Heineken Cup Semi-fnal Predictions

Both Heineken Cup Matches give the rugby fanatic Irish-French club match-ups. In Saturday's match, Leinster, the holders, make the trip to Languedoc to take on Toulouse, who made total road-kill out of Stade Français in the quarterfinals. Leinster is a very loaded side, but it's tough to see them beating Toulouse on their home ground. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUAh-6wBKS4

Sunday's Semi-final pits Heineken Cup heavy-weights Munster against Biarritz, in a match to be played at the bigger stadium in San Sebastian, Spain-although still the Basque Country. If it's a dry, sunny, fast track, it should make for some compelling rugby. I know that Biarritz, like most French sides play really, really well at home, but in spite of Munster's list of injuries, I still think Munster has the play-off pedigree and savvy to beat the Basques in front of their impassioned throng of fans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXEwzI27VPc&feature=related

That means that the final, to be played at the Stade de France in St. Denis, should the rugby equivalent of Ali-Frazier: two great heavyweights with a formidable pedigree duking it out for the Holy Grail of European club rugby.

26

Man (And Woman) does not live by rucking and mauling alone.

Today marks the 26th anniversary of my marriage with my lovely Red-Head.

I cannot take her out tonight, as I have to work this evening at the VA Medical Center, but tomorrow, I plan on taking her out to Vincent, a French Restaurant here in Minneapolis.  "Why a French restaurant?", you might ask. Well, it's a long story.... http://nursedude.blog.com/2007/04/28/getting-a-wife-while-going-to-college-the-gift-that-keeps-giving/

My wife was very supportive when I first suited up to play rugby 4 years ago, as a 45 year old. A lot of women would have scoffed at my middle-aged madness, but my wife was very encouraging and supportive with me playing rugby. (That's me binding next to Denny, the Bearded guy on the right)

Oh yeah...she still looks pretty darned good too.

Happy Anniversary, honey.

A Monster Day of Rugby in Minneapolis

For those who are tired of political talking heads on CNN and FOX News, to say nothing of the celebrity-driven tripe that passes for news in the US, this coming Saturday in Minneapolis, the Metropolis Rugby Football club will offer a veritable orgy of the game for oval-ball fanatics-or those who may be "rugby curious". That's right. On a day when most of the labor unions in Europe will yelling slogans and waving signs, my little corner of the upper midwest will have rugby from breakfast time to supper time at Columbia Park, in North East Minneapolis: http://www.metropolisrugby.com/dayofrugby/

For Metropolis, there will be a lot riding on the games. For the high school games pitting Edina and South Metro, both teams are coached by active players with Metropolis and some "Old Boys". The University game with the University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin-Stout is the alma mater of more than a couple of members of the club. The DIII game gives the Metropolis Killer B's a shot at trying to beat Canadian opposition again when they take on Thunder Bay, Ontario. The main dish will be the playoff game with Metropolis' A side-climbing in the national rankings, I might add http://www.uspowerrugby.com/club/?lg=md1&pg=rankingsagainst the Miami RFC http://miamirugby.com/rfc/, with the winner making it to the national "sweet sixteen" later in May down in South Carolina. This is the first time that Metropolis will have hosted a playoff game of this stature, and I also believe it's highest ever national ranking. That said, our club will have to prove it on the field this Saturday..

I know where I will be on Saturday, and will try to take pictures and have a review of the games.

South Africa, New Zealand....Lithuania??

Things are not always as they seem, and this would seem to include the world of rugby.

Guess which country in the IRB has the record for the most consecutive wins? South Africa? New Zealand Perhaps? How about England from the period around 2002-03 when they won the Rugby World Cup, or Wales when they were winning Grand Slams in the 70's? Guess again. It's Lithuania.

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/qualifying/news/newsid=2037051.html#lithuania+rugby+world+record

Their recent 77-5 pasting of Serbia gave the Baltic country it's 18th consecutive win. They now will play home and away against Romania to get the the European spot to play off against Uruguay for the final berth in next year's Rugby World Cup to be held in New Zealand.

There is even video of Lithuanian rugby out there on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTbDslzl4A8

For the really hard-core, or curious rugby fan, here is the Lithuanian Rugby web site:http://www.litrugby.lt/

If Lithuania can beat the Romanians and then Uruguay, it would be their first ever trip to the Rugby World Cup...and maybe one of the biggest surprises.

Same Blogger, New Address

In the past few months, it has become apparent to me that the blog.com web site had some serious limitations to it. I would have liked to have kept Nursedude as part of my new URL, but I guess somebody else in Blogger. Com already has that name, so I had to come up with a new moniker and address.

It seems that the word "Change" has become a new "in"-word. President Obama used the word incessently during his campaign in 2008, and the same word has become used a great deal in the current political campaigns in Great Britain.

At any rate, I am still the same Nursedude. I'm still married after almost 26 years. I still love rugby. I may not be able to play it as much as I used to, but I still love following it, and I am still a member of the Metropolis Rugby Football Club (www.metropolisrugby.com) as an Old Boy...it's just now my address on the blogosphere has changed.