Blog - RWC Week 2

Location: Hotel Grand Chancellor, Auckland, New Zealand.
Time: 20:00



Its Saturday so its time for a Rugby World Cup blog update. I had great intentions of writing this blog much sooner in the week in wake of Irelands epic victory over the Wallabies last weekend, however each time I attempted to string a few sentences together about it I found myself at a loss for words to adequately describe it - such is its magnitude! Instead I have spent the week immersing my self in its aftermath and enjoying the post match Celtic atmosphere that has over run Auckland for the past seven days.

From the time the team was announced last Friday you could feel the anticipation building within the city. By Friday night every, "Mick", "Paddy" and leprechaun in the Southern hemisphere had descended upon Auckland and a party of "Itlaia 90" proportions was in full swing. Maybe its a testament to my age but one of the funniest things I saw in the pub on Friday night was a group of lads wearing t-shirts that said "F@%K Scalaci" on them.... a classic reference to the man who knocked us out of the soccer World Cup in way back in 1990. Saturday morning and afternoon in the build up to the game were no different with all 15 Irish pubs in Auckland being over capacity by midday! In some cases the police had to come to temporarily clear out the over crowded bars but there was no trouble and no arrests just a good hearted atmosphere and even the Wallabies were getting in on the act and drinking in the Irish bars with the Irish. My mate Des had flown back from Sydney for the game and although we both had tickets I managed to do a bit of "blagging" with an Ozzy lady and ended up getting 2 Category B $600 tickets for $200.... bullshit is a virtue.... and I guess one ive perfected and so I got to sell the original tickets to two other friends who had never been to a rugby game before.... not a bad one to start at!

Irelands Call being sung at Ire V Aus RWC2011.

This was the view from my "blagged" $600 (I paid $200) seats!

Yes its only a rugby game but it brings people together with a common goal and common appreciation for its spectacle. The sea of green that covered Eden Park was a sight to behold. The game had barely seen its first tackle before chants of 'Ole Ole Ole' erupted and resounded around the stadium. Eden park was alive and it was green and it was undoubtedly Irish. Yes the Ozzies tried there best, indeed Matilda was waltzing alright but she was at the wrong dance! for we were a nightclub in Ibiza and Healy, O'Connel, Driscol, Bowe and O'Gara were mixing the tunes in the DJ booth, Ferris and O'Brien were the man mountain bouncers whom no Ozzie was passing and Kidney the manager with the midas touch looked down from his glass incased "VIP" booth and commanded all he surveyed. Yes we controlled the dance floor that was the Eden park grass and nothing not even divine intervention could have stopped it from being an Irish night. The noise level was constant and even rose briefly when 58,000 Irish screamed at Johhny Sexton to "Give it to ROG" after he had missed some crucial kicks.... yep im sure even Antarctic penguins heard that one!, but we forgive you Johnny... you kept us on the edge of our seats!

I tweeted right after the game that "there are moments in life that define the appreciation of our existence and I had just witnessed one tonight in Eden Park". It was the best way I could come up with to describe the joy and exiliration of having been there to witness one of our nations greatest sporting acheivments. The courage the heart, the conviction to the cause, the relentlessness of effort, the passion displayed were second to none. Sport is the only activity on the planet where every emotion known to man is contrived to seek a victory over another and in doing so it brings out the best in us all. Its a temporary microcosm of war but where personal excellence and achievement is the goal rather than sacrifice of another. We play and watch sport to appreciate the accomplishment of the quest, to see the impossible become the possible and to enjoy the exaltation of the triumph. In Irelands case on Saturday night we saw years of heartache being banished by the grit, determination and belief of a chosen few to overcome the challenge and realize that this day victory would be there's. In the years to come I hope to witness and experience many many wonderful things but I will always remember that faithful night in strange city in a strange little country on the far side of the world where for the briefest of moments the world stood still and I along with the other 58,000 Irish souls in the stadium and millions watching around the world had our breath taken away........ and after all those are the moments we really live for. 

The Celebration in Auckland continued until at least Tuesday and everyone was in on it, even Sonya O'Sullivan whom I met on Queen St in the small hours of Sunday morning!

Sonya O'Sullivan with myself and Des.

