Bali Memorial Match

The annual Bali Memorial Match 2009 will take place this year on January 16th, 2010 with a 5pm kick off on the Padang and after last year’s emphatic victory by the Northern Hemisphere, the South will be looking for revenge and they still lead the series 4:2. The Bali Memorial Match pits the best of Singapore rugby against each other in a North vs South contest as players from all four Premiership clubs lock horns in an annual North/South tussle. 

It is played in memory of the eight Singapore rugby players who were killed in the Bali Bombings in 2002 whilst on a rugby tour with the SCC. Chris Redman, Chris Bradford, Neil Bowler, Chris Kays, Charlie Van Rennen, Peter Record, Tim Arnold and Dave Kent. All great clubmen and superb rugby tourists. It is also a tribute to those from the other touring clubs in Bali that weekend – Bedok, Wanderers and Bucks, all of whom played a part in saving lives, helping out and being there in helping the injured, the burnt and the dying. The whole of Singapore rugby came together after that weekend.
 
The match is often one of the hardest matches of the year, as the North takes on the South, pitches club-mate against club mate and gives us all the opportunity to play alongside players from other clubs. It has been a fantastic event in the past and should continue for many years to come. It is always very very physical, feisty and though played in a tremendous spirit, is anything but a friendly game. It has been one of the key events in the Singapore rugby calendar since 2003. This year’s match promises to be a cracker, with Kiwi Harry Woods leading the Southern Hemisphere side, supported by Aussies Andy Bourke, John Judges and Ken Loughnan from the SCC, national team players Matt Taloni and Nick Macksie from Wanderers and James Valentine and Greg Chiaroni from the Bedok Kings.  Andy Douglas’ Northern side will feature Tommy Burns, Pete McFeely and Ewan Kenworthy from the SCC, as well as the tartan contingent Justin Reid and Alan “Bundy” Kelly from Bucks and the Wanderers heavyweights Gorgeous George Rippon and Marc Thomson.

Prior to the match, there will also be a North South Vets match which should also prove to be a spectacle as numerous Singapore rugby legends and has-beens renew their old rivalries in a 3:45 kick off.

We hope EVERYONE will come down to the Padang to watch the match. There will a huge amount of cold beers available pitchside for spectators so we hope a decent crowd will be there to watch a great match and pay tribute to those who not only lost their lives in Bali but also to those who helped out that day, a day that Singapore rugby can never forget.