Monday 12th, day 14

So, that is more or less it, or so it seemed. Today is dank and miserable. We go for a spin around Auckland but give the ferry a miss due to the rain and wedi blino. We go up to active volcano Mt Eden. You can see a bit- the city is a huge sprawl (largest city in terms of area in Southern hemi) and the crater looks good! but it was horribly wet n windy. Shed and marshy strick a cracking deal on the Adidas 50/50 Lions/AB shirt. Instead of 240-280 NZ$ we pay $100 minus airport tax, brilliant. We get one each.
In the evening Gappa leads us over the top of Queens St, an area of 'ill repute' for a looksee. However there are no dubious ladies about, no doubt just having had the biggest week/weekend since the last lions tour. The sex shops and strip joints are all closed as well (thank goodness) and after much trudging through the rain we stop at a bikers pub that has a few ex pat tendencies and sells Tetleys amongst other stuff. Theres some e**lish boys from Hong Kong just on their way home. They agree about it being woodys fault so theres no arguments. Apart from a couple of stoned kids the pub is empty but Louie pulls a right dog (see picture) kissing and kanoodoling away. we head back through the rain to the Queens head. Gappa has a go in the casino where the jackpot accross the machines has to go before it reaches $NZ1000. It's up to 900 'it'll go tonight!" gappa tells us but we head for bed before it does. Last night in NZ is over, all thoughts turned to home.

wheres my Nottingham tour shirt (in joke for Betws boys)

cramped sleeping conditions at the Kiwi meant Louie had to use bunk 2.5

Sunday 11th July day 13.

someone on Gwlad linked in the tvnz coverage and have now had 350 hits on their message- cool huh! have asked for the unused material, mind you we already have about 10 hours of our own footage: Warriors the movie (XXX). As an aside anyone whose reading this and knows where my house is is welcome to the Bar b q on Sat, 3 til 3 (NZ drinking hours)

