    Kicks to touch Hey darling ..its over

    Metres gained Penile enlargement

    Missed tackle Katoeys loss

    Ofoads Thats what condoms are for

    Passes Nice shoes . Do you f#@&

    Passes Who stole my coke

    Tom Kerr - Club Coach 2003 - 7

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    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    ea, the most universally consumed of all beverages, is madefrom the leaves of Camellia sinensis, a tree that in its wildstate can reach a height of 10 meters. It is native to Assam,

    China and Japan. Tea was brought to Europe by the Dutch in 1610and to England in 1644. It arrived in America in the early eighteenthcentury. Tea growing in China and Japan dates back to prehistorictimes, but it was not started in India and Ceylon until 1865.

    India and Ceylon are the largest tea exporters in the world. Thelargest tea import to the United States comes from Japan and

    Formosa; England and Russia import enormous quantities from India

    and China respectively. China is the largest producer of tea but does

    not lead in the export trade.

    Tea is grown both on open elds and on terraced hillsides. It requires

    a warm climate with a very heavy rainfall 90-200 inches a year. Forne tea, the rst one or two tiny leaves which appear at the end

    of each twig during ushes or growing periods, are picked. The third and fourth leaves are used only in

    course teas. These pickings occur 10 to 25 times a year in Formosa and every 10 to 12 days in Ceylon.

    The principle difference in teas lies in the treatment of the leaves. Black tea comes from leaves that, partlydried, are piled up to ferment before being toasted. Green tea comes from leaves that have been red

    immediately after harvesting, and is not fermented. Oolong tea is semi fermented. The best known gradesof tea are Pekoe, Orange pekoe, Souchong, Lapsang, Congou and Oolong.

    Infusions of tea contain aromatic substances, caffeine and tannin. It is a pleasant, stimulating drink which,when taken in moderate quantities aids the digestion and in hot countries constitutes one of the best waysto drink water, since this must necessarily be boiled before it is used.

    Tea is very delicate and must be kept in air-tight containers in a dry place, well away from any food whoseodors might contaminate it.

    The teapot, for the same reason, must be kept exclusively for making tea. Only pure water must be usedto make it and that as free from lime (calcium) as possible. It is very important to rinse the teapot rst by

    rinsing it out with boiling water. When this hasbeen done, the tea is put in, one teaspoon foreach person plus one for the pot.

    The water must be absolutely boiling and the

    infusion will be ready after 5 or 6 minutes, afterthis time it becomes too strong, charged withtannin. ( That is why teapots which cut off contactbetween the tea leaves and the infusion are to berecommended, as are tea-balls and tea-spoons).

    Certain brands of tea are sold in muslin or papersachets, each containing enough tea for one ortwo cups. These sachets are practical becausethey allow the tea always to be made to the samestrength and easier to check for the right infusionlevels at the right moment. Lipton and Twinings, of

    course, being the market leaders worldwide in thistype of tea packaging.

    Some teas claim certain health or beauty benets

    which may or may not be able to be proven in clinical studies. Personally, I dont drink that much tea, I nd

    that it kills the taste of my beer.!

    Geoff Mckenna - Banger Class of 2002

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    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    Stewart Gorman - London, Banger 2007 -10

    NOW ON FACEBOOK

    NOW ON TWITTER

    ood day my fellow Bangers. Delighted to see that things are going well in the Thai RugbyUnion cometition with the Bangers doubling our number of previous wins prior to this season. Keep

    up the good work chaps. Ive not managed to play a game yet this season but went to the LondonDouble Header at Twickenham for the opening of the Aviva Premiership Season.

    At the time of writing its semi-nal stage in the Rugby World Cup and for this Englishman the tournament

    is over and due to the time difference a difcult one to follow, watching the matches over a bowl of cereal.

    Since England lost to France a number of analysts have been talking about changes of personnel. MartinJohnsons days as coach seem numbered but not sure who would do a better job. Shaun Edwards hasbeen mentioned as a possible replacement but the favourite option seems to be a temporary coach andthen invite Clive Woodward to return to the job once he has completed his London Olympics work.

    The media coverage here has not been good for English rugby with

    the stories focused on off the eld activities. Personally I dont haveany objections to the high jinx they got up to off the eld. I always

    thought that the beauty of the the game. Interesting how times havechanged.

