Women Love Rugby Too

Cyprus and the Rugby World Cup

2011-09-15T19:42:00.001+01:00

Yesterday was a bizarre day! I was so excited about my trip to Cyprus I woke up at 1.00 am. Why go back to sleep when there was a match starting at 3.30? No point.

Samoa were immense, especially one of my all time favourites, Alesana Tuilagi. A hat trick of tries for Alex, and since he is in my ESPN fantasy league he's helped me move up to fourth in my firm's table!

I missed the other two matches yesterday while I was in transit, but the reports, from David and PG, were that the Canada game was fantastic and the Scotland game was rubbish.

Today we learned that you cannot get ITV4 anywhere in Cyprus. You can get ITV4+1, but not ITV4. Work that one out. And since ITV found morning telly more important than the USA v Russia, we thought we would either miss the match or have to watch it on the iPad.

To the rescue: Tramps Bar here in Paphos! The owner installed a separate satellite system to Sky and presto! A live feed of the match!

The USA are so much more impressive than they were four years ago. You can see how they have improved with having several players in our Premiership and in France and Japan.

They were also very lucky that Todd Clever didn't get a yellow card late in the match. That late charge had a bit too much shoulder and the touch judge should have seen it. But he didn't, and despite a late resurgence, Russia couldn't get an equalising converted try.

So well done to my fellow countrymen! You weren't playing against England so I was able to cheer for you today!

What is going to be interesting is if kickers will be able to get over this NZ Kicking Curse that seems to have struck most of them. There's no point pointing the finger at Wilko for missing so many against Argentina. No one is kicking well!

Now that I'm two time zones closer and not working, watch out for lots of blogging in the next fortnight!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Weekend of World Cup Rugby

2011-09-11T21:50:00.001+01:00

I probably should have titled this blog post "Rugby World Cup 2012: The Rise of the Underdog" because my first impression of the opening weekend's matches was that the "lesser teams", as the media like to call them, have come a long way in the last four years. The "top teams" need to watch out.

Why everyone seems shocked is beyond me. Did no one pay attention to Argentina's progress in 2007, where they ultimately finished third in the tournament?

It is definitely making for much more exciting rugby than the usual process of a team like New Zealand, South Africa or even England steamrolling over the opposition. That opposition is improving, and long may it continue!

Imagine the (pleasant) surprise when I woke up this morning, switched on the telly and saw, 45 minutes into the match, my second favourite international side Italy level with Australia.

I wasn't overjoyed at watching England struggle and have to come from behind against Argentina, but it was a bit like riding a roller coaster: white knuckles, racing heartbeat, sick feeling in the stomach but then it was over and everything was okay.

My overall impressions of the first three days of competition:

1. There is a lot of booing the kickers. This is one of my pet peeves. But rugby supporters have not stooped so far as to boo the opposition's national anthem. When they do, the sport will have gone the way of football with overpaid prima donna players, tribalism and no beer in the stadium.

2. TV networks still feign shock when they catch a rugby player swearing. Yes, it's a gentleman's sport ... off the pitch. Or when speaking to the ref. But James Haskell's "tirade" didn't surprise me and networks should stop putting microphones in the proximity of players when they're riled up.

3. New Zealand has interesting streakers.

Next blog post will be from Cyprus!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

And So It Begins: The Rugby World Cup 2011

2011-09-09T18:02:00.001+01:00

17.45
Finally, I'm home from work and the telly is straight on to the Opening Ceremony courtesy of ITV and my Sky+!

Unfortunately, 16 minutes in, it seems to be less about the pageantry of the Rugby World Cup and more about the commentators liking the sound of their own voices. After all, Steve What's-His-Face has said it is a "fairly traditional Opening Ceremony" so I wonder why they're even bothering to show it.

Sixteen minutes in and already onto the second ad break. How very American. This does not bode well for my enjoyment of ITV's coverage over the next month!

18.15
That was less Opening Ceremony and more ad breaks with some commentary in between!

Almost time for New Zealand v Tonga. I hope the match makes up for the poor coverage being provided.

19.15
End of the first half and New Zealand is totally dominant against Tonga, but they aren't perfect. They look like a team of fantastic, talented individuals rather than a fantastic, talented team. They are making errors, and up against a top team they will struggle if they play like this. France might decimate them, depending upon which French side turns up!