Right Sunday. well 1st we sort out the rooms, find Darren Dadis bag, get Nusiance a single room (and sound proof it). It's match day today so no drinking, people head into town for some retail therapy in small groups. (me, Shed, Lee, Jumpin' and Louie), all Lions gear is half price or better (but still not cheap enough to tempt me) except the half black-half red jerseys which have about 20% off. Shed bags a huge 'bus stop' Tana poster. The guy is changing it as we pass, he tells us he is supposed to take them back to the office but if someone takes it whilst he's not looking what can you do. (tidy!) We suffer a Burgerking and head back to base.
All tour we have been told that today's match is the 'test match'. We play the South Auckland Kiwis at Auckland Marist RFC. (Marist means catholic, I ask Marsh about this. Gappa coaches Hamilton Marist and I ask if the religion is a strong part of it. He says no but most of the hamilton boys send their kids to Catholic schools but it doesn't affect their rugby behaviour too much. he also says that the Marist St. Pats U21s (the side I played for in Wellington) all prayed after they had finnished their match but it was the 1st time he'd seen that)
Betws contigent Emyr Tim and Rob holmes come over to share a lift to the game. We swop stories of the tour with Emyr Tim confirming "they like bigger men out here". They had presented a Betws shield and jersey to Ponsonby RFC as part of a dinner there - the bloke dropped the shield.
we arrive at the ground where another good crowd is already forming. The Pontiates boys have managed to find us again (we couldn't miss the final test). I say hello to the rest of the Betws party: Cellan, Steve Big and Big Jim. Our tv crew and another are here, tvnz ask me not to talk to the other crew.
As we change the ref comes in and goes through the rules including 'only tackle around the legs' which is a new one on me. Rich bach hapus (5'1) asks if we are allowed to spear tackle, this from a man who complained when normal tackled in Whanga. Gappa and Marsh decide they don't want to start 'in the test match' but change for the bench. Darren Dadi gets his 1st start on tour. We have heard (correctly) that the SAK will have no 'staff' so we assume (correctly) that most of their players will be of a relitivley high ability. Game plan: break the game down and keep away from structured stuff- kick a lot. We are told we will have a haka so we brief jason not to join in and Jumpin' to concentrate and not look at the birds/planes/clouds whatever as this may be construed an insult. he asks- 'whats a haka, is it something to do with computers'!!!??
The haka was quite cool, who can say they've faced one on a rugby field? The SAK are a big side. they know one route, pick up and go! the 1st quater of an hour is tackle tackle tackle tackle. Darren is soon injured (no suprise there, espcially if you've seen Anton's Warriors), followed by Captain Dai Ed and more seriously Andrew John (twisted ligaments). We manage a score against the run of play- big Al thumps the ball down field, I re-gather, Dean shouts "give it to Lee he's got the legs", I shout I KNOW THAT as I pass the ball. Sheep gets a try as well before half time. they pull one back with a lineout ball to the scrum half who is a) 3m behind the line & b) 2m in from the touch line. To be fair he does very well and scampers all the way to the try line from 1/2 way.
They try this tactic several times after this but I but Dai Newson in the channel and that more or less stops it although Rich gets injured.
In the 2nd half we score again (Rowlands) and are now dominating play. We decide to ease off a bit and Rowlands has to go off for a spew. we borrow Rhys from the SAK and he produces a try saving tackle although they score straight afterwards. We try to step back up, they score again, and again. 21-20 oh heck. we put in a huge effort against the 19 players they now have on the field and score once again to edge home! We'd done it, 3 out of 3 in NZ including the test (now we'd won we started calling it that for the 1st time)
After match I gave the worst speech i have managed since Taunton. We each get a green stone for luck another good feed, some beers and other stuff. The club is a bit big for the few who stay more than half hour but we have a good kangeroo court and there is an 'entertaining' sing-song kareoke including Jason having a go at the SAK 'for pushing me'. I get a good swop on the jerseys and give the SAK hardcore a keyring each. It was a good laugh and nice to catch up with the Betws boys in NZ. Quiet though, a bit subdued after the Whanga and Carterton matches and the previous nights efforts.
We head back to the Queens head with the Betws and Pontiates boys, I also bump into Son of God from the Amman. The Betws boys are having a quiet one because they fly in the morning (although Cellan stays out later). I am all for a quietish night but Al and Sheep head off with the Pontiates boys looking for the Mermaid bar. Marsh tells me that he knows the owner and asked him what sort of week he'd had- brilliant apart from two poms being mugged just outside the pub and some Moaris pinching rum over the bar!!!! (OOpps) Gappa has a go in the casino as the joint jackpot has to be won before it reaches $NZ1000 (It'll go tonight he tells us). We don't stay out too long and go to bed happy.

Warriors flags: as seen on tv

Party!

Iechyd pawb!

La-di-da everyone

Saturday 9th July, Diwrnod 12

Right, sori folks. combination of fatherhood, training for rugby and intermittent internet access have hampered the progress of the blog but now we're back on track and leading the pack...

For the life of me can't remeber what we did in the morning. I remeber having a bit of a hangover and having to leave early so we must have done something but anyway...
On the way up we have handed Kangeroo, no sori Kiwi court duties to some of the boys. Louie takes over and dishes out the t-shirts (Coward/slave/tour leader) and punishment as he sees fit. It's Henry and Kens last day on the tour as they are off to visit Henry's daughter for a day or two. henry gives us a moving speech on how much he's enjoyed the tour and hands out some freebies to various people. the one thing that doesn't come out in this blog is how the extras (ken, Henery, Gappa, Rhys, Jo, brent and Marshy) all mixed in so well and added to the experience. One of those 'friends for life' tours which none of us will forget (sniff)

