Most years I probably would have been rooting for the Queensland Reds in a Super Rugby Final. The Crusaders are royalty in this competition after having won it more than a few times, and year in, year out seem to be among the top clubs in Southern Hemisphere Rugby.
It remained to be seen if the Crusaders could get just one more win on the road to cap off and incredible season in Brisbane. It turned out to be a compelling match. The Crusaders were dominant in the first half. Dan Carter, the fly half scored a really great try off a perfectly placed grubber kick that he touched down. The Reds were tackling with all of their collective heart to stay in the game. In the second half, two tries of individual brilliance-particularly the 70 meter scamper by Reds Scrumhalf Wil Genia gave the Reds their first-ever Super Rugby title in the professional era.
It was a great final with more than a few overtones for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in September, as the Crusaders will supply more than a few players to the All Blacks, and Reds like Genia and Cooper will be wearing the gold of the Wallabies.
With all of the joy the Reds' victory gave to Queensland-let's not forget the horrific flooding they had last year with loss of life and millions of dollars in damage, the win would have been a shot in the arm to the people in Canterbury in New Zealand, who have been going through their own rough year with not one, but two earthquakes and a badly damaged downtown in Christchurch.
In the end, the Crusaders and Reds served up a great match for rugby fans all over the world to enjoy.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
One Last Road Game for the Crusaders
The earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand on February 22nd of this year killed 181 people and caused destruction on a huge scale in the center of Christchurch and the eastern suburbs. It caused enough structural damage to AMI Stadium where Rugby World Cup organizers had no choice but to move the matches originally slated for Christchurch to other venues.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Crusaders-never-contemplated-withdrawing-from-Super-15/tabid/317/articleID/217437/Default.aspx
The result for the Canterbury Crusaders was that this 2011 Super Rugby season was going to put them as the rugby version of the Harlem Globetrotters. All of the Crusaders games this year have been on the road. It's been figured that the Crusaders have covered over 113,000 km(enough to circle the earth 3 times) and have played games as far away as England.
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With all of that in mind, the Crusaders' emphatic 29-10 semi-final win against the Stormers in Cape Town was almost like a walk to the corner market. Their victory gives the Crusaders a chance to put some last frequent-flyer miles to their credit when they travel to Brisbane to take on the Queensland Reds to see if they can boost morale back in Canterubury with a win.
I have been wracking my brain, and I cannot think of a single sports team in any sport who has had to overcome so much and play every game away from home. It's one thing to be on the road for a World Cup or World Championship, but to belong to a league and play every game on the road, and still make it to the final is pretty incredible stuff.
As great as Queensland's turn-around has been this year, I have to say that even their rise to the top of Southern Hemisphere club rugby from door-mat status pales in comparison to what the Crusaders have been able to do. It's really a testament to the resiliency and leadership of the coaching staff and players to have even gotten to this point.
After the way they dismantled a pretty good Stormers side(Loaded with players who will be wearing Springbok colors at the Rugby World Cup) in Cape Town, I would not bet against McCaw and his mates against the Queenslanders this coming Saturday.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Crusaders-never-contemplated-withdrawing-from-Super-15/tabid/317/articleID/217437/Default.aspx
The result for the Canterbury Crusaders was that this 2011 Super Rugby season was going to put them as the rugby version of the Harlem Globetrotters. All of the Crusaders games this year have been on the road. It's been figured that the Crusaders have covered over 113,000 km(enough to circle the earth 3 times) and have played games as far away as England.
I have been wracking my brain, and I cannot think of a single sports team in any sport who has had to overcome so much and play every game away from home. It's one thing to be on the road for a World Cup or World Championship, but to belong to a league and play every game on the road, and still make it to the final is pretty incredible stuff.
As great as Queensland's turn-around has been this year, I have to say that even their rise to the top of Southern Hemisphere club rugby from door-mat status pales in comparison to what the Crusaders have been able to do. It's really a testament to the resiliency and leadership of the coaching staff and players to have even gotten to this point.
After the way they dismantled a pretty good Stormers side(Loaded with players who will be wearing Springbok colors at the Rugby World Cup) in Cape Town, I would not bet against McCaw and his mates against the Queenslanders this coming Saturday.
Friday, July 1, 2011
And USA-Australia Makes Three....
