We were delighted to hear recently about a tour blog from Andrew Trimble (sent to John Dickson www.dicksondigital.com) while part of Irelands Antipodean Adventure and Thomond Park Babas game. We have reproduced some of them below below and you will take particular joy in the reaction of the Ulster boys on bumping into Xavier Rush, and generally this makes excellent reading!
10 “The game against the all blacks didn’t go exactly as planned. It was a tough day at the office, especially the first half where we felt a little like the Japanese must have felt in the 95 world cup on the wrong end of an
embarrassing result! At half time we just had pride to play for and fortunately we managed to gain a small bit of that in the second half.
I had been struggling a little with a groin strain last week but came through the game ok in the end, which I am quite pleased about.
We are in Rotorua now and we are only 40 mins away from Bossy’s home town of Tokoroa so well maybe get a visit from him some time this week. We were greeted with a traditional maori welcome when we arrived. It appears very aggressive at the beginning but we were reassured that the traditional dance, shouting and waving of a stick is a very warm welcome. The maori people are very friendly and very proud of their heritage. Our bag-man, Rala, sang another song after they were done and just about managed to avoid offending them. He sang a song about an alcoholic. Hopefully the maoris found it as entertaining as we did! We got to know some of them better by
doing a hongi (touching noses) after the ceremony.
I’m rooming with Shaggy (Shane Horgan). So far sleep has been the main objective but I’m looking forward to spending a bit of time with him this week.
Paddy Wallace and I are in charge of play lists for the bus. I received a request today: Billy Ocean, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ I think this is a reference to Mick O’Driscol going off early with a back spasm on Saturday night!
Friday 11th June 2010 “Went to watch the A-team last night. Everyone fell asleep for most of it because were still struggling with the jet lag a little. Don’t think it’s a reflection of the film! There’s not a lot to do in New Plymouth but there was a little reminder of home on the tele tonight in the form of Father Ted.
Went down a treat with the lads in the team room. There was a warm welcome when arrived at New Plymouth airport. Fortunately I was on the first flight but the fellas who were on the second flight were supposed to sing a song upon arrival. Paddy ‘Rala’ O’reilly stepped in and volunteered (or got volunteered) to sing instead of the team so a lot of the
boys were very grateful.
I’ve been rooming with John Muldoon since I arrived in New Plymouth. Great roommate and glad I’ve had the chance to get to know him a bit better.
Last sleep before the big one tomorrow. One of the spectators watching training informed me that this is the biggest game that’s ever been played in New Plymouth so there seems to be a big buzz about it. I know I’m certainly buzzin! Cant wait.
Sunday 6th June 2010 “We just arrived in Auckland tonight and everyone’s exhausted. I’m rooming with Stringer (were both a bit disappointed because we were sitting beside each other travelling for 30 hours and had enough of each other!) Strings just shaved half his head before it gave up on him, so there’s plenty of entertainment anyway. Fortunately he’s vain enough to have a spare!
I absolutely loved the game on Friday against the ba-bas, being back in the green means a lot to me. The first half was tough, as I got a knock on the head early and struggled to see clearly but it was ok by the second half. It was good to get a little run out, even if things didn’t completely go our way.
We have optional weights in the morning and depending on how the jet-lag is I’m looking forward to it to get the journey out of me.
It’s a Real shame about Ferg getting his jaw broken. Rabeni came out of nowhere and caught him on the jaw. Fair play to him playing on for so long. Hopefully he’ll make a full recovery after surgery.”
Friday 4th June 2010 His first post arrived today as he looks forward to the game against the Ba-Bas tonight in Limerick.
“We’ve spent the week in Limerick in preparation for the game tonight. I’ve been rooming with Eoin Reddan. He was a little grumpy at the start of the week (probably a result of the disappointment last weekend) but he’s gradually got out of it. He was complaining about his hard drive not working, him not sleeping well and the air conditioning blowing straight in his face. He’s happier now so I’m getting a bit more craic out of him.
John Fogarty has highlighted himself as the team computer tech. The guys a genius, he was able to switch off his firewall by sticking a spoon into his disc drive. (Do not do this at home John Fogarty is an expert).
We arrived at the ground yesterday and the Barbarians were just finishing up training. The Ulster boys collectively gave Xavier Rush the middle finger, looked round, and caught Chris Henry giving him a very appreciative thumbs up. I can’t wait for to night! There are a lot of guys getting opportunities and we all want to make our mark.
It should be a great occasion, what with some of the big names in the ba-bas team. Were all really looking forward to matching their intensity and taking them on.”
and this is the last one sent just before the Australian test match –
Just Before the Australian Test Match
Just arrived in Brisbane last night. If Rotorua is a typewriter, Brisbane is an i pad; if Rotorua is a monkey, Brisbane has opposable thumbs; if Rotorua is Premark boxers, Brisbane is Calvin Klein; if Rotorua is Paul Marshall, Brisbane is Ruan Pienarr!
This place is really an amazing city. So much to do and see, it would be a great place to spend a bit of time. We have had the luxury of a couple of days with only a one or two meetings and the rest of the time free. Come tomorrow morning its time to get down to business and get ready to take on the wallabies at Suncorp stadium.
We were all very disappointed on Friday night the result didn’t go our way but we’re proud of the display and the effort put in by the lads. We have to learn lessons from it and not let games like that slip away from us in the future, especially this weekend!
I’ve been in touch with the chaplain of the Queensland Reds and he picked me up this evening to go to church. I had a great time. It was the other end of the scale from the old peoples home/church I was at in New Plymouth. It was very contemporary and the worship leader looked like a Vietnamese version of the singer from nickleback! Really enjoyed it though, had a great time.