Got to the Kiwi international hotel with veryone looking forward to settling down for a couple of days, sorting out their kit bags, having time for a proper bath/shower etc. Hmmm, the Kiwi's is a back packers, excellently placed on Queens street which is the main street with some rough looking streets heading off it at the top end where we are. We have a little shopping trip into town and a look around. getting the rooms is a nightmare. Instead of unbridled luxury it's 8 & 6 to a dorm with a couple of singles. I originally look to pinch a single off gappa or Marsh but there is hardly room for the bag on the floor so chuck in with a dorm. We have to initally dump all the bags in a single room and hang around in the heat trying to sort allocation. I billet all 'the boys' in one room together but there is chaos as different rooms become available at different times, bags go missing, people are tired, we have to wait hours and the rooms are due to be ready at the exact time we are supposed to leave for our hospitality before the 3rd test. In the end it all becomes a mad rush and there is a serious revolt from some members when they find they are sharing with Nusiance (who still denies he snores at all).
It was a low point of the tour and a couple of people even booked into another hotel for tomorrow night.
Anyway- with most people in a room somewhere and the bus waiting we pile off to Eden Park for the 3rd test. Again the tickets should have been for New Zealanders only and we remind everyone of their 'Hamilton Welsh' line but it turns out the crowd are 50-50 anyway and no one cares a damn. We are ushered to one of many 'tents' and your tireless reporter made sure he was 1st through the doors. The inside was like a small sports hall done out like a rugby pitch with mini posts and a score board. Immediatley picking the best table (although it was all standing) near the bar, toilets, stage, big screen and food counter we set up base camp. before I could head to the bar a waiter passed me carrying a tray of beer (monsieur Ambassidor was spoiling us I can tell you). They kept the beer coming and the bar was only for wine so we all had a la-di-da moment. it took us a while to realise they would keep bringing beer and you can imagine for the 1st quater of an hour we just stockpiled. Food also started coming round on trays but you could also get cooked dinner or noodles from the tables at the end of the room. We had a band playing, then a comedian (I love girls who smoke- if they can but something that disgusting and horrible in their mouths...), we had another haka from Maori dressed in full costume, an Austin Powers tribute, more comedians and John Kirwan and Gavin Hastings as guest speakers. Kirwan chucked out a signed jersey. Obviously when we could see he was going to do this we sent the boys up and Rich Hapus even caught it but it was ripped away from him. However he returned with a signed ball and made sure the boys had that. he invited them up on stage and gave our Sunday game a plug. me and Lee nipped off to put flags up in the ground. (if you watch the 3rd test there a big Welsh flag and an Owain Glyndwr 1 directly behind one of the posts). We were kicked into the match at about 6:30 having had two and a half hours of free beer. the tv crew had bought the extra tickets Gappa had and sat with us. The game Lions were awful and it pissed down. the Kiwis are not good winners but it was still quite good fun, it's not like we were watching Wales play. there was a quick rendition of flower of Scotland when Gordon Bullock finally got on and some of the Lions fans stripped off. the song: I'd rather be a Lion than a fruit was also quite funny I guess. Stephen Jones scored some test points and martyn Williams finally got capped but that was about it. Some of the Lions play was pathetic and I would have been disapointed if the Warriors had produced it. Oh well, blame Clive.

Back to the hospitality and more free beer. Eric Rush came and said a few words and the comedian was still good. the Lions fan who came on to sing "There are 3 kiwi dollars to the pound" and "there more value in a shinny stone" !!??! A Freddie Mercuary tribute came on and the stage was swaved in various flags (we went up once two e**lish ones turned up), a couple of girls got up and noting the wind street national costume of a denim belt I guessed (correctly) they were from Swansea, and a bloke in a Lions costume took Freddie by suprise and started shagging him up the arse which was hilarious. The tv crew had buggerd off but not before I had taken their passes. Unfortunatly the Betws boys had gone but Marsh got some mates in. Ken, Henry and his daughters were there, with one of them telling me he would be disapointed if we didn't visit him in Scotland and later saying to her that he didn't want to lave as the trip was 'history in the making'. (The other daughter was the tv presenter that tried to interview Michael Owen as he was lifting the 5 nations trophy this season, I did tell henry off about it!)
Anyway the bus back was great with Henry's family, lots of kiwis and the Pontiates boys.
Unfortuantley it was chaos at the hotel and it took me and Lee ages to get everyone sorted.
Many went straight to bed and we headed off into town last. despite it being the main street it wasn't organised like Wind Street or even Llanelli with the bars spread out (sparsley) amongst shops and such like. never the less we got ourselves some beers and settled in to enjoy the evening. We watched some Lions supporters go through various drinking 'rubgy' (ie rude) songs with various actions which the kiwis loved (Yogi bear made a welcome apperance), and then a couple of hakas from some kiwi youngsters. Apart from boy racers shouting All Blacks a lot it was quite pleasent. We bumped around for bit. I had to wake Lee a couple of times. We teamed up with a couple of Maori boys, we got kicked out of 1 pub for pinching rum over the bar and then found gappa and Marsh in a bouncing pub were we had drinking contests and a lot of fun. Lee retired and we lost one of the Moari (I found out later he wasn't allowed back in the pub). Me and my new friend Ash had a few more beers, talked Moari politics, more beer etc. Ash was from Whangara, the same town as Claire, he showed me a 'Northland' haka which was cool. Eventually we went up passed the hotel to the top of Queens street were it was a lot rougher and few red shirts. We picked up his car (theres little stigma about drink driving there) and went for a spin. I phoned Claire, she later told me it was 6:30pm. dropped off by hotel, bed- great stuff (rugby in the morning)