    Im currently reading Brian Moores (the old England hooker) auto-biography. One of the stories he mentions is that when the Lionsbeat Australia 2-1 back in 1989 he got very drunk downing bottlesof wine and after the players dinner he went off on his own and wasrunning across Sydney Bridge impersonating an aeroplane. He goesonto say that approaching him in a taxi was two sports reporters whoasked the taxi to stop got him to share the ride with them, took him

    back to his hotel and nothing was ever reported in the media.Some young players are being put forward as coming into the Eng-land Squad for the six nations. Of the ones being mentioned I think

    the stand off Owen Farrell looks good but one of the others beingmentioned is Christian Wade. A very quick winger who I think has got

    a try in every game so far including a hat-trick against Leicester. Thetrouble is he looks too small to me, will struggle with the high ball andlooks lightweight in defence but given a bit of space no one will catch him.

    Of the semi nal combinations, both are too close to call and the only prediction I would give is if it is a New

    Zealand - Wales nal, the All Blacks will win. Any other nal and it could go either way so you boys who are

    watching at a decent time have a great few days out over the next two weekends while I eat my cereal.

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    Rick OShea - Banger Class of 2002

    he Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club celebratedtheir 10th anniversary last month. Wall Street Bar

    & Grill was the original club rooms of theBangers all those years ago. I am sure you know thestory by now. How a few of us Originals got togetherafter a Super 12 game and come up with the idea tostart a over 35s rugby team.

    The Banger Originals party was a great night withmany of the players from that era turning up. Freebeer was available donated by both Wall Street andHeineken. Some very impressive plaques were given

    out to the founding fathers. That ends quite an era.

    The Shanghai Shaggers the rst club the Old Bangkok

    Bangers ever played also turned 10 years old this year.Some of the Shaggers will be in town shortly for a ying

    visit but nothing has been planned at this stage asidefrom the numerous beers on the Wall Of Knowledge.

    Its a pity the Thailand International Rugby Sevens, ahighlight of the rugby year had to be cancelled due to the current ood situation.

    Wall Street generally sponsors the Lloyd McDermott aboriginal development team from Australia. Most ofthe team decided to come to Thailand anyway and enjoyed a few days in Phuket. Grammar Carlton from

    Auckland, another Bangkok Sevens regular, also turned up with Rod Dalton leading the charge.

    The mighty All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup in a tight game against a spirited French team. Themonkey of twenty four years has nally been lifted. It was a really tough match. Most of the pundits picked

    the All Blacks to win by a margin. Thankfully, the men for Aotearoa had their feet on the ground. Thechoking tag can now be given to some other team. There has been seven world cups and six of them havebeen won by the Tri-Nations sides.

    This is my last write up for the Banger Banter. I want to thank everybody who have supported Wall Streetover the years. Its been a great ride. Its pleasing to see the Bangers are thriving and doing so well in thelocal competition. I guess we did the right thing tens years in starting the club.

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    Where were you born ?

    Rochester, Kent, England

    What do you do for a crust ?

    Teacher, Heatheld international school

    The name of your rst rugby club ?

    Medway RFC

    Did you ever play rst grade rugby?

    NopeWhere do you call home?

    Onnut, Bangkok, Thailand

    Five words that describe you ?

    Relaxed, easy-going, lazy, happy, fat.

    Whats is a phrase you use often?

    Whos going for a beer after the game !!!

    Are you superstitious?

    No

    Whats your favourite music?

    Brit indy rock

    What is the most surprising thing thats ever to happen to you ?

    I went to live in Thailand as a teacher.

    Whats a common misperception people have of you ?

    That I eat lots. I just eat badly

    Whats your ideal night out ?

    Game of rugby, beer and food with the lads, nightclub with the

    last remaining lads.

    In a nutshell, what is philosophy of life ?.

    Dont let things get you down. Always look at the good parts oflife not the bad.

    After a busy day what would be the perfect way to relax ?

    By the pool,in the sunshine with my ipod and book

    What motivates you to be focused and driven?

    Money

    Whats your favourite food?

    I love Thai food but a good steak has to be the ultimate.

    What is your greatest talent or party trick?

    To be one of the last men standing on most nights out.

