Lost in Transportation

Well, today I played my first game of rugby in quite a few years. I'm now a proud and valued member of the Aligators RFC (one of the 5 clubs in Malta). After losing 13 of last season's starting lineup they were pretty happy to hear they'd be getting a crack NZ import flanker. Then they discovered it was me ;) Actually, I am in the unfamiliar position of feeling fairly secure in my place in the starting lineup. I'm not a superstar by any means, but I'm handy.

It was so good to get back on a rugby field.

I made some decent clearouts at rucks and a few solid tackles. Did a bit of running with the ball too, but the bigger guys on the team are more effective at that.

We lost, thanks to their backs being a lot faster and fitter than ours. But it was great fun. The All Blacks crushed Ireland, but England looked worryingly good in their victory over Australia. The match in a couple weeks will be very interesting (as will the next time we play these guys since we are the second best team in the country right now and improving fast).