Media demands

Winning try at Eden Park

Tana:"I've seen you on tv"

Day 11, Friday 8th July.

In Whanga we were informed of a change in the tour schedule. Instead of Black Water rafting in the Waitomo Caves we are going to Eden Park this morning to meet the All Blacks (we ok, if I have to). We hang around the car park 1st, all dressed in kit getting admiring glances from the locals. The ABs drive past in a bus and go straight in. We go to a local Chinese chippy that sells everything that a really good chippy, a crap Chinese and a normal café would.
We go in, along with a tiny bit of press, in to see the All Blacks, they have finished their final ‘Captains run’ which they kept us away from so we didn’t spy out their moves. The rather cynical management (me, shed and Deano) aren’t expecting much and have got the boys in kit in the hope of maybe having a team photo alongside them. It turns out though that they are relaxing at the side of the field and we have about 40 minutes in which to chat/collect autographs etc. I make sure I get a photo with Tana Umaga for Dion (his favourite player apart from the Hair Bears) and get some autographs. Top moments include Doug Howlett taking Tony for a run around the field (Tony didn’t know who he was), Anton Oliver talking to various props (check it out HERE), Graham Henry recognising Louie from Stradey and Jon Kerr practising his kicking at the posts. Me and Lee get photos for the girls alongside Daniel Carter but Lee scares him off when he leans in for a kiss (to make Becca even more jealous). Some of the boys get really into it and turn up all sorts of stuff for autographs (check out e bay probably) but me and Shed take pictures of each other scoring at Eden Park. Some of the players disappear pretty quickly but carter, Henry, Hansen, Umaga and Oliver were especially excellent and the whole party was thrilled. Justin Marshall donated two pairs of boots, (9 1/2s bugger). One will eventually go into the Warriors cabinet but the others will pay for the next tour when the go on e bay (definitely). Very fetching silver they are as well. We also get a couple of practise balls with the DHL and All Blacks logos on. Still buzzing, it’s into Auckland where the tv crew pay for lunch for everyone (MucDonalds I’m afraid) before me and Shed are whisked away to a mystery location (well we didn’t know where we were) to do a tv interview (see link earlier in Blog). They grill us for about 45 minutes on everything from the origins of the team to what we think of the Lions tour. I thought we did pretty well but would love to see it in full. It’s also our 1st chance to see the Auckland Sky Tower which Rob Sheep and Deano are going to jump off (sponsored). It looks very very tall to me.
That evening we have food at a local sports bar that Gappa frequents. (except the La-di-das who go out for a meal and then to watch ‘War of the worlds') Today is the first morning we haven’t had a cooked breakfast so Louie, Jumpin’ and Nuisance order a full British. Rich bach orders spicy sausages which are too spicy then chips that have ‘green stuff’ (parsley) on it then something else. I have an excellent curry. We have a couple more pints there. The owner, one of the Hamilton boys who came down to Wellington and Stewy the cook all say hello.
We go back to the bar we frequented yesterday and move around some similar pubs. Lee, Deano and Shed take early retirement but big Al and Rob Sheep stay out. Me and Rob even take on the local night club but it’s a bit teeny bopper for me, full of (mainly Maori) kids throwing hip hop shapes. Rob joins in quite effectively. I still keep forgetting which beer we’re on (Speights) and get a round of spritzers in by accident. (oh well, La-di-da) We go back to the bar we were in yesterday where an excellent Maori band play a very very varied set that includes; Van Morrison, System of a Down, Metallica, Clash and various pop/rock classics.
Rob disappears somewhere and me and Al are chucked out eventually. We walk back via a burger bar and then a garage for a pie where a local slapper tells us we (as Lions supporters) suck. (I love a well reasoned argument) oh well – bed.

