The 3rd Manila Touch Rugby Tournament was held last Saturday, March 14, 2009 at the Nomads Sports Club. From its humble beginning in 2007, the tournament has grown to also include a Juniors Touch Division for Under 8s, 10s, 12s and 14s which only proves that touch rugby is growing in popularity and becoming more recognized as a local sport! With nearly 30 teams competing in all divisions – Juniors, Ladies, Mens and Mixed, it was another great day for touch and a wonderful reminder of how diverse and vibrant the rugby community in Manila has become.

With the addition of Junior Touch, it was very fortunate that the weather cooperated. Most of the games were played with generally overcast skies with some spots of brilliant sunshine. Despite having only 6 training sessions, the Junior Nomads were able to form two teams and managed to finish 2nd in the U8s behind European International School (EIS). The U10s were dominated by the BSM Stormers and Cyclones respectively. The U12s and U14s saw Bahay Bata triumphing in both categories, closely followed by the Hapons (U12s) and BSM (U14s).

Parents and coaches alike were proud to see their little (and not-so-little) ones develop team spirit, discipline and good sportsmanship. Peter Lawrence of British School Manila (BSM) commended the MTRT’s Junior Touch Division, “Great job all. It was a very nice tournament and had a great feel about the whole morning.”

The Manila Touch Rugby Tournament is the brainchild of Clair Barberis, president of the Nomads Bullettes, together with fellow organizers Claire Schirmer and Rey Gigataras, have been working towards spreading awareness of the sport and developing more teams, both competitive and social, in Manila. With the attendance of the Cebu Pink Dragons this year, the MTRT may just have the potential to eventually grow into the M10s equivalent of touch rugby.

The Nomads Black remained undefeated for the past 3 years, with the University of the Philippines Varsity (UP) coming in close second. Placing 3rd were the Cebu Pink Dragons, followed by Faith, Hapons, and Nomads White respectively.

Mens Touch was won by the new kids on the block - the boys from the Bahay Bata orphanage - and they won the tournament in style. The young guys used their speed, their enthusiasm, and their continually improving rugby skills to match or outwit all the more favoured teams throughout the day. The fact that the boys finished ahead of two Nomads teams, the Alabang Eagles, UP, Manila Hapons and the pre-tournament favourites - the Anzacs shows just how far they have come, and what promising futures they have in rugby in the Philippines . Hopefully that success translates to similar results in contact rugby in a few years. The support from key guys in the Philippine rugby community has been critical in building up those results for the Bahay Bata crew, and so Romain Barberis and other assistants should be well satisfied with the results their young charges are getting.

The UP ladies and men proved that working together was their key to success garnering the top places for the Mixed Division with Nomads Black, Nomads White and the Hapons at their mercy.

The whole day was conducted in wonderful spirit, with only a few minor scheduling hiccups (it wouldn’t be a real day without it), and served to remind everyone just how strong the rugby crowd has become.

Special thanks to Matt Cullen and Camille Cuna for the constant support from PRFU, Active Fun for supporting Junior Touch - the future of rugby, Rugby In Asia for web visibility and Sting Energy drink for the power-in-your-sprints.

To all the referees who took time out from their busy weekend schedules to ref all 64 games: Matt Cullen, Richard Radier, Rey Gigataras, Harold Gigataras (Rey's brother who happens to be a level 5 ref), Maesy Inigo, Rizza Manzano, Kid Galeria, Juan Engelbrecht, Jay Savage and Ahlo Abono --- thanks for the fair calls.

And finally to all the teams that participated and contributed to the touch awareness campaign --- British School Manila (great numbers, Peter), Bahay Bata, Manila Hapons, The EIS Barbarians, Brent International School, Alabang Eagles, ANZACS, Faith Academy, The Cebu Pink Dragons, The University of the Philippines Touch Club --- we hope to see you again next year.

by: Lala Lejeune and Sam Chittick