- Title: THAILAND: FORMER ALL-BLACKS BEAT THAI TRANSSEXUAL TEAM AT ELEPHANT POLO
- Date: 9th September 2004
- Summary: (L!1) HUA HIN, THAILAND (SEPTEMBER 8, 2004) (REUTERS ) VARIOUS OF ALL BLACKS TEAM SHOWING THEIR HAKKA, A TRADITIONAL MAORI DANCE SPECTATORS LOOKING ON SCREWLESS TUSKERS SHOWING THEIR SEXY CHEERLEADER DANCE ALL BLACKS TEAM PLAYERS GIVE BUNCH OF FLOWERS TO SCREWLESS TUSKERS TEAM PLAYERS ALL BLACKS TEAM PLAYER GETTING ON ELEPHANTS GONG BEING HIT BEFORE A GAME STARTED POLO GAME BETWEEN ALL BLACKS TEAM AND SCREWLESS TUSKERS TEAM SCREWLESS TUSKERS TEAM PLAYER BEING CHEERLEADER SCREWLESS TUSKERS TEAM FIGHTING FOR BALL WITH ALL BLACKS TEAM PLAYER SPECTATORS LOOKING ON PLAYERS TRYING TO HIT BALL VARIOUS OF TUSKERS PLAYER FIGHTS FOR BALL WITH ALL BLACKS PLAYER SCREWLESS TUSKERS PLAYER CHERMAN SAENGPRASIT MAKES A FIRST SCORE SCREWLESS TUSKERS' CHAIRMAN PUMPS FIST TO CELEBRATE A SCORE (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER NEW ZEALAND ALL BLACKS RUGBY PLAYER CAPTAIN STU WILSON SAYING: "This was a hundred years of rugby history in New Zealand hinging on fourteen minutes of elephant polo against three toy boys. It is important that our tradition went on. If we lost we would not be going home, we will be probably getting some make up with the girls." WIDE SHOT OF THE ALL BLACKS AND SCREWLESS TUSKERS PLAYERS ON ELEPHANTS THE ALL BLACKS AND SCREWLESS TUSKERS FIGHTING FOR BALL ELEPHANTS CHASING FOR BALL THE ALL BLACKS PLAYER TRYING TO HIT BALL THE ALL BLACKS PLAYER MAKES A SCORE (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER NEW ZEALAND ALL BLACKS RUGBY PLAYER CAPTAIN STU WILSON SAYING: "It's very difficult -- yeah -- the elephant is slow, the stick is too long, the ball is far too small and I've got bruised wrists, bruised shoulder and it is hard. People think it is an easy game. It isn't because you are at the mercy of the elephants. If the elephant doesn't want to go over there, how are you gonna shift ten tonnes. So they've got a great mind of their own. I want to play a rugby with lot of elephants, you know." ELEPHANT WALKING IN A FIELD ELEPHANT POLO PLAYER SCORES DURING POLO GAME
- Embargoed: 24th September 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HUA HIN, THAILAND
- Country: Thailand
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVAD07RBKVXIRI8SGUSBXZ2BJGGF
- Story Text: Former New Zealand All Black rugby stars beat Thailand's transsexual team at Elephant Polo in Thailand.
The tournament's most eagerly anticipated game was between New Zealand All Blacks and the transsexuals "Screwless Tuskers" on Wednesday (September 8).
Before the game started, the All Blacks famous Hakka was a prequel to their determined opponents while Tuskers gave them a surprise with a sexy cheerleader dance.
A crunch match, which should have been an academic exercise for the mighty All Black against a team of what are known in Thailand as ladyboys was instead a tense two chukka tussle.
All Black Steve McDowell scored the first goal, but any complacency the spectators might have felt was short lived with the Tuskers' Chermarn Saengprasit scoring a brilliant equaliser as the half-time gong rang.
The game was more crunchy in the second chukka. The All Blacks demonstrated their world-class sportsmanship, their physical strength and wrists of iron helping them to dominate.
A choke at the last hurdle saw the gong sound and All Blacks emerge the victors, bringing the score to 2-1.
Former prop-forward McDowell, gave the All Blacks breathing space.
"This was a hundred years of rugby history in New Zealand hinged on fourteen minutes of elephant polo against three toy boys. It is important that our tradition went on, if we lost we would not be going home, we will be probably getting some make up with the girls," Former New Zealand All Blacks rugby player Captain Stu Wilson said.
The tournaments have become part of lifestyle for wealthy socialites to enjoy bloody marys on tap and a sport that is more chaos than skill.
Each elephant is driven by a mahout, with a stick-wielding player sitting behind.
Men can only use one hand, while women and ladyboys can use two.
With Former Kiwi world-ranking rugby players new to jumbo polo, they realised that a game is very tough and the game is rather reliant on the elephant and the mahout.
"It's very difficult -- yeah -- the elephant is slow, the stick is too long, the ball is fast too small and I've got bruised wrists, bruised shoulder and it is hard.
People think it is an easy game, it isn't because you are at the mercy of the elephants. If the elephant doesn't want to go over there, how are you gonna shift ten tonnes.
So they've got a great mind of their own. I want to play a rugby with lot of elephants, you know," Captain Stu Wilson said.
The Tuskers, who have sadly lost every match they have played but it does not bother them to stop playing for a next tournament. The Tuskers gracefully conceded a 2-1 defeat.
In other matches, the last year championship Mercedes Benz pummelled British Airways 13-2, Chivas Regal going down 6-1 to Thailand's Mobile Easy and Australia's Sandalford cruising to an 8-0 victory over Mullis Capital.
Fourteen teams from five continents and 55 players from fifteen countries assisted by 24 elephants and their dedicated mahouts join the 4th annually event in Thailand.
Elephant polo game was first played by British aristocrats in India and at the turn of the 20th century and revived in the early 1980s.
The modern elephant polo game was conceived in 1982 by resort owner Jim Edwards and former British Olympic tabogganer, James Manclark in Nepal.
This year's tournament was unprecedented as the number of team soars to 14 teams included several horse polo players worldwide. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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