THE San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite comes alive today (Saturday) as 24 foreign and local teams in five divisions of varying skill levels face off in the 30th staging of the Manila 10s International Rugby Festival.
Rugby players of all shapes, age and sizes fly in from all over Asia, Oceania and the United Kingdom to converge at the SLLP’s 100-meter patch of grass to compete side by side their Filipino counterparts over a weekend of fun and social 10-a-side rugby.
“It is dubbed by ESPN as the best social rugby tournament in the world,” said tournament Director Max Chicken Stewart.
Cup 2017 champions Singapore Barbarians and and Shield titlists Tokyo Gaijin won’t be around to defend their titles, but the RFC Eagles (Plate), the Taipei Baboons (Bowl) and the SCC Growlers(Veterans) are raring to protect theirs in the tournament presented by the Nomads Rugby.
The Ibons and the Manila Samurais start off the heavy 35-game schedule at 9 a.m., before fellow Group A teams Subic Sharks and Tush Burkeyz square off at 9:14 a.m.
The 27-game quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are scheduled on Sunday.
Other teams in the mix are the Taipei Baboons, SKF Mavericks, Manila Carabaos and the Manila Hapons of Group B; Seoul Survivors, Clark Jets, Bush Turkeyz and Albay Bulkans of Group C; Manila Nomads, Makati Chiefs B, Cebu Dragons and Pot Bellied Pigs of Group D; B2Gold Larrikins, Eagles RFC, Makati Chiefs A and RMDK Tigers of the Cup Division; and Extinct Volcanoes, Fiji Golden Oldies, SCC Growlers and Taiper Silverbacks of the Veterans Category.
The Manila 10s was the first-ever rugby tournament held in the Philippines and has come a long way since it was first held in 1989 at the Nomads Sports Club in Merville Park, Parañaque, where then Club president Albert Robert put out a directive for all the sports sections to hold a special event to celebrate their 75th anniversary.
It started as a way for the local, and then only, rugby club in the country, the Manila Nomads to play rugby at a competitive level without having to tour regularly.
The first tournament featured five teams playing in a one-day tournament, but the popularity of the tournament quickly grew the competition to 16 teams playing across two days.
Today, it is still the premier rugby tournament in the country. Manila 10s is held one week before Hong Kong Sevens every year, allowing clubs from around the world to participate in the tournament prior to watching Hong Kong Sevens.
Entrance to San Lazaro Leisure Park is Free and open to the public. Food, drinks and official M10s Merchandise will be available for sale at the Park.