About 30 Pirates are set to land in Taipei tomorrow to take on local rugby union outfit the Taipei Baboons in men’s and women’s matches.
The Discovery Bay Pirates Rugby Football Club was founded in 2003, and this is to be their first visit to Taiwan and their first encounter with the local side.
Pirates’ director of rugby Randal Leonard said the team is “an eclectic mix of people.”
Photo courtesy of the Hong Kong Pirates
About 33 are to take part in the tour, including 11 women and 22 men, he said by e-mail.
Leonard described himself as part of a rugby-mad family, with his wife, Sally, previously having played for Irish province Connacht and Ireland A before the couple moved to Hong Kong.
She “was a lot better than me at rugby when we were younger,” he said.
One of the Pirates tour party is Taiwanese-Dutch Arnold Taen, who moved to Taipei and is working at The Sanctuary, an animal shelter that provides long-term care for animals in need, with dogs and cats available for adoption, fostering or sponsoring.
He graduated from Taipei European School in 2008 and was in Hong Kong completing a diploma in animal management after having been playing rugby for two years.
Living in Discovery Bay, he said he naturally found the Pirates.
“I just walked my dog down to the training session one night and said I was interested,” Taen said. “Randal then asked me if I wanted to play that weekend, as they needed someone, so I said: ‘Yes.’”
Taen, whose grandfather is of the Siraya community, said that the sport changed his life.
“Definitely for the better,” the winger/scrumhalf said. “Except in the weekends, where I end up with multiple bruises and an aching body.”
“I met my girlfriend through rugby, I’ve made business and social connections through rugby, I’ve learned life lessons through rugby,” he added.
He counted his rugby mates among his lifelong friends, although he said they call him names and give him “silly epithets.”
“This trip to Taipei with the Pirates is undoubtedly going to provide more [stories],” he said. “We’re hoping to have a smashing weekend ... meet new mates and hopefully help to support the growth of rugby around Asia.”
The club’s Web site, www.dbpirates.com, listed Taen among star players who helped the senior rugby team achieve a league and cup double last year, for which he was named Young Player of the Year.
Also among the tourists is Pirates player/coach and former Fiji international Seru Rabeni, the “Fijian Hitman,” who Randal credited with singularly dismantling the Welsh team during their World Cup match in 2007.
Other nationalities represented are Thai, Israeli, Polish, South African, New Zealander, Australian, German, Filipino and Colombian, ranging in age from 17 to 48.
Meanwhile, Baboons’ president Andrew Leakey said the home side has been focusing a lot on the women’s team.
“For this upcoming tour, we’ve been focusing more on the ladies team, because they don’t get so many opportunities for matches as the men,” the Welshman said. “I’m hoping this can be a springboard for more ladies rugby in the future, both domestically and overseas. Hence, we have made good preparations for the ladies match especially. Still, for men and ladies this is more of a social tour, so the most important thing for us is to make sure our guests leave with a good impression of Taiwan and our club.”
Kick off for the men’s game is 12:30pm on Saturday at the Bailing rugby fields in Taipei’s Shilin District, with the women’s match to follow.
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