Fox Sports to run Beach 5s Rugby documentary on Wednesday
If you’re looking for something distracting and fun to watch on Wednesday, you could do worse than Fox Sports’ doco on the inaugural Beach 5s Rugby tournament, featuring Johnathan Thurston and Lote Tuqiri.
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A healthy dose of sun, sand, fun and a clash of the codes is what sports lovers all need right now from the inaugural Beach 5s Rugby tournament at Kirra Beach in September.
If crowd restrictions are wound back by then, this new high-paced five-a-side take on footy could be a summer buzz for beachgoers.
Best of all, scrums and lineouts have been eliminated so elite and social sides from rugby union and rugby league are on equal footing with an instant rivalry.
"We don't bill it as 'league v union' but we will attract players from both codes for our summer stops at Kirra, Broadbeach, Mooloolaba and The Strand (Townsville)," event director Peter Hickey said.
"It's a game we all know but not as we know it."
Dual international Lote Tuqiri posed a common question.
"It's a great concept and I don't know why it's not been done earlier," Tuqiri said.
XXXX Gold Beach Cricket flamed for several seasons (2007-09) with a popular stop on Coolangatta Beach where the likes of Jeff Thomson, Allan Border, Darren Lehmann, West Indian Courtney Walsh and South Africa's Shaun Pollock thrilled with bats, balls and boardshorts.
Luring State of Origin great Johnathan Thurston out of retirement for a Beach 5s Rugby run in Townsville in February was a feat but the reduced field size and short time frame suited.
"When I first started I thought 'what have I got myself into' but then the competitive juices started flowing," Thurston said.
He joked the surface felt more like quicksand for some.
Beach 5s on the 30m x 25m "field" will be flanked by a fully licensed Beach Bar, food outlets, beach marquees and live entertainment as well as grandstand viewing platforms with an ocean backdrop if all the trappings are ticked.
* Watch Beach 5s Rugby on Fox Sports Chanel 505 today at 9.30am and 5pm
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