19.25
Aren't commentators stupid? Apparently one Kiwi player picked up an elbow in Australia. Does this mean he has three? Does someone in Australia want it back? Did he pay or did he steal it?

Another stupid comment. Some of the players are like velociraptors. I don't know who Andy Gommersall (who I adore, by the way) is talking about. I'm starting to tune the chatter out.

20.00
Tonga finally with a try with only a few minutes left in the match. They deserved that, not just from the effort they put into it but also for holding New Zealand to only five points so far in this half.

20.10
Final score: New Zealand 41 Tonga 10. The All Blacks look good but not perfect. They had more handling errors than Tonga mid way through the second half. I am looking forward to seeing them against France!

At least now that it's the weekend, I can watch the matches I want to watch live, beginning with Scotland v Romania at 2.00am. That makes now nap time!

The Rugby World Cup - In Cyprus

2011-09-05T12:19:00.001+01:00

When you live in the northern hemisphere, the Rugby World Cup is in the southern hemisphere and you can't afford to go to New Zealand, how do you create the perfect work/rugby balance?

One plan would be to get up at silly o'clock, watch a match, blame your alarm clock when you're late for work and dose yourself with caffeine to stay awake.

One plan would be to set your Sky+ for the matches and then spend your working day avoiding news, Twitter and insufferable colleagues who have more energy and watched it live before heading into the office.

A better plan would be to take time off work. That's what my other half and I are doing.

But as much as we love Birmingham, why take two weeks (three weeks in David's case, the jammy git) off on holiday to stay at home? The answer for us was to head for sunny Cyprus!

Not only will the climate be better but Cyprus is two time zones closer to New Zealand. Those 7.30am kick offs look better when it turns into 9.30am. And, as David has a strict "no drinking until the sun goes over the yard-arm rule" aka 11.00am, he can enjoy a beer or two towards the end of the match after lining his stomach with what he calls a Fat Boy Breakfast during the first half. Most of us would call that a Full English. (I often have to translate for him. He's from Yorkshire.)

So why does he get the pleasure of going for three weeks while I'm going for two? I could have just managed to stretch my holiday entitlement, but my supervising partner at work told me the only way she would authorise a three week holiday is if it was so I could go on my honeymoon.

Hence why I'm going for two weeks.

But the Jammy Git, as I will most likely refer to him until I join him in Cyprus on 14 September, has been planning to have this extended holiday ever since the 2007 World Cup ended. And, I admit readily, he deserves the break.

Watch this space for updates following the Argentina v England match next Saturday though! He is going to an all night beach party the night before. It will be a test of his stamina to see if he can handle it!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Forgettable Match But a Memorable Day

2011-09-03T21:19:00.000+01:00

So it begins. The Premiership has kicked off the 2011/12 season, and already there have been some surprises.

Was it a surprise that Leicester lost to Exeter at Fortress Welford Road? Not so much. The surprise, to me, was that we only lost by two points and managed to pick up a losing bonus point. The team didn't seem to gel and pick up the pace until the last ten minutes, and that's no way to win a match.

Even though the World Cup is hurting us more than any other Premiership side with 11 of our players out in New Zealand and other key players (Jordan Crane and Craig Newby just two), we still fielded a pretty good side with a balance of youth and experience. We had Ford and Twelvetrees, two England stars of the future as far as I'm concerned, as well as Chuter and Hamilton. Matthew Tait didn't make his first Premiership start for us today due to a groin injury, but his last minute replacement Niall Morris scored two incredible tries for the Tigers.

Yes, we're hurting, but we're not in our death throes, though I fully expect pundits to come out with all sorts of tosh about this being a sign of the season to come. I'm sure I don't want to hear Stuart Barnes' thoughts on the subject.

It was still a fantastic day at Welford Road today, and I had a chance to see two legends.

I've been wanting to meet Matt Hampson for a long time and was lucky enough to do so today. I'm afraid I went quite shy at the last minute, don't ask me why. I think I was afraid of getting choked up because he is such an inspiration. But I have "Engage" to read while I'm away on holiday (starting 14 September - the count down is on!) and I'm sure next time I will find my voice.