Waitete RFC, Kings Country

One for Nathan to work on

Dai Edwards and Stan Meads

Day 10, Thursday 7th July 2005

After another feisty breakfast and much fanfare we finally leave Whanga. 2 hours later our phones all come back into signal (and the hotel landline wasn’t working). Deano even beats Ron (who missed his wife’s birthday) when he receives over 20 messages.
We head up through King’s Country and have a training run at Waitete RFC. We were scheduled to meet All Black great Colin Meads but he has been enticed away to a dinner by the evils of money. However his twin brother and fellow All Black Stan comes out, says a few words and has a drink with the boys which was very nice. Food is also provided. In fact so much food has been provided and so much swearing has gone on (especially the dreaded ‘e’ word) that kitty is flush enough to buy a t-shirt for the whole party. The training run will be remembered for Jon Kerr’s fearsome pwdis and tour Captain Dai Ed picking up a mystery injury but ‘definitely’ alright to play in the next game.
We arrive at Hamilton, Gappas home patch. A mate of his has heard he has a Welsh team in tow, and being not only a rugby fanatic but an excellent cook has asked if he can host 3 of the club for a meal of rugby talk. Gappa sets up “a second row who has just played his 100th game, a club official and a big number 8 who has just scored his 50th try” or Jumpin’ John Horwood, Louie and Dai Nusiance to you and me. We drop them off and head to our gigs, a plush motor lodge with LAUNDRY facilities. I room with Dai Ed, hang my Owain Glyndwr flag out the window and head for the washing machine. Once ready we head for food at Hamilton RFC. Like Carterton (and at one point the mighty Betws) they put on food for players after training. However unlike Betws (frozen chips and maybe sausages) the cook (Stewy) hands out steak dinners, plus fruit and pudding if you can manage that. The club has a couple of current All Blacks on the books: Marty Holah and Sosene Anesi as well as Maori captain Jonno Gibbs. Holah (I think) was due to play but has just been called up to the squad for the 3rd test. The club runs 3 or 4 senior teams including 1 weight category side in which only players under 86kg can play. This is to help young white players develop away from being hammered by Polynesians who mature much quicker and dominate age grade rugby. The standard of rugby at grass roots differs little from Wales but I expect their development and preparation are better with a better structure in place. Players rarely leave their club as the have a good range of standards at each club plus their NPC district side and then the super 12s. (Gappa and Marsh still see the super 12s as ‘candyfloss’ and somewhat irrelevant, not REAL rugby). On tv is the ‘fight for life’ a charity boxing event where former All Blacks and New Zealand writers take on their Lions equivalent. Webster has a match against Frank Bunce but, looking slightly flabby, eventually comes off 2nd best. We miss Eric Rush v Byron Hayward as we head for town. Many head for home but again I made sure I was able to provide a full report by staying out as long as possible. The pubs are pretty empty and those out all seem to be having a meal. Even the recommended bar is quiet. The news comes through about the bombs in London and Owain phones to see if I know anything about family. To me it all seems a long way away. A Scottish team, resplendent in Kilts come in and we have a good chat. It eventually dawns on me that because the Kiwis have decent licensing laws no one goes out until at least 10 and maybe not 12. This makes it hard for touring Welshmen to keep up. Even the hardcore element are soon ready for bed with only me actually wanting to stay out. We look around for Jason- no sign. I hold base camp with Louie whilst Lee and Shed head off to look for him. Lee finds a police man who after a quick explanation becomes emotional as he has a young baby with Downs. They take to the car to search, Shed however finds him as at each nightclub/bar he asks he gets closer and closer: 8 minutes ago, 4 minutes ago, 2 minutes ago…found him. We head for bed.

gwil on tv shocker!!

just been alerted to THIS which is the programme which went out on TVNZ's 20/20 programme- good isn't it!

