Another grand old Irish anthem. This goes out to my boys on Gold.
Showing posts with label YouTube. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YouTube. Show all posts
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Gold Highlights
Highlights from today's Gold Side matches, fresh from YouTube.
First match, against King's Cross B, was a bit of a shocker. Lingering effects of jetlag? Nerves? The neverending steel-grey sky that threatened rain? The trauma of playing on grass? Whatever the reason, we didn't play as well as we could. King's Cross B kept their heads and took full advantage of our muddle. Final score: 0-40.
The afternoon was a different story. We used the downtime to get over the loss, and start to play smart rugby. Several of us went to watch the Northern Stags (a barbarians' side made up of guys from Edinburgh and Newcastle) play the Amsterdam NOP. The afternoon warm-up was tough, but put our heads back in the game. I sometimes think we feel like we don't deserve to be on the pitch. It's hard when B-side matches are usually against tired but skilled A-sides. But it worked. Out attacks gathered momentum and knocked the Stags back on their heels. Their defense was valiant, and we had a hard time taking full advantage of our growing strength and confidence. There is a weird feeling of dislocation when you realize, "Hey, that's US behind the other team's 22. Wow, they don't look very happy!" That kind of confidence and control will come with time. We were 2 tries to 0, before their flyhalf snatched the ball from his scrummy's hands and put it over the line. Halftime score: 10-5.
There's a rugby saying that I've heard English players shout from the pitch today, especially when their team is ahead: "The score is nil-nil!" It's a warning to keep your head in the game and not get overconfident. We were still playing well, but a breakaway from the Stag fullback evened the score and a well-placed kick put us behind. Where was the focus from the first half? Then, suddenly, it was there again. A series of thoughtful, determined plays pushed us from behind our 22 to behind their 22 in less than a minute, and the final battle was on. Would we put it over the line one more time and win, or would we say, once again, "Great effort, guys"? The latter was unthinkable. We traded scrums and lineouts, with neither side able to move the ball. One push over the line turned into a knock-on when it slipped from our player's hand. They won the scrum but a poorly-placed kick gave them little ground and the ball was back at the line. Finally, the ref announced that there were three minutes left. We took possession of the ball and with one mighty maul, pushed it into the try zone. Unbelieveable. The conversion was ours, as well. It is good to win. It is good to know that we can do it, that we proved we have every right to be on the pitch...if to ourselves, if to no-one else. Truth told, I think we learned that other people had known it long before we did. Final score: 17-12.
First match, against King's Cross B, was a bit of a shocker. Lingering effects of jetlag? Nerves? The neverending steel-grey sky that threatened rain? The trauma of playing on grass? Whatever the reason, we didn't play as well as we could. King's Cross B kept their heads and took full advantage of our muddle. Final score: 0-40.
The afternoon was a different story. We used the downtime to get over the loss, and start to play smart rugby. Several of us went to watch the Northern Stags (a barbarians' side made up of guys from Edinburgh and Newcastle) play the Amsterdam NOP. The afternoon warm-up was tough, but put our heads back in the game. I sometimes think we feel like we don't deserve to be on the pitch. It's hard when B-side matches are usually against tired but skilled A-sides. But it worked. Out attacks gathered momentum and knocked the Stags back on their heels. Their defense was valiant, and we had a hard time taking full advantage of our growing strength and confidence. There is a weird feeling of dislocation when you realize, "Hey, that's US behind the other team's 22. Wow, they don't look very happy!" That kind of confidence and control will come with time. We were 2 tries to 0, before their flyhalf snatched the ball from his scrummy's hands and put it over the line. Halftime score: 10-5.
There's a rugby saying that I've heard English players shout from the pitch today, especially when their team is ahead: "The score is nil-nil!" It's a warning to keep your head in the game and not get overconfident. We were still playing well, but a breakaway from the Stag fullback evened the score and a well-placed kick put us behind. Where was the focus from the first half? Then, suddenly, it was there again. A series of thoughtful, determined plays pushed us from behind our 22 to behind their 22 in less than a minute, and the final battle was on. Would we put it over the line one more time and win, or would we say, once again, "Great effort, guys"? The latter was unthinkable. We traded scrums and lineouts, with neither side able to move the ball. One push over the line turned into a knock-on when it slipped from our player's hand. They won the scrum but a poorly-placed kick gave them little ground and the ball was back at the line. Finally, the ref announced that there were three minutes left. We took possession of the ball and with one mighty maul, pushed it into the try zone. Unbelieveable. The conversion was ours, as well. It is good to win. It is good to know that we can do it, that we proved we have every right to be on the pitch...if to ourselves, if to no-one else. Truth told, I think we learned that other people had known it long before we did. Final score: 17-12.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Easy Being Green
It has been said by a certain influential Irishman that "rugby is a good occasion for keeping thirty bullies far from the center of the city."
Good luck with that this weekend.
This week, as more than 600 ruffians-and-gentlemen descend upon the Emerald Isle for a bit of the old rough and tumble, we have nothing but great hopes for the men of New York City's Gotham Rugby Football Club. We leave New York wearing blue and gold, and we arrive in Dublin wearing green; one team, one purpose.
Any victories won this week will be hard-fought and well-deserved. And those victories will be ours.
There is nothing more brutal, perhaps, than this rendition of that most famous of Irish anthems:
No less brutal will be the sportsman-like and gentlemanly smackdown Gotham brings to Dublin. No less meaningful will be our songs of victory and valor.
Now, I have heard tell that "muppet" is Irish slang for "idiot." So let us be careful, and rather than further insult our gracious hosts by suggesting that Manhattan take the Muppets, let us in all good humor instead cheerfully suggest that Manhattan (and Queens and Brooklyn and the Bronx and Staten Island — and New Jersey) simply take those lovable, fuzzy, colorful creatures — who are occasionally operated with a well-placed hand — in other words, those ruggerly opponents who have traversed the wide oceans for a bit of grit and glory. And pints of Guinness.
Gentlemen, it begins now.
"The pipes ... the pipes are calling. From glen to glen, and down the mountainside." However, it's we must go and you must bide. So, keep an eye or two out for us here, and stay in touch. We will use this space to document Bingham Cup 2008 from the inside. We aim to make you proud.
Gotham go bragh!
Good luck with that this weekend.
This week, as more than 600 ruffians-and-gentlemen descend upon the Emerald Isle for a bit of the old rough and tumble, we have nothing but great hopes for the men of New York City's Gotham Rugby Football Club. We leave New York wearing blue and gold, and we arrive in Dublin wearing green; one team, one purpose.
Any victories won this week will be hard-fought and well-deserved. And those victories will be ours.
There is nothing more brutal, perhaps, than this rendition of that most famous of Irish anthems:
No less brutal will be the sportsman-like and gentlemanly smackdown Gotham brings to Dublin. No less meaningful will be our songs of victory and valor.
Now, I have heard tell that "muppet" is Irish slang for "idiot." So let us be careful, and rather than further insult our gracious hosts by suggesting that Manhattan take the Muppets, let us in all good humor instead cheerfully suggest that Manhattan (and Queens and Brooklyn and the Bronx and Staten Island — and New Jersey) simply take those lovable, fuzzy, colorful creatures — who are occasionally operated with a well-placed hand — in other words, those ruggerly opponents who have traversed the wide oceans for a bit of grit and glory. And pints of Guinness.
Gentlemen, it begins now.
"The pipes ... the pipes are calling. From glen to glen, and down the mountainside." However, it's we must go and you must bide. So, keep an eye or two out for us here, and stay in touch. We will use this space to document Bingham Cup 2008 from the inside. We aim to make you proud.
Gotham go bragh!
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