England-Argentina: Winning in SPITE OF Johnny...

I had a chance to watch England-Argentina's tense opening match for RWC 2011 last night. OK, it was on a 4 hour time delay, but at least the WIN Network showed it in Australia, and I did not have to watch it at 330AM if I had been back home in the States.

Right off the opening whistle, It was apparent that this was going to be a really physical, tense match. The Pumas sublime fly half, Felipe Contempomi was an early casualty. He was in the game long enough to score the first points for the Pumas, but his beat-up ribs just did not permit him to continue. You have to wonder how many games the former Leinster star is going to miss.

The crowd at the New Otago Stadium in Dunedin were protected from the elements in New Zealand's first covered rugby stadium. You would have thought that the pristine conditions would have favored kicks at goal from the likes of Johnny Wilkinson and Martin Rodriguez-and you would have been mistaken, as both sides were missing  their targets like a 14 year old on his first hunting trip.

Argentina will have to rue the fact that they could not punish England's multiple transgressions in the first half to cash in on points-particularly with England playing a man down for 10 minutes. I think Argentina had a chance to really put England in a hole by going for posts instead of going for the line out at the end of the first half-opting for another missed penalty. In the end, the Argentines were able to only put 3 points on the board with a man advantage.

When Ben Youngs was brought into the game at fly half, that was the spark that Martin Johnsson's men needed. He would score the key try under the posts that Wilko convervted for a 10-9 lead. He would also score on a penalty late in the game that meant that the Pumas would need to score a try to win.

After some very, very tense moments, England hung on to win a game in which I felt they were outplayed for vast stretches. I think that if you are an England fan, you have to take heart in beating a very good opponent without your A game. Both teams will have tense games with Scotland-who huffed and puffed to a difficult win over Romania on Saturday.

This game had a playoff round feel to it-indeed, whoever finishes second in this group,  will more than likely have to face the All Blacks in the Quarterfinals, with the group winner likely to face France

WTF Australia? NO Live Rugby World Cup Coverage??

As an American Rugby fan here in Australia before going to New Zealand on September, 19th,I would have thought that I would be able to catch lots of live rugby action this opening weekend.

 I have discovered, much to my horror, that on today, the opening day of  Rugby World Cup 2011, that I am going to have to catch the All Blacks-Tonga game...on a 3 hour delay. The WIN Network had advertised that they were going to be Australia's "Network of Rugby World Cup 2011". What the advertisement failed to mention is that games were going to be tape delayed-if shown at all. There are 3 games scheduled for Saturday. The only game that WIN will show on Saturday is Argentina-England...again, with a 3 hour delay.

As I write this,  I should be watching the All Blacks put Tonga to the sword...instead, I can watch an NRL playoff game. If there is any doubt on where rugby union ranks with the Australian sports fan, this weekend is becoming a very painful lesson to this American rugby fan.

For my compatriots back in the states, looking at spending a small fortune in either pay-per-view costs or bar tabs watching RWC games at bars showing matches, I can tell you that if you were here in Australia, the only difference is that you can at least get a little more print coverage in The Sydney Morning News or the Australian. American Newspapers will have next to nothing about the Rugby World Cup.

I have been having a wonderful time here in Australia, but I have to confess that the lack of live coverage of the Rugby World Cup on Aussie TV has been a major dissapointment.

Victoria, Australia: Great Wine, Beer, But NOT Much Rugby Union...

My wife and I made it to Australia. Our flights took us from Dallas, to San Francisco(where my wife and I enjoyed a nice long layover to see the city) Auckland, and then Melbourne. We had a great flight on Air New Zealand. Normally I cannot sleep on planes, but I slept a good 8 hours on the flight.

My Aunt lives in Myrtleford, Victoria-about 3 hours by car from Melbourne. I did not realize that I was going to be landing in the middle of "Foody Central": Vineyards, olive trees, orchards, specialty food shops, and micro-breweries.(In this case, Bright Beer-they make a great stout) The topography and attention to fine food reminds me a lot of the area between Lyon and Aix-en-Provence in France. My French friends will be pleased to know that I am eating and drinking just about as well as I did 4 years ago when my family and I were in France for the Rugby World Cup.

With less than two weeks away from the kick-off of Rugby World Cup 2011, and home to the new Tri-Nations champs, the Wallabies, you would think that people in Victoria would be talking about the upcoming World Cup and the chances of their boys in Green and Gold in New Zealand....At least here in Victoria, you would be wrong. I had to look through 3 different news vendors to even find a World Cup Guide. The local papers have a lot of coverage of Cricket, Aussie Rules Football, and some Rugby League Coverage. The only paper  I have found with any Rugby World Cup coverage was "The Australian", and even that coverage was scant. I could almost swear that  I was back in the USA with the lack of mainstream rugby coverage. If there is any doubt where Rugby Union stands for the Aussie sports fan, it would seem that Rugby ranks behind Cricket, Footby, Rugby League, and even the US Open Tennis has had more coverage with a lot of attention to Samantha Stosur.