I'm not sure what my friends think about me, but as soon as I walked into the Final Whistle today my attention was drawn to the man leaning by the door to the mens' toilets: Martin Corry. I must explain that he was standing there chatting to people, not lurking with intent.

Martin is such a funny guy. I met him for the first time in Dublin in March this year at the Ireland Legends v England Legends match, and after my Rugby Daughter Rachel introduced me as his "biggest fan", I explained that I had met him before. He asked if he was drunk, and I responded "No, but I think I was".

Social Networking and the Rugby World Cup (Updated 17.9.2011)

2011-09-01T20:12:00.006+01:00

In 2003, social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook were still on the horizon and Twitter was three years away. I remember watching the Rugby World Cup while chatting to a friend in Australia over MSN after we met on a writers' message board. (Side note: he never did pay up on the bet we made over the result of the final that year.) It was all very high tech at the time.

In 2007, social networking had grown, but Twitter had not yet launched itself as the powerhouse it is today. I don't think I chatted with anyone online during any of the matches, though I did send the same friend in Australia a Facebook message following his country's defeat to England in the pool stages.

Now, in 2011, Twitter has exploded, giving us unprecedented access to the everyday, mundane lives of anyone with an account. I follow celebrities, sports stars, lunatics and my parents. Yes, the last two can be interchangeable, but that's beside the point.

Rugby is probably one of the world's greatest sports as far as access to players is concerned. They're down to earth, funny people, and a lot of international players who will be involved in the World Cup in New Zealand have signed up to Twitter and have become a part of the action. Imagine the unprecedented access to the players that this will afford us!

Okay, New Zealand has already spoiled the party to some degree by placing a Twitter ban on their players effective today or tomorrow. Even the players aren't exactly sure when it starts. But you never know when they may have a chance to check their Twitter feeds to see what the world is saying about the tournament.

So, saddo that I am, and in need of a bit of a hobby, I have started a list of players, coaches and referees I know are on Twitter, which I am happy to pass on to anyone interested. Any corrections, additions or subtractions, please let me know, and I will update as and when there's anything to update!

Argentina
Horacio Agulla - @horacitoagulla
Felipe Contepomi - @felipecontepomi

Australia
Adam Ashley-Cooper - @AdamCoopy
Kurtley Beale - @kurtley_beale
Quade Cooper - @QuadeCooper
Digby Ioane - @digbyioane
Drew Mitchell - @drew_mitchell
James O'Connor - @JamesOConnor832

England
Delon Armitage - @delonarmitage
Chris Ashton - @ChrisAshton1
Tom Croft - @tomcroft6
Mark Cueto - @Mark_Cueto
Toby Flood - @tobyflood
Ben Foden - @ben_foden
Dylan Hartley - @DylanHartley
James Haskell - @jameshaskell
Lee Mears - @Mearsy02
Lewis Moody - @lewismoody7
Joe Simpson - @joesimpson9
Matt Stevens - @Matt_Stevens3
Steve Thompson - @Tommo33sg
Mike Tindall - @miketindall13
Manu Tuilagi - @Manutuilagi
Richard Wigglesworth - @rwiggy9
Ben Youngs - @benyoungs09

Fiji
Deacon Manu - @deacon_manu

Ireland
Rory Best - @RoryBest2
Tommy Bowe - @TommyBowe14
Tom Court - @TomCourt1
Sean Cronin - @SeanCronin2
Stephen Ferris - @StephenFerris6
Jerry Flannery - @jerryflannery
Jamie Heaslip - @jamieheaslip
Cian Healy - @ProperChurch
Rob Kearney - @KearneyRob
Geordan Murphy - @geordanmurphy
Paul O'Connell - @Paul_OConnell
Brian O'Driscoll - @BrianODriscoll
Ronan O'Gara - @RonanOGara10
Mike Ross - @MikeRoss03
Andrew Trimble - @andrew_trimble
Paddy Wallace - @paddywallace12

Italy
Mauro Bergamasco - @mauro1579
Martin Castrogiovanni - @castrito81
Andrea Masi - @andrea_masi

