World Cup 15: It all came together

So you'd think with all the time I've had off in the past couple of days I'd have caught this up... but I caught a serious case of the lazies and haven't. So now I've got some catching up to do. So I'll start where I left off last time, which was with the jersey ceremony.

The jersey ceremony was short and to the point. Kathy's speech hinted around the discord that had been drifting around the team that I mentioned in my last post. She really emphasized our need to be unified going into our match vs Australia. After the jersey ceremony we had a team meeting to really address what had been going on for people. It was really good for us. It was also quite emotional, but I think that in many ways served the purpose of really emphasizing how much we really care about each other and this team. I left the meeting feeling a much greater sense of peace and togetherness.

I can't really remember the morning of the game. My short-term memory is non-existent. I think I spent it playing on-line cribbage, but I can't be certain. Before we left for the match Tina bought me a coffee with vanilla, which served to set my heart racing and stomach doing somersaults on the drive out to St. Albert's. We went through a quick warm-up and then it was game time. We played awesome. It was as though all the things we'd been talking about just finally came together. We were flying over breakdowns, the backs were passing and getting the ball wide, there was interpay between the backs and forwards. It was really pretty to be a part of. The only let-down happened with about 15 minutes left in the game. I think we got a bit frazzled with all the changes in the line-up die to subs and Australia capitalized on that. In the end the final score was 29-12. I felt really good about the way I played (I'm blaming the vanilla coffee) after I got sorted out in the scrums.

After the game we had our post-match exchange and then we watched the Scotland vs Ireland match, knowing that we would be playing the winners of that match on Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium. It was a fierce game with a final score of 11-10, with Scotland winning. There's a part of me that wanted Scotland to win because we haven't played them at this tourney, but I also wanted to see Ireland pull it out in the end because they played with such heart and tenacity right up to the end. After the match we came home and had dinner. Then the fun began.


A vicious rumor started circulating that there was karaoke at the hotel bar next-door. So a group of us ventured over there to croon to the masses as a victory celebration. As it would turn out karaoke is only on Sunday. The mistaken sign read Kokanee specials every night (not karaoke every night). Nonetheless we were there and decided to have some fun. We were not disappointed. There were 5 rugby teams who took over the pub (England, Ireland, Australia, USA, and South Africa) and we made a huge dance party thanks to a fun and entertaining deejay, who kept things moving. I went through two shirts because it was so hot and we were sweating so much, but it was a blast. A few of us schemed to try and abscond the Australian's Stuffed Wallaroo that they carry around, but our attempts were thwarted. I came home around midnight and showered before falling soundly asleep.

Farrah moving in on the Wallaroo


I told you it was hot in there


Yesterday seems so long ago. It was quite a fun day. In the morning we went to a local high school and taught rugby to a gym class. There were about 20 boys and 30 girls, and we worked with them on passing, kicking, evasive running, etc. At the end we even had a little time to do some tackling. After the gym class was over we did a Q&A session with the school's boys and girls rugby teams. All in all it was a lot of fun and went really well. We came back from the school and went directly to lunch. After lunch we had a pool recovery session with Michelle, before being released for the rest of the day.

Some people spent the day watching pay-per-view movies at the hotel. Others wandered over the gym to do light workout. Jen and I went and did laundry. Hopefully this should be the last time for the trip, though it has been raining and getting colder so we might go through more clothes than normal. After laundry, Jen and I came back to the hotel and then decided to go out and get Sushi for dinner. It was alright, but unfortunately we forget that we're from California where you can get amazing sushi just about anywhere, and right now we're in a land-locked state in Canada. We may have set our expectations too high :) After dinner we came back and had dessert with the folks who stayed and ate at the hotel and then watched some movies and tv for the the rest of the evening. It was a great way to end and otherwide dreary and grey day.

This morning we had breakfast and then had a brief video session. We were watching the reffing style of the ref we're going to have for our match on Sunday, as well as some footage of the Scottish team to see what we should expect. Then it was shower time so that we could be ready for our photo-shoot with Jen Doan. We were doing head shots out at a sanctuary near the river. It was beautiful out there and it really made me miss the fall, which we don't really get to see being in Oakland. I went off wandering while other people got their pictures taken. It was gorgeous. I wish I could have spent more time exploring the trails and wild-life.


After we took the pictures we came back and I cleaned my muddy chacos off and finally finished writing this. Now it's lunch time and we have the rest of the day free until 5pm when we're going to have a BBQ with the South African team. I have no idea what to do. Maybe I'll wander up to the outlets with some of the other girls (not that I need to do any shopping). Who knows...