Force Back is back!

February 19, 2006

Force Back is back!

Get ready to put the boot in when the Tui Force Back World Series 2007 returns to the Kiwi sporting calendar in March.

The second annual Tui Force Back tournament kicks off on March 24 at the Woodville Racing Club, 10kms north of Mangatainoka, to cope with the huge demand for this iconic event in Tuiland.

The inaugural event was held at the Mangatainoka Football Rugby Club next to the Tui Brewery, but the competition has got too big for its boots and outgrown the Toki venue, necessitating the move up the road to Woodville.

After a long day in the sun chasing the pig-skin the boys like to hunker down under canvas for the night and the camping facilities at Toki are pretty basic - well, non-existent actually.

Besides, mention anything about camp in Toki and the Tui Brewery girls get more than a little twitchy. The girls are of course the organisers of the World Series under the stewardship of Paul Claridge, Dudley Dave, proprietor of The Dudley in Toki and local Tui man Nick Rogers.

More than 60 teams entered last year and the Tui Force Back World Series drew an appreciative if slightly bewildered crowd of 3,000 to view the action on 12 fields of play.

Force Back is a popular and well-practised game among the lads on footy fields, backyards and beaches throughout the country. A game sees two teams of seven battle it out for 18 minutes to hoof the football and bounce it across their opponents' goal line. Size 14 boots and a hefty backswing are plainly an advantage in the contest.

"The Tui Brewery girls promise to be out in force ensuring teams are well hydrated and motivated to give their best," says Katherine Murray from Tui, "but with all the distractions at hand it will be a long day for most."

For an entry fee of a paltry $400, teams get eight T-shirts (one for the manager), a hat to keep the sun at bay, a rugby ball, free camping on the site, entry to the after-party with band and breakfast on Sunday at the race course.

Kick off is at 10.30am on March 24 so make sure you're at the Woodville Racecourse on time to catch as many of the 152 games as you can!

Details are available on the Tui website at www.tui.co.nz and you send your entry to Tui HQ, Mangatainoka, in the country at the bottom bit of the North Island.

How to play Tui Force Back: You kick the ball down the field towards the other guys' goal line. If the ball falls short, it's then the other team's turn to take a punt. A kick is taken from where the ball lands, or where the opposing team catches it. The overall aim is to move your team up the field by kicking and catching and then finally get the ball over the line.

A point is scored when the ball bounces over the back line, but not if it goes over on the full. Games are played for nine minutes each way, with a minute in the middle for a half time orange or whatever. Seven players make up a squad, with four on the field at any one time. The first team with three points on the board wins.

* The Tui Brewery is open for tours from Monday - Friday 10.30am - 1.00pm, Saturday at 1.00pm and 2.00pm off SH1 Mangatainoka. * For more information on Tui Brewery visit www.tui.co.nz

ENDS

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