day 9, Wednesday 6th July

After a good brekkie we are told today is quad biking. Captain Dai ‘Posh’ Edwards does some TV whilst the rest of us dress ‘rough’ and head onto the bus. A few of us confess we are a bit nervous about quad biking and these nerves only grow when we see various farmers bringing their quad bikes along as we don’t fancy having to pay for one if we total it. As it turns out we have got the complete wrong end of the stick. The local farmers have given up a days work to take us out on their bikes. We saddle up, mainly two to a bike. I get Louie again as he trusts me after the white water rafting not to get him killed. John Horwood wonders aloud whether we should all have crash helmet and goggles.
In convoy we go off and take to a track around hills very much like Betws or the black mountain although I’ve never seen cattle on such terrain back home. It turns out we are on some old mining tracks that are just about ideal for quad bikes. The bikes are pretty awesome and seem able to deal with all sorts of mud/steep slopes etc except the one Dai Newson and Ron are on which gets stuck. We stop to right our name on the inside of a tunnel that the miners carved out and have photos taken with some silver ferns. There is also a stop to visit the last occupied farmhouse on the mountain. Abounded since the 30s the owner shot himself and his wife was never found after getting into trouble with the banks. The scenery gets more and more spectacular until we stop for lunch on a mountain top. We spread out to have a bit of space and admire the views which stretch for miles and are topped off by snow covered mountain in the distance. We go back a different way and the flora (plants not margarine) reminds me of a fair ground safari ride so that I almost expect a plastic zebra to poke it’s head out of a bush as we go past. We stop at a lost ‘shaky’ bridge for another photo. I nudge Louie whenever we go near a sheer drop (every couple of minutes) to which he responds with things like “Oh my Lord” and clutching his chest to make sure his fags are still there. We marvel at the sights, the ability of the bikes and the miners who used to work there before the war. (basically I think they realised there were much easier ways of making money once they had travelled a bit). One of the farmers apparently broke his pelvis out there once and rode back the 6 odd miles, closing the various gates behind him. It was hell of an experience and even more so because the farmers had given up their day for us.
Back in the hotel I had a look at the various cuttings on the wall including those of ‘Presidents day’. The current holder is our landlady and previous presidents include a goat. It’s obviously quite a party with a lot of visitors, apparently the hotel is full most weekends.
A cracking meal is followed by some killer pool with the locals and a guitarist (with backing tapes) goes through his ‘wedding’ set (Brown eyed girl, money for nothing, the birdie song). In the middle of this one of the farmers turns up with 20 sheep for entertainment….
A sheep shearing competition. In teams of 4 fastest to shear a sheep, eat a pie, eat a pack of chips (crisps) and skull (neck) a pint wins. Marshy and Henry, our Scottish tour member, are both sheep farmers so with a couple of locals we manage 4 teams. Louie cocks the time up or we would have won (honest). The fastest time is about 1:30 but the record (without the crisps) is about 44 seconds! After that I get called up to shear a sheep myself, which is blydi hard work. Some of the other boys have a go. Rob declines because it would be cruel to the sheep if he cut it (like I did) but continues to eat meat for the rest of the tour.
The night goes into morning and I find I am even developing a taste for Marshy and Gappas fav tipple: rum and coke. When the bar closes our stokes from the bus ensure an extra hour or so drinking before bed.

Local school kids welcome Warriors (not that Dai Newson looks impressed)

