Six Nations: Of Brujos, Gecko's and Aardvarks

Da Red-Head in front of Gecko's

As much as I have enjoyed living and working in the Northwest corner of New Mexico,  rugby is a hard thing to come by. I contacted an Irish place in Farmington, and when I asked if they carried rugby or Soccer on Saturday mornings, I had a frosty negative response. With the Six Nations starting this weekend, I just had to find SOMEPLACE where I could get my oval ball fix.

I knew there were two rugby clubs in Albuquerque: The Brujos(Spanish for warlock, or Wizard)http://www.brujos-rugby.com/ and Aardvarks http://abqrugby.tripod.com/. I contacted the Brujos via their Facebook page and asked if they knew of a rugby friendly bar, and I got an immediate response with a couple of suggestions. More than a couple of people mentioned that "Gecko's" was owned by an ex-rugger and they showed matches frequently. http://www.geckosbar.com/

Since I was working during the day on Friday, my wife contacted Wally, the owner of Gecko's and verified that he was going to show the match carried in the US by BBC America.

We drove the 3 hours from Farmington to Albuquerque on Friday night. There are two Gecko's in Albuquerque, and as luck would have it, our hotel was less then 5 minutes from the one that was showing Scotland and England.


It never ceases to amaze me how many nice people are involved with the sport of rugby.  Wally, the owner of Gecko's gave me and my wife a very warm New Mexico welcome and introduced me to his fellow Aardvark mates. While devouring excellent breakfast burritos, sucking down some micro-brews and watching England beat Scotland 13-6, I enjoyed the company and conversation of just a very congenial group of ex-ruggers who helped develop the game of rugby in New Mexico.

Flanked by Ray, Wally and Tony at Gecko's

I spent a great deal of time speaking with Marty, who was just an encyclopedic resource on rugby in New Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, the West Coast and the Midwest.(This is a guy who travels more than even I do)

It was great to watch Scotland and England, but meeting people who are involved with this sport make me proud to be a rugby fan. Finding a place with a great beer selection that serves great food and supports rugby was just a treat. I cannot thank the Albuquerque rugby community enough for a very fun Saturday.
 

Six Nations 2012: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold...

With the Six Nations starting this weekend, I know a lot of eyes will be looking at Scotland-England, but it's a pretty safe bet that more than a few French players have had Saturday's match with Italy at the Stade de France circled since France's stunning loss to Italy in Rome in the Six Nations. After the match, former French coach Marc Lievremont made an example out of more than a couple of players-it pretty much spelled the end of Sebastien Chabal's international career with France.

For France, this will be Phillippe St-Andre's first match in charge for a Six Nations match. A great player for France in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, it will be interesting to see how he handles the hot seat while in charge of Les Bleus. France will have a strong Clermont/Toulouse flavor: 13 of the 22 selected for Saturday's game ply their trade in Clermont or Toulouse. (No shock there, since those two clubs are France's two quarter-finalists in the Heineken Cup)

It has been said that revenge is a dish best served cold. Italy will find out in St-Denis this Saturday. Buon Appetito.

USA to Host the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in 2012

As an American Rugby fan, you take any bit of good news that you can. The recent decision by the IRB to award the 2012 Junior  World Rugby Trophy to the United States was a welcome bit of good news. The tournament is going to be in Salt Lake City, Utah from 18-30 June.  For so much top-flight youth rugby talent to come to Salt Lake City will be great for the sport of rugby in this country.

Rugby is a pretty big deal in the Rocky Mountain region of the USA, but as good as it will be for the locals to have great young rugby talent from all over the world come to Salt Lake City, my follow up question is going to be who will be showing this on TV here in the US.

So How Do You Say Scrum, Ruck and Maul in Navajo?

It's been a long time since I have been able to add an entry to my blog. We are almost on the verge of the Six Nations, we know the Quarter-finalists for the Heineken Cup...and I am working in New Mexico on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico-very close to the Four Corners. It was quite a road trip to get here: Wilmington, Delaware-Cleveland-Chicago-MInneapolis(Where I spent 8 days being able to see my kids, friends and grandson) to Kansas City-Dallas(where I saw my sister) to Santa Rosa to Farmington. (a 30 minute drive to Shiprock)

Along the way, my wife and I stopped in Amarillo, Texas. I had heard for years about an Amarillo institution called The Big Texan. They offer a 72 ounce steak(about 2.2kg) that is free-provided you finish the steak, baked potato and cole slaw in an hour-and keep it down. I was not so anxious to make myself sick while driving long distance. I settled for the mere 20 ounce T-Bone...it was a meal fit for a prop.

The other thing that was an unexpected treat was that they also had some very good locally made beers. The Pecan Porter was a revelation. You could taste the pecans, but it was a really good beer.  Not a lot in the Texas Panhandle, but Amarillo was worth the stop.

