Warriors bashing Eels

At the end of my first week I was exhausted. I woke up late on Saturday, you know why, without plans. Ross met me in the kitchen by midday looking like his Friday night had also been a long one. He offered to take me to a rugby game in the evening and I happily accepted. The stadium is in the south of Auckland so we left the house in the afternoon to get to the game in time.

We follow a stream of people to the stadium

We enter and go straight for fries and coke

The stadium is full of people in black Warriors shirts and there are some Eels fans too. Vodafone Warriors is the home team of all Kiwis in a league with 15 Australian teams and only one New Zealand team.

Go get 'em Warriors!

We hurry to our seats and the game starts before we get seated. I understood most of the rules, but still the initial scenes confused me. In the midst of the extremely aggressive game a fight suddenly breaks out. Players are letting pushing each other and the referees are running. It is chaotic for a minute, but the players quickly get back to the game. Minutes later the first Try is scored and the crowd erupts in applause for the Warriors.

The warriors score the first Try

If the word Try is new to you, then let me explain a few rules to you. A Try is awarded for a successful grounding of the ball in the end zone. It gives you 4 points and the opportunity to score 2 more by kicking the ball between the bars. Then the ball is kicked hard away by the defending team and the attackers will catch it or pick it up and start a new attack. The attackers will run forward and if they go down with the ball defenders will fall back 10 yards. If the attackers should go down 5 times they have to hand over the ball, but they will usually kick it forward instead of going down the fifth time.

Kick it away and run forward!

While the rules may sound like those of American football, the flow of a rugby game is completely different. Rugby is played with extreme aggression rather than clever tactics. Attackers don't make defensive tackles, so they have few options. They either crash through the defences or rotate the ball sideways and hope the next attacker can find a better opening in the defence. Kicking is a risky play that you only make if you have to.

Warriors fans celebrate a great game! 29-16 final result

It is a fast game that never stops the timer and it is very entertaining because of the constant action. When they score it is always spectacular. Especially if the attackers break through on their own half and run the full length of the field with the crowd cheering all the way.

Goodbye Theo

At work Theo has spend the week handing over clients to me and teaching me all sorts of things. There is much to learn for me, but I'm feeling good about it and I love how easy it is to get responsibility here.

Goodbye Theo, good luck in Wellington!

The chocolate fish in the picture is a traditional Kiwi recognition for a job well done.