New Zealand
Cory Jane - @CoryJane1080
Piri Weepu - @PiriWeepu1049

Samoa
Eliota Sapolu Fuimaono - @Eliota_Sapolu
Junior Poluleuligaga - @JIP2EZY
Sailosi Tagicakibau - @losi11
Sakaria Taulafo - @STAULAFO

Scotland
Mike Blair - @mikeblair9
Kelly Brown - @kellydrbrown
Chris Cusiter - @chriscusiter
Alasdair Dickinson - @Ali_Dickinson
Max Evans - @maxevans13
Jim Hamilton - @jimhamilton4
Ruaridh Jackson - @ruaridh_jackson
Alastair Kellock - @AlastairKellock
Moray Low - @moray_low
Ally Strokosch - @thebigstroker
Gregor Townsend (backs coach) - @gregortownsend

South Africa
Juan h - @JuanDeJongh *
Bryan Habana - @BryanHabana
Francois Hougaard - @Francoishougi *
Butch James - @butch_james
Francois Louw - @FloLouw *
Victor Matfield - @VictorMatfield
Odwa Ndungane - @OdwaNdungane14
J P Pietersen - @jppietersen14
John Smit - @JohnSmit123
Morne Steyn - @mornesteyn

Tonga
Soane Tonga'uiha - @tongauiha

USA
Todd Clever - @ToddsClever
Paul Emerick - @paulemerickiv
Andrew Suniula - @Sunil_3
Roland Suniula - @Suniula
Tom Usasz - @timusasz
Chris Wyles - @ChrisWyles

Wales
Huw Bennett - @Huw_Bennett
Jonathan Davies - @Jon_fox121
Paul James - @Paul_James1
Adam Jones - @adamjones3
Alun-wyn Jones - @AlunWynJones
Ken Owens - @kenctsowens
Rhys Priestland - @Rhys_Priestland
Jamie Roberts - @Jamiehuwroberts
Shane Williams - @ShaneWilliams11

Nigel Owens (Referee) - @Nigelrefowens

And for light entertainment as Ben Youngs' interesting insights on life are passed on: @stuffbensaid

My aim is to blog throughout the World Cup, whether I'm in Birmingham UK or Cyprus. Yes, for two weeks of the World Cup I am relocating two time zones closer to New Zealand and to a much warmer climate. Check back soon!

Coming Soon: The Rugby World Cup

2011-09-01T12:11:00.001+01:00

Bear with me a day or two - my World Cup preview from a woman's perspective, plus Twitter list of players, coaches and refs in New Zealand, is on its way!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

If I Was Johnno ... Part 1

2011-08-14T00:53:00.001+01:00

I know I'm not anything like Martin Johnson. I'm a girl, I'm 5'4" and I've never played rugby. But if I could be in his (rather large) shoes for a day, who would I pick as my England squad to go to the World Cup?

You would think that today's match against Wales would have made things easier after the dire result, but for 30 minutes in the first half, England dominated. Unfortunately domination without scoring is meaningless, but I'm concentrating on the fact that this was a "friendly", if such a word can be applied to any match involving England and Wales.

It was a test. Johnno needed to try different combinations of players from last week's England victory, hence 13 changes. He is due to announce his selection a week on Monday so these matches are the only way he can get a good look at his options.

So who would I choose? Tonight I'm looking at the backs.

15. Ben Foden. Give him the ball and he's a nippy little fellow. He can score tries.

14. Chris Ashton. With or without the Swan Dive though hopefully with plenty of them during the World Cup.

13. Manu Tuilagi. Immense young player and he's already scored his first England try. It takes a few players to stop him once he gets going.

12. Matt Banahan. Two massive lumps of rugby players in the centre, Banahan and Tuilagi, would be powerful.

11. Undecided as at time of writing. I would have picked Ugo Monye, to be honest. But he's staying home. More thought required.

10. Alternate Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood. Jonny is the master, Flood is solid with a good boot.

9. Ben Youngs, who (fingers crossed) should have recovered from knee surgery in time to get a match in against Ireland.

Biased Or Not Too Biased

2011-05-26T22:12:00.001+01:00

Stuart Barnes. What can I say about Mr Barnes that hasn't already been said by hundreds of rugby supporters, particularly those of us who support Leicester. Ours is the team he most loves to hate.