When You drive into the New Mexico, the prairie gives way to scrub, then desert, then a mixture of mountains and Mesas...

The name sake of Shiprock is a rock formation that looks like a ship from the distance. It is a holy place to the local Navajo people. It is a striking site, regardless if it's sunny or if there is a storm blowing in from the west.

The one downer here in the 4 Corners region is that there is no rugby club. If I want to find a rugby bar or catch some live rugby, I am going to have to drive 3 hours to Albuquerque. One thing for sure: This part of the Southwest cannot be more different than the thousands of lakes and pine trees of my native Minnesota, but hey, at least it's not as bitter cold. Now if I can just find a place to watch some rugby...

The Road Warriors Hit Chicago...

We left Delaware on Friday night. It's been an interesting 13 weeks in "The First State", but I am looking forward to getting to my native Minnesota to see my kids, grandson and friends, including some of my mates with the Metropolis Rugby Club.

On Friday, we made it to Virginia to visit my friends Mike and Norma. Yesterday, we passed through Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was my first time in "The Steel City", and I have to say my wife and I were impressed by the physical beauty of the city that is home to Baseball's Pirates, the Penguins Ice Hockey team, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. We were also impressed by the general friendliness of the citizens of Pittsburgh. After dinner, we made it near Cleveland, Ohio-the home of rock and roll according to more than a few music historians.

Today, my red-headed bride, my bulldog Buddha and I made it to Chicago. It's a town for which I have a great deal of affection. My wife is a token German Lutheran from a very Irish-Catholic part of the South Side of Chicago.(Lot's of cops, firemen and Irish pubs where my wife grew up) As a kid, I lived in suburban Chicago for 4 years, and my wife and I lived with my in-laws on the South Side for a year and a half. (If your marriage can survive living with your in-laws, you can get through almost anything this side of the Jerry Springer Show) We will spend a couple of days here so my wife can check up on her mom, and so we can catch up with some friends from the South Side...

On Tuesday, our road show will finally get us back to Minneapolis, which should cap this almost 1,200 mile road trip. I am still waiting to see where my next assignment will take me, hopefully I will have an idea over these next two weeks. We have had fun on our travels, but it's nice to be back in the Midwest.

2011: What a Long Strange Trip It's Been....

2011 Has seen me in a variety of places: Phoenix, Dallas, Houston Minneapolis, Australia, New Zealand, Delware, Virginia, Washington DC, New Jersey, New York City,  and Pennsylvania. I have seen NHL Hockey in Dallas, New York City, and Philadelphia. I saw 5 Texas Rangers Baseball games, I saw a couple of MLS soccer games in Dallas, I saw 3 Rugby World Cup games in New Zealand and I had a chance to see the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Madison Square Garden, two of the most Iconic sports venues in the World.

As far as playing rugby, I only had a chance to play one time in 2011, but at least I had a chance to strap it on for the Metropolis Old Boys against the Old Laurentian Old Boys from Rugby, England. In a sport that is full of really, really fantastic people, the players from the OL's are some of the nicest people you can ever have a chance to meet.

During my time in New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup, I had a chance to actually speak with(and drink with) rugby fans from New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Scotland
Argentina, France, England, Uruguay, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Romania, Canada South Africa, Canada, and Italy(Got to get my picture taken with guys from the Italian National team.) I actually had a chance to glad-hand USA Eagle Players after their game against Italy in Nelson. I was also able to meet friends of mine on the rugby blogosphere.

2011 was simply an amazing experience.  As much fun as it all was, it does not matter much if you don't have somebody with whom to share it. I have been lucky to be married to a woman who loves travel and new experiences as much as I do. If 2012 is half as fun as 2011 was, it will be a great year...

Have Yourself a Rugby Little Christmas

Well, my time in Wilmington Delaware working at the VA Medical center is winding to a close. My contract will be up on January 7th. I am looking forward to getting back to Minnesota for a couple of weeks to see my kids and my grandson, along with some of my friends and hopefully some of the guys with the Metropolis Rugby Club.

With Christmas coming, I hope that your Christmas is full of friends, family and a little rugby on the side. I am going to add some rugby images I took this year from playing with the Metropolis Old Boys in the Spring against the Old Laurentians, catching some Dallas Harlequins matches to Rugby World Cup matches, along with the video from the National Anthems before Australia-USA at the 2011 Rugby World Cup at "The Cake Tin" in in Wellington, New Zealand. To be honest, this trip I took in September to Australia and New Zealand was my main Christmas present to myself. Having a great wife with whom I could share the adventure was a cherry on the cake.

Merry Christmas to all...and to all, a good ruck....