At least there will be a lot of live TV coverage, which is more than we can say back in the US. http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/rugby-world-cup/

At any rate, I am enjoying discovering a new area of Australia-when I was here 5 years ago, I was in Darwin-and it is even better to be away from the heat in Texas. Now if I can just find some rugby coverage in the Australian press....

Happy Trails To You, Dallas

It's hard to believe that my travel nurse job is almost over here in Dallas. I finish on the 26th, and my wife and I leave for Australia and New Zealand on 8/28. When we get back to the USA on October 1st, I will pick up 4 more shifts here in Dallas, then my wife and I (With Buddha the Bulldog in tow) will drive the 1,500 miles from Dallas to Wilmington, Delaware, in the Mid-Atlantic area of the US-almost exactly halfway between Washington DC and New York City.

It's been tough work, at times on the Spinal Cord Unit here at the Dallas VA Medical Center, but I will miss my co-workers on the night shift, and I will really miss the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I found the people in this area to be very friendly. There is just an unbelievable amount of good places to eat and drink in this place. For people looking for a place to visit during their stay in the US, I would give this area high marks.(But you have to visit my native Minnesota in the summer and fall, first!) This summer has been memorable in North Texas with an almost biblical drought and heat wave. (We had 41 straight days of 100 degree weather-37.7 degrees C) It's actually going to feel good to go from the heat of Dallas to the Southern Hemisphere winter and spring. (Bringing lots of layers-Under Armour is NOT just for rugby)

My wife and I have very much enjoyed our stay here in Dallas. But we are ready for the next adventures, as we take on another "trip of a lifetime" and look forward to discovering another area of the US.

Happy Trails, Dallas. It's been fun.

Leaving for Australia/New Zealand Two Weeks for Today...

It is hard to believe after all of the saving and planning that my wife and I leave for Australia and New Zealand two weeks from today. In honor of that, I found this clip from Australian Aboriginal group Yothu Yindi....

Tri-Nations 2011: Sharp Dress Rehearsal for the All Blacks

For the All Blacks, the Tri-Nations is a no-win proposition. Win, and the attitude is "So What?" They were expected to win, and they all ready have a bunch of these Tri Nations trophies gathering dust somewhere at NZRU Headquarters. The All Blacks have pretty much owned the Tri Nations series, yet any Kiwi rugby fan worth their salt is also very mindful of another scoreline: Rugby World Cup Trophies Won:

Australia-2
South Africa-2
England-1
New Zealand-1

The ghosts of 1987 hang heavy over All Black players and fans alike. I don't know if the New Zealand decision to emulate the white collars worn on the '87 team's jersey is a good one or not. To be honest, with these new type of high-tech rugby jerseys, I don't know how great they look. I think the basic Black design was just fine.(Hey, even England is going with a black second Jersey at RWC 2011)

After yesterday's beat-down at Eden Park, the All Blacks have looked very good-but we have seen this scenario numerous times in World Cup years.

The other thing that cannot be ruled out, with matches to play in Australia and South Africa, can the the All Blacks avoid any major injuries? We have already seen Welsh Fullback Morgan Stoddard break his leg against England on Saturday, dashing his Rugby World Cup dreams.

With 33 days before the start of Rugby World Cup 2011, I don't know if today's win over the Auld Enemy from across the Tasman really will calm the nerves of All Black fans, but at least it's a good dress rehearsal before these games really count.

Zero Hour: 4 Weeks From Today...

It will be exactly 4 weeks from today when my wife and I leave Dallas for our trip "Down Under" to Australia and then New Zealand. That's the good news.

The bad news is that I have been watching exchange rates with the type of nervousness that Morne` Steyn would have trying to tackle Sonny Bill Williams. I am glad that most of my major purchases while I am in-country in New Zealand are already paid for, like the flight from Wellington to Nelson, the bus ride from Nelson to Picton , the ferry from Picton to Wellington and my housing in Wellington and Auckland. The reason for my happiness has nothing to do with being organized, it's just that with the US Dollar getting hammered by every major currency(And the game of chicken going on between Republicans, Democrats and President Obama is not helping to fuel confidence in the US Dollar), I am breathing a sigh of relief that those purchases were done before the US dollar has lost even MORE value. What should worry Americans is that if the European Union has bailed out Greece, Portugal and Ireland, and the Euro is STILL gaining value against the greenback, what does that say about confidence in the US and our economy?

I know more than a few of my fellow American rugby tourists going to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup have been watching the shrinking value of the American Dollar with visions of having to re-think purchases in New Zealand. I know for me and my wife, it's going to mean maybe fewer restaurant meals and going to the grocery store to prepare food at the homes where we will be staying.

The saying goes that you cannot worry about things over which you have no control. In spite of the shrinking value of the US dollar compared to it's Aussie and Kiwi counterparts, I still plan on having a great time on this trip.