Lately his comments seem to seriously wind me up, so I have taken to turning down the sound on the television when matches are on Sky Sports. Instead I crank up the volume on Bleddyn Jones' radio commentary. Is Bleddyn biased towards Leicester? Of course he is! But he's not commenting on a national platform but on local radio.

I was glad I was actually at Leicester's semi final match against Northampton after hearing Barnes' reaction to the Ashton v Tuilagi fight. And it was a fight. Ashton took a pop at Manu in the back of the head with his knee and Manu came up swinging. Both were in the wrong, both accepted responsibility for their actions and both took their punishment (yellow card for Ashton, yellow card and five week ban for Manu).

To hear Barnes' views, Manu would appear just short of evil incarnate. His article on the Sky Sports website use the words "thuggishness", "assailant" and "battery", while he describes Ashton's knee to the head as "a gentle shove to the Samoan's neck". (http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,25212,12062_6933401,00.html 15 May 2011)

I won't continue with Barnes' description of how Manu should not be allowed to represent England in the World Cup (although Dylan Hartley, a player I absolutely adore unless he's playing against Leicester once had a ban for eye gouging, a far more serious crime in the game of rugby and he represents England) or how Cockers behaved abominably at the same match towards the referee assessor (who did not seem to be aware he had been abused). You can read Barnes' own words via the link.

But the problem is Barnes' verbal diarrhoea was not contained to the events of 14 May. In today's Rugby Club on Sky Sports, he claimed that Cockers has turned against Players Player of the Year Thomas Waldrom following the Tank Engine declaring his availability for England selection, thanks to his dear Granny. This was widely reported in the media on 23 March 2011.

Since this announcement, Cockers has obviously shunned Waldrom:

Bath v Tigers - start
Quins v Tigers - replacement
Leinster v Tigers - replacement
Tigers v Gloucester - start
Falcons v Tigers - start
Tigers v London Irish - start
Tigers v Saints - replacement

If this is a sign of Cockers' displeasure, I would hate to see what he does to a player he likes!

It's a good thing the Premiership Final this Saturday is being broadcast on ESPN. Austin Healey might be a gobby git, but he's OUR gobby git!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Season So Far

2010-10-16T14:59:00.001+01:00

We are five rounds into the Premiership season and two rounds into the Heineken Cup, and we're on the verge of getting into the autumn internationals, along with the LV Cup. Rugby is well and truly back!

As usual, Leicester has started the season off in haphazard form. That close call against Exeter at Welford Road in the first home match was enough to give me a heart attack! But Cockers seemed to put a rocket in the Tiger's arses at the half, and we managed to make it to 80 minutes in the lead.

Our main struggle has been at number 10. What was the management team thinking, letting Sam Vesty go? Now he's down in Bath, playing a top class game for one of our biggest rivals, while we have had Flood injured and soon to be off to international duty, and his back-up Staunton has been damaged as well. Twelvetrees has been giving it his best, learning as he goes, but he's still a young lad making young lad mistakes.

We have also lost vital experience in our forwards over the summer, with Lewis Moody going to Bath and Ben Kay moving to ESPN. Two new signings, George Skivington and Thomas Waldom, have proved to be excellent ones, and hopefully Jordan Crane will be back from injury very soon. It was excellent news to hear that Castro wants to spend the rest of his playing days with Leicester. Some say it's because he is about to open a second restaurant in the area. I don't mind. If it's what keeps him with us, he can open ten!

Tomorrow I'm off to Welford Road for our second Heineken Cup match. I hope to find a team that has improved its line out after a poor performance in that area last weekend. The Scarlets had a great match last weekend, and we can't afford to screw up our set piece, not to mention giving away the stupid penalties. We've been leaking them like a sieve so far this season!

More to look forward to in the next few weeks: our home match against Bath next weekend and a friendly against Australia in November!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Who Has the Whitest Legs in Rugby?

2010-04-25T20:21:00.001+01:00

You would think that, with the sun finally starting to shine after a long hard winter, pasty complexions would start to darken, but it is still early days.

At yesterday's Leicester v Harlequins match, my friend Rachel and I were trying to decide who has the whitest legs in the Leicester starting 15. Johne Murphy was up there. So was Lewis Moody.

