Jellied Moose Nose: Anchorage Mother Tucker Tournament

After meeting up with the Crossfit guys and heading out to practice on Thursday we met up at the Marlin, a dive bar near UAF in Fairbanks. We had a few beers, told some tall tales then headed to bed. Friday consisted of a lot of hours in a truck full of ruggers heading to Anchorage. Friday night I joined a refs clinic with some of the fellas and got some lessons on appropriate penalties and cards. It was good to be in the thick of things. We headed out to a bbq which was just ending then over to the place we'd be spending the weekend. Thanks Haskin for use of the digs, couch and hot tub especially. Stay cool.

Saturday we played 4 short matches of 15 player a side rugby. We played 2 teams made up almost entirely of islanders, predominantly Samoans (duh am). We combined with a short Kenai team to make numbers and have a bit more experience on the field. It was great to just be on the field but our inexperience together definitely showed compared to the sides with more stable rosters. For my part it seemed like we were finishing as I was just getting warmed up. The breaks between games tend to make my legs feel like lead for the first few minutes each match. I did however get to score a try again this weekend off a nice kick off from Shu. He dropped it in, Aaron snagged it on the run, dished it to White Shirt, who pitched it in just as he was going out to a stretching snag by myself 5 meters out and I laid over a little samoan guy for the try just past the line. Really, my legs felt great overall and I can't wait for the 10s Maulerfest the first weekend of June.