Dublin is a great town; a non-stop party from one end to the other. And, as far as the Irish are concerned, Saint Patrick's day is just an official excuse for... another big party.
March 16th was our first full day in town and one could see the preparations for the upcoming parade and celebrations everywhere. The boys spent a few hours exploring the sights and sounds of Grafton and O'Connell, St. Stephen's Green and Temple Bar district. By the time they returned to the coach, more than a few of them were sporting the conspicuous green leprechaun hats, scarves and tattooes (the washable kind!)
Wednesday morning our game against High School kicked off at 10:30 a.m.. This would allow us to have the afternoon for another trip into town to watch the Leinster School's cup final.
Our game was a very good lesson in expansive and enterprising rugby by our Irish hosts. Whereas the Welsh favoured a bashing, physical style, the High School was typical of the Irish fast paced high energy game. The ball spent relatively little time in rucks and mauls and once out was moved with tremendous speed through very skilled hands. It was a long day for our centers.
Some adjustments were made in the second half and McRoberts opted to keep the ball tight in the forward pack, picking and driving from the breakdowns and this paid off with an excellent try from Adam Webster. Arnold Lam was a model of hard work at scrum-half today, marshalling his troops but also doing a lot of tackling applying pressure on the opposing halfback. The end tally was 27-7. Deservedly, both Adam and Arnold were awarded "man of the match" honnours by the other team.
Post Game: Hosts brought all of us to a local restaurant for a hot lunch featuring traditional Irish stew (A faithful and savoury Saint Paddy's day standby) Afterwards, we went to the RDS stadium to watch the Leinster Schools Cup final between Clongowes Wood and St. Michael's College. Attendance: 31 McRoberts guys and 19,000 other Dubliners. Let's put this in perspective; 19000 spectactors for a highschool rugby game. This is unlike anything we have in Canada let alone B.C. And nothing quite compares to the kind of atmosphere generated at such an event. Ireland is a rugby-mad nation and the schools, where it is played at the highest skill levels, take it very seriously. In fact the game is so important and so popular that it is televised on national television. The two most widely watched sporting events in all of Ireland in the last week have been, the Cheltenham festival and the Leinster School's final.
Tomorrow we'll be heading off to New Grange and then Belfast for our next stop.