But the big winner was my favourite Tiger and club captain Geordan Murphy!

So who are your candidates for rugby's whitest legs? Send your pics to me via my Twitter - @TigersChickMel - or email them to me at melinda.rice@ymail.com, and I will post the best of them here.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Twitter Addiction Strikes Again

2010-04-20T13:43:00.001+01:00

Twitter is almost too easy sometimes.

When I got started, I tweeted everything under one account. Since I didn't use it much, it worked out just fine. But eventually my rugby addiction caught up with me, and @melindarice developed multiple personalities. Every day tweets relating to writing, the kids, work, chavs, etc stayed with @melindarice, and the sporty personality broke off to create @tigerschickmel. There I could tweet rugby and F1 as much as I wanted for those who were only interested in my rugby and F1 thoughts.

But soon that caused problems too. I love following Leicester Tigers official tweeter/twitterer, but I also love tweeting what I see, think and feel when I'm on the Crumbie Terrace as well. As you may know from my last blog post, this got me into a spot of bother at our last home match. For once my 3G signal didn't disappear and it wasn't too cold to leave my gloves off, so I had a blast giving my unofficial commentary. I was accused of being biased.

Multiple personality number three has emerged: @tigersrugby. This will be an account dedicated purely to this biased verbal outpouring from matches or from my living room or local pub while watching matches on the telly. I will say upfront that I am a Tigers supporter and will tweet as such. But those of you who aren't interested but who still kinda like the other rubbish I come out with can have the 20 or 30 glowing matchday tweets filtered out.

I even have three followers. Okay, two followers. I'm sad enough to have started the ball rolling by following myself.

-- Post From My iPhone

Passionate About Rugby and Proud

2010-04-03T21:01:00.000+01:00

I love the world of Twitter. Through it I have come into contact with some fabulous characters from fellow Leicester supporters to newcoming neutrals to professional players. It's an incredible way of sharing a sport I love.

I first realised the value of Twitter in 2009 when David and I were on holiday in Majorca during the Heinekken Cup semi-finals. We managed to find a pub showing the Leinster match, but when it was time for the Cardiff v Leicester match, we were kicked out for a switchover to some obscure football match that actually emptied the pub.

All we could do was follow updates on the Internet back at our hotel. David checked the BBC live scores, and I followed on Twitter. I generally knew what happened before David did thanks to my fellow "Twits". It wasn't ideal but it was still very exciting. Not to mention it was probably warmer by the side of the pool in Alcudia than it was in Cardiff.

I tend to tweet a lot from the matches I attend, and my intention is to, first of all, share what's happening with anyone who is interested and, second, share my passion for my club.

Today I had the surreal experience of being told I am biased in my amateur commentating.

I make no apologies. I am a Leicester supporter and of course I'm biased! I could be no other way, and I have yet to find another supporter of any club who tweets without bias. And that's the thing I love about Twitter. I would never trade the banter that generates for all the Leicester fans on the Internet. All I can say is that there is an option to unfollow me if my tweets are biased and boring. The joy of Twitter is to put my opinion out there, and I will always respect the opinions of others even if I disagree with them.

-- Post From My iPhone

One Gutted Tigers Supporter

2010-03-09T19:39:00.001Z

Lewis Moody is moving to Bath. Lote Tuqiri is heading back to Australia. It is the saddest week in my rugby life since Martin Corry announced his retirement.

I have a soft spot for Moody. Almost a year ago I met him at his testimonial event Beers With the England (and Ireland) Boys, and until then I admired and respected the guy, but I came away really liking him as a person.

Moody is a really funny guy. As part of his testimonial duties he told a few tales, including the story of being red carded for a punch on his Leicester team mate Alesana Tuilagi when they faced each other at in an international match at Twickenham in 2005, the first time an Englishman had ever been red carded at HQ. Tuilagi is also a funny guy as he commented, with as much of an innocent look as he could manage, that he never felt Mad Dog Moody's punch.

One of the charity auction items up for grabs at the event was a weeks' stay in his villa in Spain. While it was actually being auctioned, David disappeared for a few minutes and then reappeared chuckling.

He had been to the gents' toilet at the same time as Moody, and he commented, allegedly as they were both having a pee, "That's your villa they're auctioning out there, Lewis".

