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 Week 6: Ireland v Wales
Otago Stadium may as well have been in Ireland given the fact 99% of the crowd were Irish by birth or heritage. The atmosphere was amongst the best I have experienced and the feel good factor after the final whistle was immense.
There had been two itineraries put in place by the logistics department prior to the game against Italy. Plan A (beat Italy) was flying to Wellington on the Monday and a detailed schedule for the week there in terms of training sessions/venues etc. Plan B (Lose to Italy) was eh flying home the next day. Obviously only management were privy to this information but the sense of uncertainty about where we would be in 24 hours made the build up to the game even more excruciating.
Therefore it was seriously satisfying feeling when we checked in to the Intercontinental Hotel based in the centre of New Zealand’s capital. However this satisfaction was short lived when I realised my laptop had given up the ghost. Bearing in mind my profession this was NOT GOOD! Six -day turnarounds are challenging for all departments within the management group and when you factor in a travel day from South to North Island you are pretty much on the back foot from the outset of the week. So my laptop taking early retirement was the last thing I needed.
Managed to retrieve all high priority data from the hard drive (including my itunes library… crucial) and by Tuesday evening things were back on track. Unfortunately it meant the blog had to be put on the backburner… Sorry I know it had brightened up everyone’s week since I’ve been away!
With a heavy workload and brutal weather I had seen nothing of Wellington aside from the Hotel and training ground up until Thursday night when I managed to get out for a meal for Ger Carmody’s birthday with the rest of the management. If you’re ever in Wellington go to the Dockside restaurant…Tasty.
Preparations had gone really well for the game and remarkably we had 30 players training that week, which was a credit to the medical and strength and conditioning staff. Like the five weeks previous, the attention to detail and professionalism that the players showed in the build up to the game was outstanding. All that waited now was the 6pm kick off.
Sitting back in my apartment in Dublin it still hasn’t sunk in. Not really sure what to write to be honest. There were so many highs on the trip, none more so than the scenes at the team hotel prior to the team’s departure to Wellington Stadium, and for it be over in an instant is so disappointing. It was a pleasure to work alongside the 32 Players and 20 Management who were in New Zealand for the last six weeks. Shame it had to end. |
Greystones Rugby Club are pleased to announce an initiative to introduce Girls sevens and tag rugby commencing Sunday 27 th November at 11.00am
Week 5: Ireland v Italy