Marae with prayer house behing

Day 8, Tuesday 5th July

We get up and force our kit back into the bag again and board the bus. It’s one of the shorter journeys as we head into Taranaki, although Louie has another pwdi cos we won’t let him smoke at a petrol station.
Whangamomona, we have been told is something of a special place. Certainly no one in Wellington had heard of it. Apparently when there was a local government reorganisation they opted out and declared themselves a republic.
We start the steep climb up the mountain with a number of turns that I thought the bus wouldn’t make. Every turn was almost as bad as tro gwcw back home. When it finally levelled out at the top we are stopped by a group of children and women in a sort of wild west costume. We are taken to the Whanga Hotel and given passports and a packed lunch. We are treated to a whip cracking display and then some dance routines by children from the local school (about 10 kids). A couple of the boys join in. Whango is a tiny village of 50 families (probably as many as in your street). There is a hotel and a café which opens when the owner wants some beer money. Think a smaller more isolated Llanwytyd Wells or Tregaron. Like Llanwyrtyd they hold various events to keep the place ticking over and there are some classic photos of ‘Presidents day’ and a very worried looking ‘most eligible bachelor’ photos on the walls of the hotel. The hotel is very old for New Zealand and of course wooden, Clint Eastwood would look right at home here. Louie has the strop of all strops and heads of back to Wellington or to sleep in a near by barn, we laugh from the hotel balcony as he littlest hobos it of into the distance.
The rugby team were formed in 1903 and have team photos in the hotel from 1905. They have just reclaimed the ‘Dean’s cup’, possibly the oldest rugby union competition, played for by 3 local teams (a complicated Amman Valley Cup). We head out for the field and they seem to have about 50 players. Whereas Carterton started off easy and then moved up to the Warriors level. Whanga start of quite full bloodied with a bit of West Wales slowing down needed before they find a nice competitive standard for the match. Colin, Sheep and Big Al again play well and Jonny Kerr even joins in the tackling (not Rhys Bersley though). A large crowd has again materialised, including Al’s mates from Pontiates and a group from Blackwood who provide Mathew Watts, a former Welsh District cap for our team. We are also joined by a tv crew who are filming a documentary on us!!
Another enjoyable game we win 26-27 (without Louies help). The Whanga team are a typical farmers side- very strong, and again I think of Tregaron or Lampeter.
Beer is brought into the changing room and we move to the club house for presentations, kangaroo Kourt (now renamed kiwi court), food and singing. As always on these tours there is a connection to home. Already Louie had seen a uncle in Wellington and Deano had said hello to Dwayne Peel, but the ref is from Lampeter and knows Kevin ‘falabalam’ Cambell. (Eifion and Handel say hi Kev). Food is great with the real meat sausages worth remembering. The 'swops' causes a bit of confusion as several boys almost get a club 'jumper' when they ask for a jersey.
We then head back to the hotel and catch the Auckland match. Lions win, Martyn Willaims scores, Clive Woody looks a prick so normal service on ‘the other tour’ then. We have a great singsong with help from Pontiates and Blackwood which even gets a mention on the net. The ‘La di da’ group which has sprung up (drinking wine, buying baileys with the tour kitty, wanting better accommodation, Deano, Ron, Dai Posh, Rob Sheep) spend the evening upstairs drinking wine and recruiting new members by getting them to join in and say ‘La di da’ on camera. Eventually bed calls but apparently the cafe doubled as a night club for some members.
(that’s enough for today, 1st Betws training session tonight and I still feel knackered from tour)

Llun 4, day 7.

Woke after top sleep to find Dai Newson reputation as world’s best snorer now reinforced beyond all doubt. Breakfast was a combination of a full British and left over Hangi, great stuff.
Joined in the game of touch rugby which was getting a bit serious (Tony Whittaker was up to 41 tries) before our official departure. Less singing than before but a nice goodbye and assurances that we can next time just walk onto the Marae as (semi) members. We even manage a decent song ourselves. The elder comes with us for a short spin and shows us the beach and some local history. Apparently an early Catholic priest, realising that the tribe were about to loose a lot of land in the treaties, preserved it for them by claiming it as church lands.
We then travel onto the White water Rafting Company, based on the Rangitikei river. We all get into web suits (of which there should be some cracking photos soon) and take to 3 big dinghies. Early on we have to walk around a couple of the rapids but we then spend some very pleasant hours gently rowing, shooting rapids, banging into walls and splashing each other. As it was only a grade 2-3 only 4 people actually fell into the water whilst John Horwood led his boat in a great version of ‘yellow submarine’. Our boat was useless; Louie spent the whole time sat inside the boat, Dai Newson and Dai Ed rowed backwards until our guide spotted them, Jon ‘Killer’ Kerr just dabbed at the water and 3 or the 4 fallers: Dai Ed, Phil Williams and Al Stephens were from our boat. Great fun though and a beautiful river which apparently featured in Lord of the rings.
We travel onwards until we get to that nights accommodation, Furlong Motor Lodge. Top sing song and kangaroo court on the bus, aided by more beer then finally food at the lodge. The spread is incredible: oysters, muscles, shrimps, full breakfast foods, breaded fish and more, enough fruit to fill a small lorry, various cakes and pudding, cheese and biscuits. Jas leads the way to the bar but most people head for a warm shower and clean clothes after the Marae/rafting. By the time me and Colin re emerge the bar is totally closed. A small party took to the streets (sori street) to look for alternative watering holes and find a licensed restaurant ‘open 7 nights’ – it’s closed. (lee offers the explanation that it’s 7 nights a month) so we crash Gappas room to empty the mini bar then head for bed.

