BACKGROUND - After being totally blown away in 2016 by the Saigon 10s my expectations for 2017 were very high.​ Unsurprisingly the tournament had grown this year with 24 Men's and Vets Teams and now a women's competition added for good measure. Would my second Vietanmese Rugby experience match the first?

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FRIDAY NIGHT -  I arrived at the ????? Hotel and was met by the customary explosion of light, colour, music, beer and hard partying Rugby players. From my point of view I was encouraged to see teams and individuals I had recommended the Saigon Tens to throughout the year. By the looks of things they were happpy to have taken my advice. The decision to hold the opening night near the centre of the city was a good one. After going hard for a good two to three hours we all slowly filtered out of the venue and I joined the local Saigon Geckos at the Blue Gecko Pub where we were joined by a host of Richie Beanards. I arrived back at my accomdation just before dawn.

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SATURDAY'S TOURNAMENT - The RMIT grounds looked awesome bathed in sunshine and with the extra facilities to deal with the larger competition. As I wandered around the ground the players were again full of praise for the organisation of the Saigon Tens. This year each team was not only met at the airport by the extremely helpful Sugar Bears, but they were given mobile phones that gave them direct contact to the organisers - seriously great idea! Another develop on the Rugby front this year was to witness the training session of the Saigon Centaurs. The Centaurs is a Junior Club in Singapore who are now actively supporting one the very first Junior Rugby clubs in Vietnam. Not only that, but later I reconnected with Antoinne from the Geckos and he told me about how the club was growing and this included, the start of the Saigon Gecko Junior Academy. Add to the Centaurs and Geckos Juniors, the Get Into Rugby intiative and the Hanoi Dragons, and you get the impression that Rugby really is getting a foothold in Vietnam.

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SATURDAY NIGHT - Another wise venue change this year, saw the Saturday night activities moved onto the RMIT sight. This meant at the end of the day, players simply walked a few hundred metres into a large tent where another feast of food (great food in fact) and entertainment was on offer. Everyone took the party with relish, but none more then the girls teams. For the second time this year I was watchinga traditional Men's contact tournament open their doors to women's Rugby without breaking a sweat, and watching everyone involved thrive in the inclusiveness. Traditional Rugby values on display again! Not sure about what happened for the rest of that evening. I have vague memories of hanging out with the Yangon Dragons and Red Dog and his Hanoi mates, but it really is a blur.

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SUNDAY FINALS - The atmosphere on the pitch on the final day was a reflection of everything that had gone on, during the last few days. Teams that were being eliminated found their way to a free massage and/ or the food and beverage tents. The highest praise I can give to these tents was they are on par with the VIP Sections for most other tournaments I have been too in terms of creating a relaxing atmosphere, selling a diversity of food and drink with happy smiling service. Oh, and the Rugby on the pitch was very decent too with the Singaporean teams, the Barbarians and Buck taking the Men's and Women's Cups and the ???? crowned champions of the Vets. With the sun setting over the RMIT and the awards handed out, team's retreated to their quaters for their respective court sessions and i returned back to my hotel room for some much much needed sleep.

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CONCLUSION - Everything about the Saigon Tens is top shelf in my eyes. With main sponsors Wolf Blass now coming on board for the next 5 years this tournament now rates as a world classs event that is the equal to any of the first rate tournaments offered here in Asia. Couple this tournament with the rise of both the Geckos and Centaurs in Saigon, and the Dragons in Hanoi i got the impression this year that we are not only witnessing the rise of a new Social Rugby Tournament, but maybe the emergence of a new Rugby playing nation!

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