Final GPS Rugby Match

In our final GPS rugby match in Australia we played Norths. I (Blaze) started for 3^rd grades at wing, and scored 3 tries in our 71 to 14 win. I was also awarded 1 point on the 3 point scale. It was a great game to finish my Australian season on.

Jake started at wing for the premier colts against Norths, which they won 22 – 19. Again, he nearly scored a try that was taken away mistakenly by the referee.

Nevertheless, we loved playing for GPS during our stay here. It is a great club that was extremely welcoming to us.

Straddy Island!

Last weekend we caught a ferry out to North Stradbroke Island, which is a very isolated island right off the coast of Brisbane. Everybody in Australia refers to this island as “Straddy.” Straddy has a very small population. There isn’t even a bridge connecting it to the mainland, the only way to get there is by boat. So, the island is filled with wildlife. In our short time there we saw a massive sea turtle, a ton of dolphins, and a few whales. One whale put on a show for us. It jumped out of the water, smacked it tail, and sprouted out of its blowhole for about 10 minutes right off the beach. The island is also native to many wild kangaroos; we didn’t see one in person but saw a few paw prints on the beach.

There was also a great hike through a gorge, a picturesque hike with views matching the beauty of images in a tourist brochure. We found some time to surf as well. The beaches were enormous and empty; it seemed as if we were surfing in a very secretive surf spot.

This was a terrific short trip for us to take. We stayed at a quiet hostel right on the beach, and it was a wonderful place to get away from the rest of the world.

Wednesday Night Soccer Champions!

As you know, Blaze and I have been joining Tom and Dave in their Wednesday Night Soccer League. Well, last week we won our semifinal game. Out of the six team league we squeaked into the semi-finals as the 4th seed. We took down the 1st seeded team (who Dave and Tom said they have never beaten before). We were down very quickly 3-0 and then 4-1, however, a strong performance by Blaze (1 goal), myself (2 goals), and the rest of the boys resulted in a strong comeback victory for the Raiders (us)!

We ran into a bit of trouble after the game because the other team told the referee that Blaze and I were "ringers" and haven't played the whole season. Luckily, it did not end up mattering and we were able to keep our place in the championship.

This week, the championship, we won our game 6-3. Blaze had three goals and I had three goals. Tom Howard had an extremely strong game in net. He was a brick wall in there. Dave Howard, Andrew Fielding, and McGinnis all had strong games as well helping them win their first premiership in soccer in all their seasons participating in this league (which I am guessing is about 6).

Since we were champions we all won free beer mugs. I was fortunate enough to be awarded the man of the match and got a free shot glass and also a free drink! I chose the mango banana juice of course! Anyway,  Wednesday night soccer has been real fun and we thank the guys for letting us join them!

Away Game Against Wests

Last weekend we had an away game against Wests. Blaze started in the 3rd Grade game on the wing and scored two tries. GPS won the game 39-7. He also got awarded a 1 on the 3,2,1 man of the match scale.

I also started on the wing for the Premier Colts. We won our game 41-0 and I got some good running opportunities on the outside. Overall a great day of rugby for GPS as every team one besides 2nd grade!

Sydney Part 2

After our night in Coogee Beach, we spent our next two nights closer to the city in beautiful Elizabeth Bay with another friend of Morris rugby. We spent our next couple days in Sydney sightseeing in a typical tourist fashion. Jake and I took a 2 hour cruise around the world famous Sydney harbor, which had spectacular views of the Sydney Opera House, the coast line, various marinas, and some very extravagant coastal houses. We also had the chance to walk across the Sydney Harbor bridge, which was amazing as well. After that, we went and met David Knox at the prestigious Riverview High School to watch the New South Wales' All Star Team beat Western Australia's All Star Team at the high school level.

This is the view from the aprartment we stayed in on Elizabeth Bay

Awful picture of us on the ferry

Opera House and Bridge

 View of the City

 Later that night, we checked out the rugby league match between the Sydney Roosters and the Manly Sea Eagles at Allianz Stadium. We were able to watch the match with Jeremy Atkins, who helped coach Delbarton in 2009, the first year of Delbarton rugby. This was an especially intriguing game to watch because we had the chance to see superstar Sonny Bill Williams play for the Roosters. The Roosters ended up winning the match 18-12.

End of Financial Year Celebration

Last Friday marked the end of the financial year in Australia. In celebration the company we are working for, the Right Angle Group, took us out from about 1pm on to celebrate the end of the financial year. We ate some good good food and went out to "the valley" (a pretty busy area with a lot of nightlife outside the city) and enjoyed a good night with the guys we are working with.

This is where we ate - Brisbane's Chinatown

These pictures are from Cloud Land - The place we went to after - pretty cool place

Coogee Beach, Sydney

After our games on Saturday we took a 3 day trip down to Sydney. We planned to get to Sydney in time to watch the Lions vs. Wallabies game at a pub, but our flight was inconviently delayed and we were on the plane for the entirety of the match. Despite this, we managed to still have fun in Sydney on Saturday night. David Knox, a friend of Morris Rugby and former Wallaby, helped us out tremendously and set us up in a hostel on Coogee Beach which is a popular beach suburb just south of Sydney. Downtown Coogee is filled with beach town bars, so we went out and celebrated with the other Aussies on their victory over the British and Irish Lions.

Coogee beach is also known for its beautiful cliffs on the shoreline. The hostel we stayed at is right next to these cliffs, so it made for a great walk and we spent most of our day here.

Saturday's Matches vs. East Tigers

We spent another Saturday playing rugby for the GPS Gallopers!

Jake started at wing for Premier Colts in their game against East where he managed to get sin-binned for repeated infringements. Despite this, Jake played very well, he even had a try incorrectly taken away by the referee. In the end, GPS came up just short losing 15 -12.

I (Blaze) started at flyhalf for the 4th grades team as we played Sunnybank and won 33-17. I then came off the bench for the 2nd grades team to play wing against the East Tigers. I saw a lot of action here and even set up a try to end the game, which we won 23-7. On top of that, I had the chance to play with Tom, our host and old coach. Also, GPS does an individual scoring system where the coaches award 3 different players either 3 points (the best), 2 points, or 1 point at the end of every league game. At the end of the year, GPS totals the points for the entire season and gives out awards based on these points. I was lucky enough to be awarded 1 point for my game against 4th grades.

After we were done playing, we had the opportunity to watch the Premier grades play. At the moment, the Super 15 rugby tournament is on hold for the British and Irish Lions tour. As a result, many of the Super 15 players play for their respected clubs at the premier level. In the game we watched between GPS and East there were many professional rugby players (and ex-Wallabies) on the pitch including Radike Samo and Nick Frisby. In the end, these players made the difference for GPS as Samo and Frisby scored late tries to win the match 38 -32.

Check out a video of Radike Samo playing for the Wallabies here.