Our 1st of many rugby games

Sorry this is a bit late...haven't had access to internet for a few days so we will try to catch you up.

Oct 31st was probably the highlight of our trip so far for me...it was an afternoon and evening filled with us experiencing the love that Kiwi's have for their national sport, Rugby. The Wellington Lions were playing against Southland in the semi-final at the stadium, which is referred to as the 'cake-tin' because of it's shape. It ended up being an intense game, which each of us girls got really into and loved. But before I go into the rugby game, I should mention the cricket game that we watched first. Now cricket is very different from rugby. It's more of a 'gentleman's game' and that because very apparent as soon as we got to the cricket field. All the players were decked out in their trousers and v-neck sweaters, complete with their pancake (google) hats. Cricket is not an easy game to explain, but we quickly learned that there are 11 different ways to get out, 3 different ways to get points and the games are usually played for 7 or more hours. We lasted for about a half hour.
Ok, now back to the real action! Rugby is more our style of sport that we want to watch...a very rough, contact sport, guys in shorts tackling each other...need I say more?
We were all pretty stoked to be watching their national sport live, and were fortunate enough to say that we knew one of the players on the team, which came with a few perks. Danielle was lucky enough to be a WAG (wife or girlfriend of a player) for the game, which she reveled in, and I must say, she filled the role very well.
With our team flags in tow, we were all ready for the game to start and to see what it was all about. As soon as the game started us girls were right into it, cheering like true fans and quickly learnt the rules to the game thanks to Jamie and his friends. Soon into the game we were all hooked and the two 40 minute halves just flew by with the Wellington Lions coming out with a big win at the end. Brittany would even go as far as saying Rugby is a better sport than football and Britt is a die-hard football fan! So if none of you have ever watched a rugby game, check it out and find out for yourselves what the big deal is. We were decked out in yellow and black to support the Lions, and can't wait to watch the big final this Saturday night at the closest kiwi pub (or wherever we can find a T.V. set).

More to come soon!

Jod