All week the Kiwi media has been lording our performance and talking us up as potential final opponents for their beloved All Blacks. As things work out thats not now beyond the realms of possibility! We are certainly in the favored side of the draw with the 6 nations teams we are used to playing and beating and with a little luck we just might be in Eden park again for a semi-final or final but that is in the future next up we off on pilgrimage in the morning to Rortoura to play the Russians. We have a much changed team but none the less a very experienced one and we shouldn't have any difficulty in recording another win and cementing out position at the top of Pool C. 

Its a great time to be Irish and to be lucky enough to be out here to witness it first hand is only akin to being alive during these times at all...... long may it continue and sure as God himself (Declin Kidney) says in his quaint Cork accent "Sure we will enjoy each day as it comes"......, 

Until next time....

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Video - Irelands Call being sung at RWC 2011

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Blog - RWC Week 1

Location: Hotel Grand Chancellor, Auckland, New Zealand
Time 11:00pm

Its been a week already! I have been enjoying the RWC way to much to have had time to keep a daily blog but not to worry here is a synopsis of the weeks events!

Friday was the opening night of the championship and it certainly didn't disappoint. I joined the many thousands of others on Auckland's waterfront hoping to catch a glimpse of the arriving "Wakas" (Maori tribal boats) into Auckland harbor only to get caught up in what can only described as an organized chaos! Initial expectations of 10,000 to 15,000 spectators were totally underestimated when close to 100,000 Kiwi and International fans turned up for the event completely overwhelming local organizers, Police and the transport system. Big screen tv's failed at the vital moments and the mass "Haka" that was to be performed on the wharf had to be reconsidered as there was simply no room for it to happen! Although the crowd was predominately well behaved it was no place for the thousands of kids who had turned up and by the time the fireworks display began many had been wisely taken to other viewing points by concerned parents. For those lucky enough to have tickets for the opening game and ceremony at Eden park getting there proved more difficult than Tonga scoring a try against the All Blacks would, with many stranded on non moving trains and busses and approx 2000 missing the game altogether! It was a shambles but one which was really no ones fault! No body could have predicted the sheer volume of interest there would have been in the event however steps have been taken to sort out the issues for this weekends games and I doubt we will see a repeat of the chaos this weekend.

After being crushed in the melee and not wishing to que for at least an hour to get a pint my mate Shane and myself decided to cut our losses and head back up town to view the opening ceremony from the sanctuary of the pub! We found refuge in the Fiddler bar just underneath Auckland's iconic Sky-tower and when the fireworks display began we realized we had made an insipid choich as the tower itself was the center staging point for the spectacular display. The fireworks which lasted a good 15 minutes were bettered only by the opening ceremony itself from Eden Park where the $9m extravaganza was wowing audiences world wide with its simply but effective chaptered story of New Zealand. The opening game itself was a drab affair between a poor Tonga side and the much superior All Blacks who ran out easy victors. However nobody cared, the Rugby World Cup 2011 was finally here and the battle for the coveted Webb Ellis trophy had now begun and thats all that mattered.

Saturday saw Scotland scrape over the line against a poor Romanian side and we witnessed the "Mighty" England pressed all the way by an Argentina side that really should have won the game but for having no-one on the fired that could actually kick the ball between the posts! I watched the game in Fr Teds Irish pub where the best round of applause was saved for the bouncer who frog marched and English Fan complete with shirt and flag out of the bar just as soon as he walked in...... Fr Teds is an Irish bar but on Sat night it was a Puma bar and rightly so!

Sunday morning the real fun began when I woke early to catch the 7am bus to New Plymouth for Ireland V USA. I was making the trip with a fellow Irishman Des Flannigan from Roscommon who like myself has been backpacking for awhile and whom I had originally met in La Paz, Bolivia. County differences aside today we were untied in our common quest of seeing our fellow country men do the business against Eddie O'Sullivans American Eagles. Two stops for breakfast and a cup of tea and 6 hours later we arrived in a very rain soaked New Plymouth on New Zealand's west coast, however if felt more like arriving into Wesport or Killybegs considering the sea of green and familiar accents that greeted us! A brief visit to Fredrick's bar to see Australia beat Italy and it was off to the Tarranaki stadium for the main event. Its true that the Kiwis are among the friendliest people that you can meet and two locals on the bus to the stadium donated two ponchos to myself and Des upon realizing we were in the non covered part of the stadium and as it turned out we were very grateful for them! The Atmosphere at the Stadium was fantastic and to my pleasant surprise the Americans were well represented with support, I couldn't resist having my photo taken with the Ms Captain America wannabe I met at the bar!.....