"Oh," he replied. "I guess I better get the f*cking thing built then".

I saw the lady who won the auction. She wouldn't have appreciated the joke. I'm surprised she could go outside in the sunlight and even therefore consider a trip to Spain.

Most of the people at the event didn't seem to have any real interest in rugby or the Leicester Tigers, which probably explains why, on hearing I was a season ticket holder, a couple of the players stopped looking like they were just going through the motions of the autograph-pose for photo-chit chat routine and were happy to have genuine conversations. Moody was one of them.

As it was coming up to the end of the Premiership season, David and I asked him how he fancied our chances of making it to the final. He told us to book our tickets. We did, and we not only made it to the final, we won. I'm sure Moody's confidence was shared by the team which is why Leicester was so successful.

But my favourite part of the conversation was when Moody shook David's hand and then bent down (quite a distance really since I'm only 5' 4") and gave me a kiss on the cheek. That was it. I was smitten.

And now he's leaving us for Bath. I suppose it could have been worse. He could have signed for Wasps.

The second blow of the week was having to bid a fond farewell to Lote Tuqiri.

To be honest, before he signed to play for Leicester I never heard of Tuqiri. What can I say? I am still very ignorant in rugby terms. But David assured me that it was a big deal, and I knew he was telling the truth when Tuqiri came off the bench in our match against South Africa in November. Our incredible match where the Leicester scrum dominated that of the World Champions ...

But back to the point, as soon as Tuqiri's name was announced and he ran onto the pitch, you could feel the electricity go through the crowd. He was, indeed, a special signing.

I was there, on the Crumbie Terrace at Welford Road when, right in front of me, Tuqiri scored his first try for the Tigers. And then in the same match when he scored his second. That was an incredible day.

Unfortunately I never had the pleasure of personally meeting Tuqiri, but after a few exchanges on Twitter regarding rugby and Wellies, I think that he, too, is a really nice guy. He will be sadly missed, and I wish him the very best in the next stage of his career Down Under. I hope he won't need those Wellies so much.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Italy: My Second Favourite Team

2010-02-20T11:46:00.000Z

Last Sunday marked the third time I have had the pleasure of watching Italy play live in the Six Nations and my first visit to the Stadio Flaminio. I have had a soft spot for the Italian side ever since Scotland v Italy on 24 February 2007.

That was my first ever rugby match.

My partner David had followed the game for 40 years after playing first at school, then for Doncaster and Yorkshire, eventually retiring while in Linlithgow not long before I met him. But like many sportsmen, just because the body proved unable to carry on, his heart and soul were still in the game.

His passion for the game was infectious, and I couldn't have had a better teacher to educate me on the laws and history of rugby. And that doesn't take into account some of his stories from his playing days, many of which I can't repeat on here because my parents and children might one day read this blog!

In February 2007, he invited me to join him on a trip to Edinburgh (at that point I had never set foot in Scotland despite having lived in the UK for over nine years) to watch Scotland v Italy at Murrayfield. I accepted with no hesitation.

In his pre-match explanation, David advised me to expect Scotland to win by a good 20 or 30 points. In the first eight minutes, Italy scored three tries right in front of me. The Italian supporters went nuts, and Scotland went on to lose by a final score of 17 to 37.

Three years and countless international and club matches later, we headed to Rome for the Six Nations match between England and Italy.

For months David had been telling friends and family that he was taking me to Rome for Valentines Day, and while this was true, those who know David best would ask, "Is there a rugby match involved?". When we confirmed this was the case, I inevitably received sympathetic comments.

But how could they feel sorry for me when this was the sight that greeted me upon reaching my seat?

The atmosphere in the stadium was incredible. It might be run down, past its prime and due to be replaced, but the Stadio Flaminio feels like an old friend even on the first visit.

The number of England supporters attending was incredible! When I hear people comment from now on about they think Italy shouldn't be part of the Six Nations, I will dare them to moot that point with the thousands of rugby supporters who love making the trip to Rome!

There were England shirts all over Rome in the run-up to the match, and they congregated in the stadium along with a huge number of Italians. I was a bit different, I have to say. I wore my England shirt the day before when we spent the afternoon in an Irish pub watching the other two Six Nations matches, and for Italy v England I went proudly wearing my (much warmer) Leicester shirt.

