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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or