    Book you are currently reading or have just nished ?Edge of battle - Dale Brown

    Favourite TV programme:?

    Dexter

    Favourite lm:?

    Lethal Weapon

    Most enjoyable holiday location:?

    Any Island in Thailand

    Person you would most like to meet ?

    Valentino RossiSportsperson you admire most?

    Lawrence Dallaglio

    Hobbies?Riding fast motorbikes, reading, watching movies

    Biggest inuence on career ?

    Parents

    Best career advice you were given ?Keep trying the lottery

    Best Airline ? SinaporePolitics ? Dont care too much

    Religion ? Denitely dont careSex ? Asian girlsReality TV? Hate itRed Shirts ? Think they have a pointSoccer ? LiverpoolLiving in Asia ? Sunshine, fun, Bangers and good friends

    Other sports that you played: ?Football.

    Best rugby memory?

    When i rst started going to rugby and realising how cool it

    was.

    Rugby player you admire most ?Simon Shaw

    Sporting event you would most like to attend ?

    Monaco F1

    Three people you would invite to dinner and why?

    Martin Johnson, Jessica Alba and the missus.

    Comedy or action ? ActionBooks or lms? FilmsBeer or spirits? SpiritsFast food or health eating? Fast foodNight in or night out? OutHamburger or street food? Street foodRock Music or Jazz? RockHeineken or Singha ? HeinekenBlonde or Brunette? Brunette

    QUICK FIRE:

    FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND:

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    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    he wheels fell off the Wallaby machine. Iwas in New Zealand for the Wallaby - AllBlack, Ireland and Springbok clashes.

    What can I say, we were outplayed by bettersides. My boys just couldnt get it together.

    Were did it all go wrong? Did the World Cupcome a couple of years too early?

    Maybe. But it should not be used as an excusebecause they had the required mix of youth and

    experience to do better than nishing third. They

    looked like they were never going to beat the AllBlacks on New Zealand soil, but a nals appear-ance rather than being involved in a meaninglessbronze-medal game, would have been a far more

    appealing outcome.However, their inability to think on their feetagainst Ireland was their downfall and, to be per-fectly honest, they were completely outplayed bySouth Africa in the quarter-nals but still some-how sneaked through. Third is better than gettingknocked out in the quarters, but it shouldnt cam-ouage the fact a Wallabies overhaul is required.

    The Wallabies have a few weeks off before head-ing to London and Cardiff to play the Barbariansand Wales, It should be treated as an important

    few weeks where the Test selectors can experi-ment. With Quade Cooper injured a Test pivotneeds to be found. Berrick Barnes will be givena chance on the tour at ve-eighth, but why not

    AVAILA

    BLEN

    OW

    try James OConnor at No 10 against the Barbar-ians? OConnor was, with David Pocock, the WorldCup standout for the Wallabies, and it is time to givehim more responsibility by either playing him at ve-

    eighth or inside-centre.

    The scrum is a serious problem area, so they shouldbring in a forwards doctor and sort it all out. EwenMcKenzie must also be involved as a consultantbecause he has the strongest of relationships with somany important Wallabies.

    And if the Wallabies are to persist with their territorygame, by tossing away so much possession throughkicking it down eld, then why not get someone who

    can teach them how to kick.

    If the Wallabies are able to hold on for another fouryears to the current talents and build a stronger for-ward pack, they are a chance for the next World Cup.

    Who will be coaching the Wallabies in four years isopen to debate now. Dingo Deans needs to improvehis win-loss ratio. The 2013 British and Irish Lionstour of Australia will be crucial for him in the decisionmaking process. I am a betting man and sure he canput it together.

    Still training. But a lot of work to do. Took my jogginggear to Auckland but never got around to taking out

    of the suitcase. Great party atmosphere down thereand of course I ran into a few old mates. The rest ishistory See ya round.

    Bazza

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    his was the claim by many in New Zealand but in reality, it isquestionable it could match the tournaments in France in

    2007 and Australia in 2003. Granted, New Zealand is a

    much smaller country and they did try very hard to put on a greatshow.

    However there were issues with high ticket prices, stadiumsunlled even at big games, transport in Auckland left a lot to be

    happy with. There were instances of price gouging in restaurantsand bars. In general, the Kiwis are a very friendly people althoughsome of the youth were a bit intimidating at night.

