Day 23 - Captain's Practice, Cheering for South Africa, Anne McClain
Captain's practice was in the morning and was short and sweet, despite the rain and the cold (3 degrees C today = 38 degrees F). It was probably only a 45 minute run-through which included some fun drop kicking during our 10 minute individual warm-up. We did 3 phases off of lineout ball and scrum ball at different points on the field.
Playing defense during a run-through is interesting because we aren't tackling but we want it to be somewhat realistic; we start out touching them and calling a tackle, but it inevitably ends up being wrap (with varying levels of intensity). The starting 15 looked good and there wasn't much else to run through.
We did a quick change back at the hotel, grabbed some food to go, and jumped in the van to watch the South Africa vs. Kazakhstan match and cheering for our new Springbok friends. It was still miserable outside, but the halftime hot chocolate made it bearable.
SA put up a tough fight but Kazakhstan scored a few tries, with SA not scoring during the game. Later I heard that the coaches were disappointed mostly because it's such a new program and such a loss would make it very difficult to garner more support back at home from sponsors and their men's program. I hope they can continue to participate and grow their program because they're a lot of fun and you can see the joy they have in playing the game.
We had a few hours in the afternoon to pack because tomorrow (Sunday) will be a full day - after we play, we'll stay to watch the other 2 games (France vs. Canada, England vs, NZ) and then there will be a large social in the evening for all players. One would imagine that after 3 weeks of being cooped up, tomorrow night will be crazy. Unfortunately, the team flight is at 8am on Monday morning, which means that we'll have to leave the hotel at 5am (boo, hiss).
In the evening, we had our jersey ceremony with a lot of family, friends, and supporters. From our NY team, Rachel Flynn and Sarah Litt flew in (again!), along with some of the Atlanta Harlequins and Philadelphia Women. During the jersey ceremony, Kathy read some more of the well-wishes on womeneagles.com and it's great to see how much love and support we have from this wonderful community.
One of the most touching things was when Kathy said that the flag hanging in front of us was sent to us by Anne McClain, a fellow Eagle who had recently been deployed to Iraq but otherwise would have been on this World Cup squad. She also sent a picture of her on her first mission, with her helicopter in the background (she is a pilot for a helicopter similar to a Black Hawk), wearing a USA Rugby Tshirt under her flight suit. It struck me as amazing because puts everything into perspective - it's not about the games we're playing here in Edmonton, it's about the pride of playing for your country and being part of a community of amazing people. Anne is truly in a dangerous situation but wanted us to know that we had her support. It just floored me that she was thinking of us and made time to send us a flag, a letter, and 3 large laminated pictures. Anne, we support you and hope that you stay safe and come back soon.
After some additional packing, we met again at 9:30pm to say our thank-you's. Kathy thanked a lot of the staff and presented each of the non-rostered reserves (Jen Sinkler, Farrah Douglas, Lisa Butts, Kim Magrini) with a framed photo with players' thank-you's on the side and a World Cup jersey. These 4 have been outstanding teammates and have played hard at every practice and had great attitudes the entire time. They each got a standing ovation and we were so lucky they could be part of the team.
Although this tour feels like it's wrapping up now, we still have some unfinished business against Scotland. Tomorrow will be a tough game - their forwards are very physical and scrappy but we are ready for the challenge and excited to bring home another win (putting us at 4-1 at the World Cup!). This is the last game and we'll give it all we've got.
Playing defense during a run-through is interesting because we aren't tackling but we want it to be somewhat realistic; we start out touching them and calling a tackle, but it inevitably ends up being wrap (with varying levels of intensity). The starting 15 looked good and there wasn't much else to run through.
We did a quick change back at the hotel, grabbed some food to go, and jumped in the van to watch the South Africa vs. Kazakhstan match and cheering for our new Springbok friends. It was still miserable outside, but the halftime hot chocolate made it bearable.
SA put up a tough fight but Kazakhstan scored a few tries, with SA not scoring during the game. Later I heard that the coaches were disappointed mostly because it's such a new program and such a loss would make it very difficult to garner more support back at home from sponsors and their men's program. I hope they can continue to participate and grow their program because they're a lot of fun and you can see the joy they have in playing the game.
We had a few hours in the afternoon to pack because tomorrow (Sunday) will be a full day - after we play, we'll stay to watch the other 2 games (France vs. Canada, England vs, NZ) and then there will be a large social in the evening for all players. One would imagine that after 3 weeks of being cooped up, tomorrow night will be crazy. Unfortunately, the team flight is at 8am on Monday morning, which means that we'll have to leave the hotel at 5am (boo, hiss).
In the evening, we had our jersey ceremony with a lot of family, friends, and supporters. From our NY team, Rachel Flynn and Sarah Litt flew in (again!), along with some of the Atlanta Harlequins and Philadelphia Women. During the jersey ceremony, Kathy read some more of the well-wishes on womeneagles.com and it's great to see how much love and support we have from this wonderful community.
One of the most touching things was when Kathy said that the flag hanging in front of us was sent to us by Anne McClain, a fellow Eagle who had recently been deployed to Iraq but otherwise would have been on this World Cup squad. She also sent a picture of her on her first mission, with her helicopter in the background (she is a pilot for a helicopter similar to a Black Hawk), wearing a USA Rugby Tshirt under her flight suit. It struck me as amazing because puts everything into perspective - it's not about the games we're playing here in Edmonton, it's about the pride of playing for your country and being part of a community of amazing people. Anne is truly in a dangerous situation but wanted us to know that we had her support. It just floored me that she was thinking of us and made time to send us a flag, a letter, and 3 large laminated pictures. Anne, we support you and hope that you stay safe and come back soon.
After some additional packing, we met again at 9:30pm to say our thank-you's. Kathy thanked a lot of the staff and presented each of the non-rostered reserves (Jen Sinkler, Farrah Douglas, Lisa Butts, Kim Magrini) with a framed photo with players' thank-you's on the side and a World Cup jersey. These 4 have been outstanding teammates and have played hard at every practice and had great attitudes the entire time. They each got a standing ovation and we were so lucky they could be part of the team.
Although this tour feels like it's wrapping up now, we still have some unfinished business against Scotland. Tomorrow will be a tough game - their forwards are very physical and scrappy but we are ready for the challenge and excited to bring home another win (putting us at 4-1 at the World Cup!). This is the last game and we'll give it all we've got.
posted by Lee Knight at 11:08 PM
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