HeinCup Munster - taking my son to his 1st rugby match!

[megweya]

Hi all

RWC 2011 might have meant a lot to you guys, but I think I might look back on tomorrow with similar warmth.

My son is 12 and started getting interested in rugby during the RWC 2011.  For years he had been bemused by the way that I had got so caught up by the confusing game that we love.  
While he started off from a low base ("Why are Namibia playing rugby?"), his interest started like many 12-year-olds in a list-filling mode ("What was the score? Who are they playing next?"), but progressed to growing awareness ("Parra gets almost all his kicks, so why can't Wilkinson even indoors?")

Much to my delight (with no persuasion/coercion) he started to want Ireland to win.
He got up at 6am to watch the Ireland-Australia pool game and he still talks about it.
His favourite players became Cian Healy and Sean O'Brien because of the way they burst through tackles.

(He quite likes Nonu for the same reason, though I have to admit some parental influence in the way that he associates the name 'McCaw' with 'offside', but only in good humour on my part I assure you).

Within a couple of weeks he was asking "Can I go to see O'Driscoll play?" and "Will I get a chance to see O'Gara play before he stops?".

So tomorrow, at Northants v Munster, is the first chance for him to start on the 40-year roller-coaster that I have enjoyed/endured of big-game rugby.

If O'Gara repeats (from the Munster  home game against Northants) his overtime drop-goal after 41-phases, I think my son my have to learn how to drive on the way home as I won't be up to it.


Here's hoping for many shared cheers over the coming years.

(Next planned trip is to Eng v Ire on St Patrick's Day when the young English bucks get their arses handed to them on a plate at Twickenham by a savvy Ireland 15 even without the man who is BOD on earth.)

Megwya


PS Even if this post doesn't take me to 100+K, even if Munster get stuffed, tomorrow will be a truly glorious day

[Geeves]

(He quite likes Nonu for the same reason, though I have to admit some parental influence in the way that he associates the name 'McCaw' with 'offside', but only in good humour on my part I assure you).

There is no humour with McCaw being offside.

The 51-36 scoreline, a hat trick of tries and with Munster being 6 from 6 should have had your son bouncing off the walls with excitement for the trophy.

[megweya]

Hey Geeves

+k for a number of things:

* a wonderfully dry comment about there being no humour in McCaw being offside (when he finally gets binned in one of the 3 test series against Ireland in June/July, leading to a first ever Irish series-win in NZ, I will recall the old Italian adage about revenge being a dish best served cold).

* I remember the days when any Irish team scoring over 15 was an achievement (& Munster having a particular problem with the expansive nature of double-figures, so I start from the assumption that "Munster 51" is a misprint and should read "Munster 15".

* Next day my son (aged 12) said "I think my 3 favourite players are O'Driscoll, Carter but Zebo is a close third"

That's close to bouncing off the walls - my first big game was at Twickenham ('74) & I saw Mike Gibson score 2 tries (neither of which I remember) but I went away  with the intoxicating euphoria that has kept me hooked to the game to this day.
{Mike Gibson: described as a "red admiral among cabbage whites" by All Black scrum-half Chris Laidlaw)

However, my son was close to being as euphoric as me in '74, but not quite as euphoric as I was last week - to see your team stuffed in the scrum (2 penalty tries) but dominate the loose and defence was odd and that made the try-fest all the sweeter.

Plus St Ronan did not have to make use of one of his handful of remaining God-given kicking games.
(I don't think I have ever seen him pass it more & kick it less).

Chers
Megweya

ps
6 NATIONS 6 DAYS away!