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Welcome to the the Manila10s, a social rugby tournament held on the third weekend every March. It has been going on since 1989, apparently, and this weekend’s tournament is the 27th edition. It precedes Hong Kong 7’s, the biggest rugby 7’s event in the world. At the 2015 Manila10s tournament, there are 32 teams playing, 10 of which are locals. The rest flew in from all over the world.
“There are guys flying from Australia, South Africa, UK, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taipei. There’s a new team from the Middle East and they’re called the Doha Dogs. They brought out 30 guys over,” says Manila10s chairman, Bill Bailey, a British national who has been living in Manila for the past 16 years now. He is also the chairman of the Manila10s for the last 10 years.
“This is legendary. [Sure] It’s only a social tournament but it’s a lot of fun,” Bill adds. The Manila10s work this way: 48 games are played by the 32 teams all Saturday long, with each game varying from 7 minutes to 12 minutes long. Saturday determines Sunday’s matches — eliminations, quarterfinals, semis, and the finals.
There are three forms of rugby, if you will: The 15’s, which has 15 players on each team and is “the purest form of the game,” says Bill. The 7s, which is the fastest form of rugby with teams of 7 players, and the 10s which has 10 players on each team is somewhere in between of the two.
The Manila10s always happens at the Nomads Sports Club in Parañaque, which we just learned yesterday, actually has a barangay named after them. “It’s always been in Parañaque and it’s always been a trip. It’s an amateur tournament but we’ve a few professional players coming in, too.”
ESPN has called the Manila 10s the best social rugby tournament in the world and “we’ve kept it because it’s a label we like,” says Bill. The Manila10s weekend actually begins on Friday with a long, alcohol-fueled lunch. “This year, we were sponsored by Etihad and Marriot hotel. We had a huge long lunch in Marriot. It started at 11am and finished at about 5pm. There were 450 guys in attendance. We bring in former international players who speak about their lives and times in rugby. Friday was sensational. It leads to a lot of nonsense and then everyone just turns up at Nomads on Saturday.”
The Nomads Sports Club was packed with expats and foreigners with their wives and girlfriends and friends, cheering on their teams, having a beer, or three, at 12 noon, and just having a trip. The games are fast, tough, and even for a noob, really exciting. “Some big guys smashing into each other all in good fun. Sure there can be a little violence on the pitch but it doesn’t go outside the pitch. Everyone shakes hands after, have a drink and gets on with it.”
Check out a few photos from Saturday’s round below:
Photos: Majoy Siason
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