The last game of the 2013 Norfolk Island Rugby on the Rock Tournament was played last Friday. It rained for most of the morning so the players thought that when they started the game they may actually be as saturated on the outside as they have been all week on the inside from the constant flow of refreshments. To everyone’s delight, the rain stopped a little before the first game started and stayed away for the entire game. The game was between the Kiwi’s and the Roma/Coffs team. It became very evident that as the week goes on, the runs get slower and the hits get a little softer. This was the case until late in the game where a couple of the harder runners started to connect a little in the tackles. This made for some entertaining rugby late in the game and was all in good fun. Then just after the end of the first game, the skies opened and it poured down. Thinking that they were going to end up wet anyway, the players of the last game (Bundy boys and the Norfolk boys) stayed out in the rain for their warm-up drinks. Just after the whistle however the rain stopped and stayed away for the rest of the game. This was a game that was NEVER going to be OVERLY physical between teams that are both veterans at this tournament. With an emphasis on fun rugby, it was a good hearted run with a soft wet paddock to land on. The hardest thing to keep track of was the players changing sides to get in that last tackle on the guy they hadn’t had a chance to put on the ground yet. Norfolk team was graced by a handful of extra players who had waited for the last game to grace the field and the last third of the game was a case of anyone who wanted to run on could – so at about 26 per side the game ended the way it started – with a drink. Then, to prove that Rugby is the game they play in heaven, just after the fulltime whistle the skies opened up with a constant downpour for a couple of hours. This meant that everyone was forced to stay in the tents and enjoy the post-game refreshments until the rain died down. In the end, the only reason people left the tent was to get ready for the evening presentation dinner. That night was the Closing Ceremony at Governors Lodge. The venue and meal were excellent, and it is not an easy thing to feed 110 ruggers. There are small Pacific Nations that would eat less in one sitting. After the meal, each team captain got up and made a speech. And in the case of the Bundy boys, half the team ended up on the microphone at one point or another. Thankfully just talking – no Karaoke. The Kiwis said it was a Choice tournament, the Queenslanders said it was “Good ere ey mate” and the 2 Gropers from Coffs Harbour didn’t say much being the only 2 NSW players in the tournament. On Saturday and Sunday, the 80 visiting players and supporters left the Island on flights to Brisbane and Auckland. It was a great end to an excellent and well organised tournament. The next Norfolk Island “Rugby on the Rock” tournament is in August 2015 which should give everyone just enough time to recover. Details of the Tournament is in the process of going out this month and there are already a number of teams already interested in coming back. In 2015, there will also be a “Netball on the Rock” tournament for the girls during that same week which is new for this event. Keep an eye on this facebook page for details.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 00:46:10 +0000
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