Phuket shut out of medals in Rugby 10s

SAPHAN HIN: So far but no further was the catchphrase for Phuket this afternoon, as the Phuket Barbarians crashed out of the Cup semi-finals in the Phuket Island Lager International Rugby Tens, going down 0-27 to the eventual winners, Hong Kong FC Vandals. The Phuket Vagabonds, meanwhile, slaughtered the Hong Kong Bulls 40-0 in the Bowl semi-finals, only to be crushed 0-36 in the finals by their traditional rivals, Bangkok British Club. The HK Vandals, completing a day without conceding a single point, romped past Barrelhouse of Dubai with three tries and a conversion to win the Cup final 17-0. The Plate saw a tighter match, with the Taipei Baboons finally walking off the field with a 19-14 victory over the Seoul Survivors. Scores from the day were as follows: * Cup Quarter Finals Phuket Barbarians 12, Manila Nomads 0 SRC Singapore 0, HKFC Vandals 31 Barrelhouse 44, The Old Bill (Hong Kong) 5 Pattaya Panthers 7, Singapore Bucks 12 * Plate Semi-finals Taipei Baboons 40, Osan RFC (Korea) 0 Seoul Survivors 24, Bangkok Japanese 12 * Bowl Semi-finals Bangkok British Club 22, RAAF Tigers 12 Hong Kong FC Bulls 0, Phuket Vagabonds 40 * Cup Semi-finals Phuket Barbarians 0, Hong Kong Vandals 27 Barrelhouse 14, Singapore Bucks 7 * Bowl Final Bangkok British Club 36, Phuket Vagabonds 0 * Plate Final Taipei Baboons 19, Seoul Survivors 14 * Cup Final Hong Kong Vandals 17, Barrelhouse 0 Off the pitch, the Pattaya Panthers (kicked into touch in the Cup quarter finals in a 7-12 mauling by Singapore Bucks) provided much of the entertainment with their attempts to negotiate the release of their six-foot-high Pink Panther mascot. The Panther was kidnapped last night by extortionists widely believed to have connections to the RAAF Tigers, who were demanding a ransom of a million baht, and who threatened to amputate various Panther parts if the money was not made available. The Gazette is happy to report that the negotiations, conducted by a person of dubious parts dressed in a bright pink satin housecoat, were finally successful. The Panther was returned intact. Externally, at least.