The weekend of May 3-4 will see the fourteenth staging of the Pattaya 10’s Rugby Tournament, which is now known as the Chris Kays Memorial Tournament to perpetuate the memory of the former Pattaya Panthers captain, who was tragically killed in the Bali bombing in October 2002.
Once again the tournament will be staged at the attractive surroundings of Horseshoe Point Resort in East Pattaya and will feature both an open 10’s tournament for men and a junior division (under 16’s ), which is now in its fifth year. The junior event, sponsored by Kingdom Property, enables the youngsters to display their rugby skills and potential on a major stage and soak up the atmosphere of participating in a major tournament.
Fast sporting action and great pitch-side entertainment are part and parcel of the annual Chris Kays Memorial rugby tournament.
There will be 16 teams in the main tournament and as usual this year there will be a very strong local influence led by the Old Bangkok Bangers and the newly invigorated Southerners. Organizers are also looking forward to the return of The Valley Griffins and Hong Kong Scottish who both made a real impression on their maiden appearances last year.
The famous Australian touring side the Casaurina Stray Cats, led by Bruce “Brutal” Kennon, will be making their debut appearance in Pattaya this year, as will Stade Khmer from Cambodia, who like the hosts Pattaya Panthers will have a strong Gallic influence.
The Southerners, who were narrowly beaten last year in an epic Cup final, are hoping to go one better this year and with the absence of the Thai Barbarians and the Thai Legends who would bet against them?
The Phuket Vagabonds have apparently discovered some new South African talent and have promised to do well in the rugby and at the final whistle will certainly be leading the charge to the bar! Don’t underestimate the host Pattaya Panthers however, who despite losing several stalwarts have been training hard on the field under coach Tom Kerr and the leader of the French revolution, club captain Adrien Simon.
The action will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday and concludes around 6 p.m. Sunday in what should be a memorable weekend festival of rugby. There will be almost 24 hours of entertaining rugby action during the two days. Note that the Kingdom Property U 16’s tournament will be played from 16:00 to 19:00 on Saturday evening and will conclude between 08:00 and 10:00 on Sunday morning.