    Rugby is a religion in New Zealand and it is probably the onlycountry where the sport is embraced by the whole nation.

    When it was announced that Dan Carter was injured it was like adeath in the family. It was front page news in the papers and on thenational TV news. It even knocked the stricken oil spilling container

    ship off top spot and this has the potential to be a national environmental disaster.

    The IRB, quite rightly came in for a lot of criticism. There was the England ball changing which was a blatant

    violation of the Laws but no action was taken. Then they ned two Samoans for wearing mouth guards with

    unofcial logos on them.

    The Scottish Team was told on the night of their close defeat by England that they had to be out of theirhotel by 9.00am the next morning. They ne the French Team

    for their standing V against the Haka. If the Kiwis can do theHaka then other teams should be able to do what they want inresponse. Then they ban on bagpipes in the stadiums. There isno greater call to battle than the sound of the pipes.

    On the funny side they had Richie McCow and Sonny BaaWilliams. The former was a black calf with what looked like thesilver fern logo on its forehead and the latter was a sheep whichwas not as fast as Sonny Bill. Both of these were used the sameway as that famous octopus was during the Football World Cupbut with not the same skill.

    I had the great privilege to be invited by my good friend Gavin

    Hastings, to a reception in aid of the Bill McLaren Foundation.Bill, as many of you would know, was the greatest rugbycommentator of all time and was nicknamed the Voice of Rugby.He passed away last year and a foundation was set up to promote the values which Bill enthused both as ateacher and a commentator, the rst of which was respect for others.

    At the event, were several ex rugby players including John Kirwin who had some lovely words to say aboutBill whom he had heard commentating when John sat with his father as a young boy. He said it was someof his words which made him really interested in the game. At the reception, they auctioned of three of theselimited edition sheets for the New Zealand v France, World Rugby Cup nal in 1987 and they were bought

    by one buyer for $6,500 each.

    I think that rugby is the greatest game ever, maybe not a religion but close to it. There is nothing like the

    camaraderie among supporters. Around town, in the bars and at the stadiums fans from both teams andfrom other parts of the world would mix with each other, share banter and beer and have a great time. Youwould never see this in soccer where huge sums of money are spent keeping fans apart.

    To answer the title question, it may not have been the best RWC ever but it was bloody good and

    congratulations to the Kiwis for putting on a great show and for making us most welcome.

    Tom Watters - Club Captain 2002

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    Banger Banter. October - December 2011

    inding motivation to train or stick with exercise on a regular basis isnt always easy. Demandingschedules, burn-out, and illness are just a few of the things that may interrupt your tness routine.

    However, sometimes motivation can be found by following a very simple formula. Goal setting based

    upon the S.M.A.R.T. approach, is a simple technique that provides structure for your training program. Many

    athletes and coaches successfully use this formula to set both short and long-term training goals.

    The S.M.A.R.T. principle

    SetSpecicGoals. Research shows that specic goals are the most motivating. A specic goal is to

    reduce your 5K time by 30 seconds within 6 months. Many people just say they want to get faster. Thisgoal is far too general to really motivate you in your training.

    Set Measurable Goals. Simply saying that you want to get faster is not enough detail. You need tobe able to chart and document progress toward your goal. One way to measure your progress is todocument your performance at set intervals. In the above example you may want to time your 5Kperformance once a month so you have a good measurement.

    Set Adjustable Goals . This means your goals are exible enough to accommodate unexpectedchallenges without becoming obsolete. An injury may force your to modify your goal. If you goal is toorun a certain marathon and you are injured, you may need to change your goal to do the half marathon,or some other event. An injury doesnt need to mean you abandon all your plans. At the same time, youmay nd you are progressing quickly and

    need to raise your goal.

    Set Action-Oriented Goals . Anotherimportant aspect of goal-setting to to keepthem focused on personal action. Dontforget to consider not only what you wantto achieve, but how you plan to achieveit. Consider reading books on designing apersonal exercise program and principlesof sports conditioning for tips on tness

    training plans.