In spite of the grim statistics about slow ticket sales for the RWC 2011 in New Zealand, this middle-aged, American prop is doing my part to try to help out the Kiwi economy: Today I just got my third set of match tickets, for USA-Australia in Wellington on September 23rd.
There is a certain amount of symmetry to all of this, as 4 years ago, my son and I saw 3 games at France 2007.
I feel bad that the earthquake that hit Christchurch hit the hotel infrastructure in Canterbury so hard that it just did not seem practical to go there. As it is, my wife and I will spend a week in Wellington and 3 nights in Nelson.
One of the things I stumbled onto via the internet is a site called http://www.crashpadder.com/
It's a site where you can rent out apartments or rent a room in house from a home-owner. Thanks to that site, I have been able to take care of lodging for me and my wife during our stay in New Zealand. We will stay in one house in Lower Hutt, near Wellington and then in a house in Nelson-as luck turns out, the house in Nelson is a 5 minute walk from Trafalgar Park, where I will see USA-Italy.
I am just so pysched up about this trip to Australia and New Zealand. My hope is that with my next pay check, I will actually be able to get my plane tickets to Australia and New Zealand. As luck would have it, Qantas just started flying from Dallas to Australia. I had a really good experience flying on Qantas 5 years ago when I went to Australia. If you are going to spend 14+ hours in a plane, it's really not a bad way to fly.
I am hoping that now that the last of the tickets have been released for sale, that more rugby fans will snap them up. I have my tickets-do you have yours?
There is a certain amount of symmetry to all of this, as 4 years ago, my son and I saw 3 games at France 2007.
I feel bad that the earthquake that hit Christchurch hit the hotel infrastructure in Canterbury so hard that it just did not seem practical to go there. As it is, my wife and I will spend a week in Wellington and 3 nights in Nelson.
One of the things I stumbled onto via the internet is a site called http://www.crashpadder.com/
It's a site where you can rent out apartments or rent a room in house from a home-owner. Thanks to that site, I have been able to take care of lodging for me and my wife during our stay in New Zealand. We will stay in one house in Lower Hutt, near Wellington and then in a house in Nelson-as luck turns out, the house in Nelson is a 5 minute walk from Trafalgar Park, where I will see USA-Italy.
I am just so pysched up about this trip to Australia and New Zealand. My hope is that with my next pay check, I will actually be able to get my plane tickets to Australia and New Zealand. As luck would have it, Qantas just started flying from Dallas to Australia. I had a really good experience flying on Qantas 5 years ago when I went to Australia. If you are going to spend 14+ hours in a plane, it's really not a bad way to fly.
I am hoping that now that the last of the tickets have been released for sale, that more rugby fans will snap them up. I have my tickets-do you have yours?
Sunday, June 26, 2011
National Champs and World Cup Preparations....
It HAS been awhile since I have been able to write. A lot has gone down in the past three weeks.
For starters, the Metropolis DIII side defeated Syracuse, NY in the final of USA Rugby DIII National Championships in Glendale, Colorado.http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1147:big-second-half-makes-metropolis-champs&catid=61:mens-dii-clubs&Itemid=234
I remember back in 2007 when Metropolis decided that we should commit to having our second side play a full DIII schedule. As hard as it might be to believe, there were more than a few people with the club who had serious doubts that we could pull it off-that enough players would show up to fill out two full rosters. There were enough votes among club members who were able to see the bigger picture, that having a committed second side would help get people out to practice and retain members. With a DIII title-a first national title for the club-and the DI side making it to the National Sweet 16, this season has been a good sending off for Chad "Augie" Augeson, the head coach, who is stepping down to spend more time with his family. Aussie-born Nate Osborne, who was the player coach for the DIII side, is my bet to take over the top spot from Augie.
The thing that made the DIII victory even sweeter has been the fact that I have actually had a chance to play with quite a few of the guys who played in Colorado. A good number of the squad are guys who have played with the Metropolis A side, but have had to cut back related to work and family commitments. It was great news for my club, and I think it will only help the club recruit more players and attract more sponsorships.
One of the things I stumbled onto in preparation for my trip to Australia and New Zealand in September was a site called http://www.crashpadder.com/ It's a site that helps hook travelers up to rent rooms or apartments while traveling. In my case, I was able to take care of my lodging in Nelson and Wellington, New Zealand. The fact that I can actually "go native" while doing the New Zealand portion of this trip has me really psyched up.
