It’s not unusual for stunners to stalk stars of the Swans. After all, we’re elite athletes and they’re only human. Last weekend, Austrade’s Australian Schools Open Day in HCMC was no exception. Seizing a photo opportunity, the Vietnam Swans presented each of these “Swanettes” with a QBE Vietnam Swans hat in memory of the occasion. When asked if they would like their special hats personally autographed, they told us, “Don’t worry about it”!

Check out more photos of the Hanoi Swans.

The Hanoi Swans claimed a moral victory on the weekend when we liberated Saigon by helping them throw their preference for rugby out the window. The Saigon Geckos footy department put on a powerhouse performance and beat the Hanoi Swans 99 to 53 (see micky-js-match-report.pdf for full details).

Attached are some photos taken by RMIT’s Landon Carnie. He did a top job and has a full set of action packed pics at www.flickr.com/photos/rmitvietnamsports

It was a fabbo day and special thanks are due to:

Saigon Geckos Rugby Club – promoting the event, loaning us a number of their players, their kit, their goal posts and their goal umpire flags (which we didn’t use due to a lack of goal umpires on the day)

Landon, RMIT – organizing the oval, installing the goal posts and being our photographer

FV Hospital – providing an ambulance and doctor who were in attendance during the entire match

Scott Beasley – organizing the water, eskies, ice and beers

BJ, Jaspas – providing the eskies and ice

Scotty Stacey – being a driving force in making it happen and being able to get to footy training, on most occasions, in both Hanoi and Saigon

Rob and Ash – being two sensational field umpires on the day

The Original Hanoi Swans – Captain Gus, Chris, Matt, Micky J (who also does a stunning job with the footy jumpers), AB and Scotty Stacey. This is the second time these guys have traveled to Saigon for a footy match which is a sensational effort. And thanks to all the guys from Saigon – and Thailand Tiger, Chris Thwaiter – who pulled on a Swans guernsey to help out with the numbers

Joe – putting the promo poster up in a bar in Pham Ngu Lau which caught the attention of gun recruit, Nuggety Noam

Now, the Asian Champs on 14 July is looming. Footy training in Saigon will resume at 2.30pm on Saturday 5 May which is the week after the coming long weekend. DT/MJ will advise arrangements re Hanoi. For the Asian Champs, we’ll need every player we can possibly get so get to training in both cities as often as you can. Also, spread the word.

It’s still to be confirmed, but it seems that Singapore may not be the richest team in this year’s Champs. The rumour is that Dubai will send a team, all expenses paid, in a sponsorship deal worth $40,000. But can money alone bring you happiness?

For those locked into the Asian Champs, the Australian Socceroos will be playing on both sides of the Champs. On Friday the 13^th, they play Iraq at 5:20pm. On Monday 16^th, at 7:35pm, they play Thailand. For ticketing information, try http://www.the-afc.com/english/asianCupTicketing/

I’ll give you the tip: it no longer surprises me that Vietnamese honk their horns because they love footy.

Phil

www.hanoiswans.com proudly sponsored by: