Cape Town - You've heard some of the stories, you've seen the pictures but what is the Cape Town Tens all about?

Who is behind the Cape Town Tens?

Former Springbok stars Bob Skinstad and Robbie Fleck, in conjunction with Tournament Director Ron Rutland, and Don Everitt of Kreate Event Management, pooled their collective knowledge to bring this unique, ground-breaking event to the Mother City in February 2009.

The Cape Town Tens mission statement:

By combining all that is quintessentially Cape Town with a unique ten-man rugby tournament that celebrates the spirit of rugby, we aim to revel – along with our punters from across the globe - in the best that rugby, socialising and the Mother City has to offer.

The organising committee wants to deliver the highest quality participatory sporting event by ensuring a fair balance between corporate return on investment, the teams’ participation, and the punters’ enjoyment. We aim to do this by bringing Cape Town, South Africa, and the international social, business and rugby communities together in a festive environment that ensures everybody has a memorable time.

What is Tens rugby all about?

Tens rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes with five forwards and five backs in a team. It combines the best aspects of Sevens and 15-man rugby, creating a game with more open space than 15's, but with less kicking and less contact. However scrums, line-outs, big hits and even rucking are still important in this version of the game; and of course with all the extra space, speed, skill, and the high scoring that epitomises 7's rugby are all characteristics of the 10's game.

A full squad consists of 15 players; 10 starting players and five substitutes - the replacements are normally made up of two back reserves, two forwards and a 'floater', who can cover a position up front and in the backline. The replacements are 'rolling', so they can join or leave the action at any time. Games are normally 10 minutes a half. The finals, however, are generally 14 minutes a side.

Why Cape Town as the venue?

"Cape Town has always been seen as the most cosmopolitan city in the country, with many celebrity travelers stopping over in Cape Town," said Skinstad.

"I have been fortunate to play a lot of Tens rugby across the world in places like Thailand, Macau, Hong Kong, Bangkok and most of the guys that I played with or against have been to South Africa and loved it.

"Unfortunately, none of them have come to play Tens here, despite some of these teams traveling the world just to play Tens and see some sights. Now they've got a reason to come out here and play some rugger, have a great time in Cape Town and then go and do their safaris and sight-seeing elsewhere."

Fleck continued: "When I played for the Stormers and the Springboks I remember how our opponents used to make sure they spent a few extra days in Cape Town to enjoy the city once the rugby was over.

"Most of the guys I played against have since retired and are in 'real' 9-5 jobs, but I can't see many of them passing up an opportunity to come out here and spend some quality time at Caprice or La Med!

"Cape Town, the city, is a brand and it’s a brand that we intend to sell to the world. Our rationale behind hosting this event here is to get past players, current players and just about anybody that wants to, to come out to Cape Town for the Tens instead of going to other countries for basically exactly the same reason.

"Cape Town has everything here, from beautiful beaches, to beautiful women, to amazing scenery, wine farms and some pretty unique shopping. If people are prepared to travel somewhere to play rugby, they should come to Cape Town for the full package."

Some must-see/must-do attractions in Cape Town:

- Table Mountain
- Robben Island
- Kirstenbosch
- V&A Waterfront
- Cape Town’s historical buildings
- Cape Point
- Cape Town beaches
- Cape Town shopping
- Table Mountain National Park
- Western Cape 4x4 trails
- Western Cape hiking trails
- Chapman’s Peak Drive
- Constantia, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek wine routes
- Shark diving with former Bok Robbie Kempson’s White Shark Diving Company

Contact the Cape Town Tens organisers:

Ron Rutland - Tournament Manager (072 636 3300) - ron@capetowntens.com

Kirsti Lyall - Media Manager (083 450 6665) - kirsti@klprsa.com

Mark de Klerk - Kreate SA (082 651 0338)

Donovan Everitt - Kreate SA (082 976 0902)