Ms Captain America & Myself!

Our match against the USA was of course being played on Sept 11th, a fact that was lost on nobody. A minutes silence (or 30 seconds as it turned out to be thanks to some American bell-end yelling from the crowd!) was observed as a mark respect to those who had lost their lives on that fateful day 10 years ago. Everyone remembers where they were on that day, for me it was first day of college and I watched the event unfold on the tv in Scraggs Alley bar in Carlow. 10 years later I was at the Tarraniki Stadium in New Plymouth New Zealand at the rugby world cup about to see Ireland begin there campaign. The players also wore black arm bands and with ceremony and anthems completed it was time for the real event to take place. 

This was it, this is what we had come to the opposite side of the planet to witness, all the preparation, all the training, all the hard work, the injuries suffered, the points scored, the column inches wrote in anticipation, the pride, the passion the intensity and above all the expectation of a nation were about to come to fruition.... and you could tell that the players were well up for it.... all except for Johny Sexton of course who it seems failed to get the memo asking him to bring his kicking boots to the game!!! Johny aside the rest of team played well enough to win the game and thats all that mattered to me and the rest of the 15,000 Irish that had made the trip to see them. Granted we didn't win with the freeing flowing poetic type rugby that George Hook, Brent Pope and Conor O'Shea back in there preverbal Ivory tower that is there warm and dry studio in Dublin 4 would have liked, but who cares about them. Those of us in the rain in New Plymouth witnessed our 15 beat the 15 that lined out against them and thats all that can be asked or expected of them. Its sport not an art exhibition and if you cant see the art in trying to achieve the victory rather than how its achieved then you shouldn't be commentating upon it in the first place. A win is a win is a win and a win the Irish team had enough heart and conviction to achieve..... enough said.

Post game the celebrating was done in Peggy O'Gormans bar where they had decided to close off a street, erect a marquee and let the party begin. I hadn't been surrounded by so many Irish people in a long long time and its was great. They were there from all corners and apart from a brief 2 hours when we all became honorary Welsh supporters in their nail biting game against the Springboks, it was an Irish night and all that is good about our little nation was triumphing in a little town, in a little country on the far side of the world! New Plymouth was briefly "New Grange" and the party of Celtic proportions was in full swing until well after 3am when the bar ... RAN OUT OF BEER! Interesting to note also that there was only one arrest in the entire town that night and he was a local chap who took a swing at a bouncer! I had the pleasure of meeting a few locals from back home also, Aoife Murphy who is from "de Parish", a few from St Mullins down the road and even the niece of my old school principle back in Borris. Its a small world and even smaller as I have discovered when your wearing a Carlow jersey!!!

Being the wannabe "going on 30" party animals that myself and Des think we are we didn't bother organizing any accommodation. We were instead getting the 7am bus back to Auckland and once boarded it was time for some much needed sleep! Wishful thinking on a crowded bus however and so I found myself day dreaming out the window at the beautiful glorified golf course that the country side of New Zealand is. Now maybe it was the lack of sleep or the impending hangover but I decided there and then that I liked this country and 2 months here is probably not long enough to see it or appreciate it and so on Tuesday when back in Auckland I went online and applied for my New Zealand work/holiday visa! and thats when the fun started!!!

A New Zealand work/holiday visa is not a difficult thing to apply for, its simply a half an hours online application and $140 off the credit card, however if you apply while already in the country then you are subject to undergoing a full medical examination and chest/lung xray. Of course I didn't realize this until I received an email after submitting my online application. Being that I was already invested to the tune of $140 I figured I had nothing to loose (bar an additional $270 for the medical!) and made an appointment at the clinic. Having been traveling now for 20 months and having been in some" interesting" countries I felt that having a full medical was probobly not a bad idea irrespective of the visa application and so on Tuesday afternoon I found myself shirtless on a doctors table being prodded and poked by a not very attractive middle aged Kiwi lady. The medical was very inclusive to say the least and samples of everything were taken.... I also had to have a chest xray followed by an eye test and this is where things got interesting! I normally wear contacts but my latest batch got delayed in delivery and only arrived in the States the day AFTER I had left and presently I am still waiting for them to arrive in Auckland. Without the contacts I promptly failed the eye test and thus risked being declined a work visa however the doctor explained to me that I could retake the test when I returned on Thursday for my other test and xray results but I had to make sure I brought my contacts or glasses!!! Knowing that I wouldn't have the contacts in time and as I dont have a pair of glasses I realized I needed a plan "C" and so by delaying getting dressed I ended up being left alone in the room and promptly took a photo on my camera phone of the eye chart, spent all day Wednesday memorizing it and returned on Thursday with borrowed glasses as a prop and passed the test with flying colors!!!! Travel as with life is all about finding ways to over come obstacles.... even ones you cant see!!! 