    Set Realistic Goals. Start where you are,and increase your goals accordingly. If youhavent ever run a 5K its probably not awise goal to say you want to run a marathon. While that may be your long-term goal, in the short-termyou may want to shoot for the 5K and 10K and half marathon on the way to your marathon goal. Thissort of progression is healthy and realistic. Also, keep in mind that as you become more and more t

    and near your full potential the room for continued improvement gets smaller. Similarly, if your goals aretoo simple, you wont feel much satisfaction by attaining them. Only you truly know what is realistic foryou.

    Set Time-based Goals. Look again at rst example: reduce your 5K time by 30 seconds within 6months. This is specic and time-based. Without a time line there is a tendency to procrastinate or get

    bored. You may also need to set interim goals with shorter timelines to keep you on track. Considerthe previous example of working up to a marathon by completing shorter distances rst. each of those

    because a separate goal with a shorter timeline. In general, goals that stretch out beyond 6 months aretoo long to keep you interested and motivated. Try to re-evaluate your goals every 2-3 months.

    Goal setting is an art as well as a science, but if you make sure your goals follow the S.M.A.R.T. formula,you will nd you are more likely to stay motivated and reach goal after goal.

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    Old Bangkok Banger Rugby Therapist

    NantidaMy Russian born wife and I are going through amessy divorce and I need your help. For legal pur-poses, and to be somewhat professional, Ill refer toher as the Plantiff, which is a lot better than what Iactually want to call her. Apparently, Mrs. Plantiffslawyers say that my B100,000.00 in golf clubs andaccessories is regarded as community property andthat I owe her half. I feel that not right! Shes nevertouched them, and in fact, all she ever did was com-plain that I spent more time with my clubs than withher. What should I do?Had It Up To Here

    Sounds like Mrs, Plantiff has decided to make thisdivorce personal. Heres my advice. My guess isthat your little woman amassed a collection of herown while you were miserably married. Youll prob-ably have to search but its there somewhere. Itcould be some collectable jewelry, or some over-priced personal items she bought at Central Chid-lom on the card. Go after those keepsakes After all,

    according to her legal precedent, they are commu-

    nity property. Shell hate you for it, but at this point,my guess is you would rather sleep with your TaylorMade driver than your wife better known as Mrs.Plantiff.

    NantidaMy Thai ancee will not let me go on a once-in-a-

    lifetime trip to the Rugby World Cup in Aucklandwith my mates. She says I need to save the moneyfor our wedding. I have been very generous to herand the extended family. I have done my sums andbelieve I can afford it and the wedding. However,on this issue she wont budge. Whats your advice?

    I Love My Rugby

    A woman who will not let you go to the Rugby WorldCup in New Zealand is denitely going to drop the

    hammer on future outings with your friends once the

    Nantida,I keep hearing about people driving their Toyotasand getting in accidents because their acceleratorsticks. That got me wondering about my golf cartWhat should I do if the pedal sticks on my cart on aSaturday? Got any advice for me?

    Sticky Pedal

    This really depends on how many beers that youhave had. If you have consumed between one andthree, run the cart into a sand trap. It works just likethose runaway truck ramps you see in the moun-tains. If you have had between four and six, just fallout and roll because you wont feel anything any-way.

    NantidaI have an embarrassing topic to bring up with you.Ive noticed that I dont look good in my Banger poloshirt anymore, especially now that I have hit my 40sand gained some weight. I saw a photograph ofme at a recent rugby tournament and realized thatI have what can best be described as man boobs --or as my wife calls them ... MOOBS. Like I said, itsembarrassing. I need help. Ive heard of a Frenchinvention that is supposed to reduce man boobs by40%. Whats it called?Moob Man

    Believe its called a treadmill! Sounds like you needto get some exercise. Join the Bangers on Sundayat Patana International School would be good start.

    NantidaMy wife is frustrated with me and says I spend toomuch money socializing with my rugby mates. Shesaid that she wants me to spend the same on her. Iwas informed that I cant go met my friends to watchthe Rugby World Cup Final at the pub next weekend

    until I buy her something that goes from 0 to 200 intwo seconds at. What do I do?

    No Money No Rugby

    Buy her some bathroom scales and then make aquick dash to the door.

    ring is on her nger. Unless you want to hold her

    purse at Center World, have her mother and ex-tended family move in with you or when you buy hera gold bracelet, my recommendation is to nip thisrelationship in the bud. Trade her in for new model.

  • 8/2/2019 Banger Banter Newsletter 4th Quarter 2011

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