Rugby

Rugby vs. the World: Rugby skips rope

Who's say a game of tag can't be fun?
Preparing to skip
Deacon's skipping moves not too bad for a novice
Both ambassadors intimidated each other
Both Deacon's big muscles and big mouth gave him the advantage
All smiles in Hong Kong

Fijian Rugby legend Deacon Manu faces world's fastest rope skipper Timothy Ho in Hong Kong. It’s David vs. Goliath in three friendly, fun-filled challenges.

VIDEO: Watch the Rugby vs. Rope Skipping highlights here!

The International Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour may have left sunny Dubai to find overcast skies in Hong Kong, but the weather certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of our two challengers. Timothy Ho, the world’s fastest rope skipper, was all smiles as the two hitched a ride on the city’s famous Ngong Ping cable car. Fijian Rugby legend Deacon Manu, who is currently head coach of Hong Kong Cricket Club, was excited to see what he could do with a jump rope – but had a lot of respect for his world-record-holding opponent.

“He strikes a bit of fear into me,” he said.

Timothy was intimidated as well.

“I’m so scared,” he said. “He’s so strong and so tall, and I’m so short.”

No surprises
The last challenge, Rugby vs. Golf in Dubai, saw Golf surprise Rugby. This week in Hong Kong there were few surprises.

GALLERY: Don’t forget to click through the photo gallery above.

Dubbed “catch me if you can,” Challenge 1 required each ambassador to try to grab a flag off his opponent’s waste band. Though Timothy’s high-speed, high-flying rope skipping stunts make him lean and limber, Deacon displayed the agility of years spent on the rugby pitch and managed to steer clear of his opponent the longest. Rugby wins.

“He runs very fast,” said Timothy afterward.

In Challenge 2 our Rope Skipping ambassador had the clear advantage. “I’ll pull a muscle if I try that,” said Deacon as they were warming up. Timothy put on a crowd-pleasing rope skipping display to take the challenge. Though we must say that Deacon looked pretty darn good for a novice.

“I know why I haven’t done it for so many years. Because it was hard.” (Deacon Manu)

At one apiece it came down to the Dim Sum Delivery in Challenge 3. Yes, you read correctly. What’s a trip to Hong Kong without Dim Sum, right? The challenge was to see who could be the fastest to deliver and devour a Dim Sum delight.

Deacon got out ahead of Timothy in the delivery race, but it was his big mouth that gave him the real advantage. He admitted as much afterward: “I think I managed to win because I stuffed a whole Dim Sum in my mouth at once.

When asked if he thought Deacon’s big mouth was an unfair advantage, Timothy only hesitated a moment before responding with “yes.”

“I think I managed to win because I stuffed a whole Dim Sum in my mouth at once. (Deacon Manu)

Though Rugby wins the day, our ambassadors were both all smiles. They obviously had a lot of fun taking the challenges and spending the day representing their sports. We’d like to thank Deacon and Timothy for joining us as we promoted the sport of Rugby while the International Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour was in Hong Kong.

Next challenge: Kung Fu in Shanghai
The Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour has already landed at its next stop in Shanghai, where Rugby took on Kung Fu. Catch some great shots of the challenge on our DHL Rugby Facebook page and watch for the highlight reel right here – coming soon!

Follow us on Twitter @DHL_Rugby or facebook.com/DHLRugby and catch up on all the Rugby vs. The World action on YouTube!

 

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