Sun, Palm Trees and Rugby...

I was able to contact the Pasadena Rugby Club last week,( http://www.pasadenarfc.com/ ) and they told me that they were going to send a group of Old Boys to New Port Beach for "Sharkapalooza", an old Boys rugby tournament. We were assured of at least two games.

When we pulled up, I had to say I liked the site my eyes beheld:

 Palm trees, the Pacific Ocean, a nice pitch near a beach that was in great shape on a sun-splashed Saturday Afternoon. For a Minnesota-born and raised kid, it was an amazing sight.

Pasadena had two matches: against Santa Monica RFC and the Huntington Beach RFC. Those two clubs. As I said, it was an Old Boys tournament, and on a very sunny 85 degree(30 celsius) day, 15 minute halves were the order of the day. We did play contested scrums in our matches.  It was a tough day at the office. Handling errors killed us in the first game. Our scrum started out poorly in the first game, but once "T" and Mike Arrived, it gave our forward pack some desperately needed size. I'm down to 215 pounds now, which for being a prop in old boys games makes me a bit light, but losing the 10 pounds helped with my conditioning. I'm still lifting, but I am really trying to watch the diet a bit more-cutting way back on pasta and rice has helped. Nobody is going to be offering me money to be an underwear model, but I do feel better.

I almost scored my first try in a game. Against Huntington Beach, we had the ball deep in their territory, I got the ball at the 5 meter line, and I took a couple of steps and tried to launch my still chunky body towards the try line and plant the ball down...I came up a foot short and knocked the ball on when I landed. Shit. Oh well, who knows it might happen some day.

The tournament also had Massage therapist at the game. Good thinking to keep all of these over 40 bodies a little more pain free. (She was not half-bad looking either)

"Aye, there's the rub, missy!"

During the course of the day, it was fun meeting members of the Pasadena Old Boys. After we lost our second game to Huntington Beach(Who would end up losing the final to the Back Bay Sharks in the final), it was time for guys like T and T-Shark to light up the end-of-tournament cigars....

T and T-Shark lighting one up when we were done

I had a really, really fun day. A bit sunburned on my forehead. (needed to reapply sun screen) and some nicks and scratches, but aside from some mild soreness, I feel pretty good today. I am even happier to have met a really nice group of old boys with the Pasadena RFC. It sounds like they are trying to have some more regular games scheduled with their old boys group, so I think I might have found a rugby home in SoCal.

Pasadena OWLS at Sharkapalooza, New Port Beach, CA