So the good news is im perfectly healthy and the visa application has been submitted for processing however none of that is relevant for the next 2 days at least as were now in the build up to Ireland V Australia tomorrow night in Eden park, the tickets have been sorted, the flag and Carlow jersey are washed and ready to go and the anticipation is building. Sexton is starting again but thats no problem as every fan including myself are bringing our own boots just in case he f*@ks things up again!!! 

C'mom the Irish.... and Carlow man Sean O'Brien - time to show the world cup what a cattle farmer from Tullow is capable of!!!

Until next time.......

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Blog - RWC Day 1

Location: Hotel Grand Chancellor, Auckland, New Zealand
Time 12.30pm

So here it is! We are on the cusp of the wave that is the Rugby World Cup and its literally just a few short hours to kick off. As mentioned in yesterdays blog the rugby world cup has been my goal ever since I began this madness of traveling not just in being a far off goal to aim for but also a goal to make enough cash along the way to actually afford to be here - well goals accomplished as long as I can stay disciplined on the amount of beer I drink over the next 7 weeks!

In October 2007 at the last world cup in Paris, France I had the opportunity to visit the giant rugby ball the New Zealand tourist board had erected underneath the Eiffel tower as a way to showcase their country for the next world cup in 2011. It was awe inspiring and it convinced me there and then that in four years time I would have to if all possible be where I am right now to witness it. The giant rugby ball just like myself has spent alot of its time since traveling the world and taking its time to get here but it was nice to see my old friend once again yesterday on Aucklands waterfront.....

Separated in Paris - reunited in Auckland!

And so it begins, 20 teams, 48 games and a worldwide audience of approx. 2 billion people and thus for the next 7 weeks at least all eyes are on New Zealand. Its a pleasure and a privilege to be here in the thick of it. From where im staying its merrily a stones through to Auckland's waterfront which is "fan central" with its bars, restaurants, and huge screen tvs. It is also the venue for the opening day (today!) parade and firework display and giant Haka, so like the rest of the city im off the que for that in approx an hour and I guarantee its a celebration that will go on into the early hours of tomorrow morning. The city is electric not least with fans and supporters from all over the world but with the kiwis themselves and there very high expectations from Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and their fellow All Blacks. Everywhere in the city is decorated and ready to go and even the que to have a picture taken with the Webb Ellis Trophy (the World Cup itself!) took well over an hour but was certainly worth it....

The Rugby World Cup & Me

As for the first game of the All Blacks v Tonga it should really be a glorified training session for the much superior Kiwis, however I wont the the only one in the city secretly hoping the south pacific islanders give them a scare! The is some Irish interest in the game of note also as it will be refereed by Limerick man George Clancy. Its an interesting appointment as its just his first would cup but he is very experienced and just last month was the man in charge for the Australia's win over the All Blacks in their Tri-Nations decider. Also of interest is that he will be continuing a rugby world cup tradition of using the same coin & whistle that has been used at all world cups since their inception in 1987!!!

Ok so im off to enjoy the opening day festivities..... until tomorrow....

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Blog - Fiji

Location: Auckland, New Zealand.

Time 20:05pm

Finally an update to the blog! As I mentioned in the previous post my lap-top charging cable was stolen in Lima Peru back in June. My efforts to replace it were unsuccessful and so finally I bit the bullet when passing through Los Angeles last Sunday week and purchased a new net book. Thus at last I can begin posting to the website again!

Its been 3 months since a proper update and what a 3 months it has been, more of South America and the States have been visited but those blog updates will come over the next few weeks. As mentioned above I am now in New Zealand, I am here for the Rugby World Cup but that blog as with the championships themselves will begin tomorrow! First up is my blog on Fiji where I had the privilege of spending all of last week.

