The “ HOT SEASON “ has well and truly arrived and this can mean only one thing as well as the temperature tensions are also rising and the expectations are building as we anticipate the return of the Chris Keys Memorial Rugby Tournament after almost three years of the dreaded Covid 19!!!
The return to the opportunity to play full rugby has stirred many people to search for their boots and shorts and resume training!! Here comes the twenty first edition of the Chris Kays Memorial Rugby Tournament!!! Unfortunately a number of outside influences have worked against us and for many reasons most of the usual overseas combatants will not be contesting this year’s tournament.
Chairman Jim Howard and Captain Joe Edama have beaten the bushes and swept the bars of the orient and have managed to assemble a smaller field than normal. However quality is high and all are convinced that there will still be lots of great rugby on display and in a revised format all of the participating teams will get to play a lot more rugby. Due to the prevailing situation over our selected weekend it has been deemed politic to move the tournament back to our ancestral home at the beautiful Horseshoe Point Resort, which offers easier access to visitors and spectators alike, access to the tournament is free.
The twenty-first staging of the Chris Kays Memorial Rugby Tournament will kick off at 10:00 am at Horseshoe Point on Saturday 29th April and will wind up on Sunday 30th April with the traditional presentation of trophies in the swimming pool!!! The tournament is a variation of the usual long form of the game as the teams will comprise only 10 players per side and each game will be played over two halves of just seven (7) minutes so there will be plenty of fast action.
The combatants will be assembling on 28th April at the Outback bar on Siam Country Club Road, for registration and the renewal of old friendships. The weather forecasters predict that the weather will heat up, to ensure that everybody will get a warm welcome!! It is forecast to be very hot!! In addition to the entire expat rugby community and all the usual local suspects from Thailand will be there.
There will be a total of 24 games in the initial round robin stages of the main tournament on Saturday, followed by rest and recreation, maybe a stroll along Beach Road and then early to bed with hot cocoa and biscuits on Saturday night!! The knockout stages of the Chris Kays Memorial Rugby Tournament 2023 will commence at approximately 10:00 am on Sunday morning and will conclude with the Cup Final at around 17:00 on Sunday Evening.
Please do come and support your local heroes and have some fun and great craic at the same time, there will be lots of diversions to keep the little ones happy while Daddy enjoys some great rugby and good food and cold beer!!!
The tournament could not happen without the support of our Sponsors :- Regents International School, Societe Generale de Surveillance, WHA Hemaraj Land and Development Co., Ltd., Manpower Thailand, Lucy Electric (Thailand) Ltd., Baron Edward Devereux and The Outback Bar and Restaurant on Siam Country Club Road, Legends Pool and Sports Bar.
The welfare of all participants and spectators will again be looked after by the staff of the Sawang Boriboon Foundation and the tents and cooling shade will be provided by CR Asia (Thailand) Ltd. We do hope to see many of you there please drop by and say hello to us at the organiser’s tent.
The weather is forecast to be fine and very HOT but the beer and cider served by the Outback staff will be very cold!!!! The usual Thai delicacies from the kitchen of The Outback and Horseshoe Point. With the venue being in perfect condition we have no doubt that this will be a spectacular tournament.