The other things I have been able to do with the trip is that I have been able to get plane tickets for my wife and I to fly from Wellington to Nelson. I wanted to have the experience of taking a ferry from the South to North Island, so I got tickets for my wife and I to take a bus from Nelson to Picton, and then from Picton we will take the ferry across the Cook Strait to Wellington for our last night in New Zealand before we fly back to the USA.
I am also going to look at trying to score tickets to see the Australia-USA game in Wellington. What can I say? I saw 3 games in France 4 years ago, I might as well take in 3 games while we are in Kiwi-Land.
While we are in Australia, we will stay with my aunt in Myrtleford, Victoria. While there, I am planning on taking in a couple of days in Melbourne and at least a couple of days in the area around Sydney. There is so much to see, and we will be working on a limited budget, but I am really excited about getting back to Oz. I was last there 5 years ago, and I was up in Darwin for 10 days. Victoria and New South Wales is just going to be a very different experience.
It's hard to believe that it is almost 2 months before we leave Dallas to start our trip...to be continued.
For starters, the Metropolis DIII side defeated Syracuse, NY in the final of USA Rugby DIII National Championships in Glendale, Colorado.http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1147:big-second-half-makes-metropolis-champs&catid=61:mens-dii-clubs&Itemid=234
I remember back in 2007 when Metropolis decided that we should commit to having our second side play a full DIII schedule. As hard as it might be to believe, there were more than a few people with the club who had serious doubts that we could pull it off-that enough players would show up to fill out two full rosters. There were enough votes among club members who were able to see the bigger picture, that having a committed second side would help get people out to practice and retain members. With a DIII title-a first national title for the club-and the DI side making it to the National Sweet 16, this season has been a good sending off for Chad "Augie" Augeson, the head coach, who is stepping down to spend more time with his family. Aussie-born Nate Osborne, who was the player coach for the DIII side, is my bet to take over the top spot from Augie.
The thing that made the DIII victory even sweeter has been the fact that I have actually had a chance to play with quite a few of the guys who played in Colorado. A good number of the squad are guys who have played with the Metropolis A side, but have had to cut back related to work and family commitments. It was great news for my club, and I think it will only help the club recruit more players and attract more sponsorships.
One of the things I stumbled onto in preparation for my trip to Australia and New Zealand in September was a site called http://www.crashpadder.com/ It's a site that helps hook travelers up to rent rooms or apartments while traveling. In my case, I was able to take care of my lodging in Nelson and Wellington, New Zealand. The fact that I can actually "go native" while doing the New Zealand portion of this trip has me really psyched up.
The other things I have been able to do with the trip is that I have been able to get plane tickets for my wife and I to fly from Wellington to Nelson. I wanted to have the experience of taking a ferry from the South to North Island, so I got tickets for my wife and I to take a bus from Nelson to Picton, and then from Picton we will take the ferry across the Cook Strait to Wellington for our last night in New Zealand before we fly back to the USA.
I am also going to look at trying to score tickets to see the Australia-USA game in Wellington. What can I say? I saw 3 games in France 4 years ago, I might as well take in 3 games while we are in Kiwi-Land.
While we are in Australia, we will stay with my aunt in Myrtleford, Victoria. While there, I am planning on taking in a couple of days in Melbourne and at least a couple of days in the area around Sydney. There is so much to see, and we will be working on a limited budget, but I am really excited about getting back to Oz. I was last there 5 years ago, and I was up in Darwin for 10 days. Victoria and New South Wales is just going to be a very different experience.
It's hard to believe that it is almost 2 months before we leave Dallas to start our trip...to be continued.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Metropolis Through to the DIII final....
This report came in from Colorado, care of Metropolis President Dave Heebner. Metropolis won it's semifinal match against South Bay and will play in the DIII final on Sunday. Great stuff for Metropolis.
http://presidentspiehole.blogspot.com/2011/06/metropolis-diii-national-semi-final_04.htm
To say I am happy and proud to be associated with these guys would be an understatement.
http://presidentspiehole.blogspot.com/2011/06/metropolis-diii-national-semi-final_04.htm
To say I am happy and proud to be associated with these guys would be an understatement.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Go Metropolis!
As I sit here about to go to work, my thoughts are in Colorado, where theetropolis D III side will play in it"s first ever national semi final. A great feat for my club. I wish them all the best this weekend.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Got 'EM!
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