In Feb 2010 when I began all this traveling I made a mental note that it would be great to travel long enough to make it to New Zealand for the Rugby World cup which at the time was almost 600 days away, today its only 1! With that in mind I booked my flights last March (2011) from LA to Auckland and was given the option of a lay-over in Fiji for either 2 hours or 5 days! I jumped at the 5 day layover option and so after a 10hr flight from LAX last Sun week I touched down in Nadi, the tourist capital of Fiji. Although just a 10 hour flight it was in fact Tuesday when I arrived as I had crossed the 180 meridian and thus the international dateline. I had seen the sun set in Los Angeles and as we landed in Nadi I could see it slowly rising on the horizon - it was 5.30am! Once through immigration the sun was up and so I decided to take a strol from the airport to the hostel which was 7.5kms away! I figured I had just spent 10hrs sitting on my a#s so I could have done with the exercise and regardless I couldn't check into the hostel until 8am. An hour and a half stroll later and I checked into the Sugarers Cove resort hostel which had a pretty spectacular view as I sat down for breakfast......

My Breakfast view at Smugglers Cove Fiji

I booked into the hostel for Tuesday and Wednesday night and basically chilled out! On Thursday I took the bus to Suva, Fiji's capital city which was an great way to see the country as the bus followed the coast road across the country. The bus stop in Suva was right outside the court house which intrigued me as for a country with such friendly people I was amazed that they had any criminals at all! On Friday morning I took a ferry to Beachcomber Is resort which lies among the Mananuca island's off the west coast of Fiji which also include the famous Treasure Island and Bounty Island which was the setting for the very classy "Love Island" with Abby Titmus and Calum Best & Co a few years back! Beachcomber is very much a party island and although only the size of a preverbal postage stamp it certainly didn't disappoint. 

Beachcomber Is Fiji

I had traveled to the Is with 3 English girls, Laura, Julie and Carly who were there to celebrate Laura's birthday and I could tell as soon as we had arrived that they had made a great destination choice. Accommodation was a combination of a hostel dorm and private beach huts called "Boure's" much to the amusement of the 4 irish women who were already on the island, all meals were included in the price which was one small consolation of having to spend $122 a night to be there in the first place. As we had arrived early and finished lunch I decided to spend the afternoon attempting the Beachcomber Is challenge which is basically a 2.8km swim (1.4km each way) to Treasure Is and back!!! I set off at 2.30 and touched land on Treasure Is 45mins later after what was a tough swim to say the least, im by no means a strong swimmer but im really stubborn and stubbornness won the day!. I had packed some coins into a zipped pocket to bury as "treasure" on Treasure Is (when in Rome and all that!) and once I had finished and marked the spot for future reference if I ever return or a child of mine returns in years to come I walked to the beach bar and ordered a much needed bottle of water only to realize that the only money i had to pay for the water I had just buried deep in the ground! To be fair to the bar man he laughed when I explained that I had just swam from Beachcomber and poured me a glass on the house instead. The swim back took even longer and more stubbornness than the swim out but the thoughts of the party to come that night kept me going and it didnt disappoint but as always there I cant write about everything here! Lets just say I certainly wouldn't be swimming to Treasure Is on the Sat..... I did however do some kayaking with the English Ladies (A very loose term considering their antics the night before!). On Sat evening another boat load of party goers arrived and that nights party didn't end until I got on the boat on Sunday morning when my sore head and I got on the boat back to Nadi and on to the airport to fly hear to Auckland. 

Beachcomber was defiantly a backpacker haven and I hat the privilege to meet so many other interesting travelers there including a guy who recognized my Carlow jersey and instantly asked if i knew a guy called "David Phelan"?? To which I answered that I certainly did and it turns out the this guy Richard Phillips from Northampton was a college friend of Davids and have even been drinking in my local bar in Borris!!! It certainly is a small world! 

Finally a quick story about New Zealand Immigration..... Air Pacific refused to board me onto the flight to Auckland because I didn't have an onward flight from New Zealand at the time of check-in... Now under normal circumstances I would totally understand the logic behind this but as I explained to the check-in lady.... "Im going to follow my national team at the Rugby World Cup, so how could I possible know when Ill be leaving???" Much as she agreed with me the New Zealand Immigration official didn't and insisted I buy a flight for whenever I thought Ireland would be finished with the world cup........... so I ended up buying a flight to Oz departing on October 26th.... 3 days after the world cup final....... Well a man has to be confident dosent he!!!......  

The Rugby World Cup according to Eddie begins tomorrow - until then......

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