Ok so the match itself wasn't the most thrilling I've ever been to, although the unexpectedly close score was nerve wracking. Italy could have pulled off an upset with Wilkinson having an off day - and I might add that all players have them for whatever reason but that doesn't mean he needs to be replaced permanently - which meant England missed out on additional points on the board.

But my favourite memory of the day will be something that happened off the pitch.

The friend who booked our match tickets also surprised us with pre and post match hospitality, so instead of heading with the crowds back into the centre of Rome, we stayed behind for champagne and nibbles. It was probably an hour after the end of the match before we set off back towards our hotel.

We could hear people cheering in Italian ahead of us but didn't know the cause at first. Then, standing outside an open gate near the changing room was a small crowd of about 20 people taking photos.

I grabbed David's arm. "Is that Castro?" I asked him.

He says now that I never waited for his answer before I dashed into the crowd, elbowing small children out of my way in an effort to get to one of my favourite players, Italy and Leicester star Martin Castrogiovanni. I dispute David's version of events, as I definitely heard him confirm that it was indeed Castro, and I easily got to him as the crowd around him was not very big. But I won't let the truth get in the way of David's story.

I was afraid I was too late because he turned to go back into the stadium, but I tapped him on the shoulder and asked if there was any chance of a hug for a Leicester supporter, showing him the badge on the raincoat I was wearing.

At first he looked very puzzled, I suppose because he wasn't expecting to see his club colours in Rome, but then he gave me a big bear of a hug! David said Castro's face lit up, but I didn't believe him until I saw the photo later.

Fortunately he had had a shower following his very intense match (even getting a yellow card for his "enthusiasm") and smelled really good!

My first trip to Rome and my first visit to the Stadio Flaminio were both memories I will always cherish. Hopefully two years from now I can add to them, but for now I need to work on getting to Dublin for the 2011 Six Nations. It won't be my Italians out there playing but that won't stop me from going for travel and a rugby match!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Well Here Goes Nothing ...

2009-10-06T20:47:00.001+01:00

What makes a young ... okay, not quite so young but not yet old ... woman who was born and bred in Texas as a Dallas Cowboy supporter develop a passion for rugby? After all, rugby has hardly taken off in the US. In fact, I was in my mid-twenties and on a flight to England the first time I ever met a rugby player and in my mid-thirties before I ever actually watched a match (which was the 2003 World Cup final and only because I had a bet with a friend in Australia who, by the way, has never paid up). I will tell you what made me switch.

It was a man.

Not just any man, mind you. It was a blunt talking retired rugby player from Yorkshire, and on our first date he had me intrigued by telling me that, once he got to know me better, he would tell me some of his true rugby stories. A few months later, while watching the Six Nations in an Aussie bar in Leeds, he did tell me. Let's just say it's a good thing that he didn't tell me on our first date.

But despite that, it's hard not to become interested in a sport that your boyfriend is not just passionate about but borderline obsesssive, especially when you have the attitude that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. So I did. And I never looked back.

My other half, David, has likewise adopted my previous sporting passion - Formula One - but F1, while glamourous and exciting, has no real grassroots contact with ordinary every day people. I have met one F1 driver, and I have had the pleasure of kart racing against him (and losing so badly he took great pleasure in pointing out that he lapped me three times ... on the first stint ...), but I have met many professional and ex-professional rugby players, my first being the great Lawrence Dallaglio. And every single player I've met has been absolutely lovely.

So now I'm going to combine two of my great hobbies: writing and rugby. I love to do both, and as a season ticket holder at Welford Road, I'm sure I will have plenty to say as my Leicester Tigers fight to defend their championship! I also go to as many other matches as I can. Today David passed on the news that we have tickets to see Wales play Samoa in the Autumn Series, and we're hoping to go to Rome to watch Italy v England in the Six Nations next February. Of course, with the match being on the 14th, David is telling everyone he is taking me to Rome for Valentine's Day, which is technically true. But for me, what better way of spending Valentine's Day than watching thirty muscle-bound men rolling around on the pitch? Works for me!

Watch this space.