Sunday 3rd day 6

Very tried at this stage of tour but it was onwards and upwards. Went to the top of hill overlooking Wellington and took a neat picture of Louie about to be blown away.
Today we went onto a Marae. gappa's sister is part of the Tainui Marae of the Ngati Raukawa Tribe. he is charged with calling us on and there are various protocols we have to follow. We pull up outside what looks like a tiny village, just a few buildings surrounded by a fence. No hats, cameras or phones are allowed as we are called on (louie has a big strop about the hat). A woman from the tribe is asinged to us to help us, her surname is Williams so she is "Welsh for the day" We have to stay bunched beyind her and progress only when called. There is various singing back and fore between our Williams and moari on the marae. We move slowly forward as a tight group and eventually get to the prayer house. we remove our shoes and move to the left of the prayer house sitting on the matresses provided. we are welcomed on with a couple of speeches. Gappa gives one and presents a gift (money) in Moari. Our host makes a cock up and has to apologise to his various elders before continuing. More singing and we have to sing a song, unfortuatley he asks for Bread of Heaven which only me and Ken know the verses for and I know it's down to me. It's very different singing on the bus after a grand slam very very drunk as it is on request of a Moari elder in his prayer house very very sober and on your own. We weren't very good but we also sang the National anthem and maybe sospan fach. We were told how the tribe had a special affinity for Whales/Wales as they were on the shoreline. It was also a special occasion because there great Uncle (I think) was returning to the prayer house after almost exactly 25 years (I think) in the form of his walking stick. I had to give a little speech in thanks for their hospitality. It was quite scary and very humbling. we then had to do the traditional 'touch noses' greeting which Dai Ed took too literally- actually touching the guy's nose with his finger.
Once called on we could get our cameras, phones and hats (Louie forgot all about his) and take pictures of anything but the prayer house. They had a camp fire going and were preparing a Hangi. Gappa and Marsh went to fetch beer. The Marae consists of the Prayer house, a small school, a small hall with a kitchen attached and a toilet/shower block. There is no accomodation as such and the place is a community center/church/graveyard/meeting place combo type of thing. We spend a nervous time shyly chatting to people and trying not to make inapropriate jokes. We are to sleep in the Prayer house so i make sure top snorer Dai Newson is in the opposite corner to me by the door. One of the Moari turns out to be half Irish whilst many have welsh ancestry as bourne out by a quick visit to the graveyard (wash hands afterwards as spirits can't pass water). We are told the current Marae is about 100 years old but used to be on the adjacent hilltop which was fortified until the catholics turned up. It's now got a big cross on it. The elder who has spoken most expalins a little about the history of the tribe and that the man who wrote the 'Ka mate' Haka used to seek refuge with them when hiding from various enemies. There are actually numerous hakas but Ka mate is the one the All Blacks do. he explains the meaning and although i had read translations before it is very different having it explainned to you by a Moari elder. Some of the boys played rugby against the children there.
The Hangi was then dug up. they use the Hangi to cook meat and potaoes. A framework of criss crossed wood are seperated by volcanic stones placed in a large hole in the ground. The wood is then lit and the stones fall down as the wood burns away. The food is then placed on the stones and covered in damp clothes and buried. They cooked loads of food on it. There was enough (once we had prayed etc) for all 25 of our party and about the same number from the tribe and they still put about half of it back in the fridge. there was more nervous singing afterwards and we were each given a tie with a moari design i think designed by a tribesman. we gave them a Warriors tour tie and a national anthem paper weight. the children helped the elder give us a quick demo of the haka. We held our Kangeroo court in front of the asembled tribe, thankfully they loved it. 'Hymns and Araias' also went down well.
there was then some gentle drinking and a sit around the camp fire before bed in the prayer house. I slept like a log, one of the best 'camping' sleeps I've ever had but Gary Shed was up at 6am helping get brekkie ready (oh well).

Marist St. Pats (play in Lions colours for some reason)

Saturday 2nd July, day 5

Match day!
good Kangeroo court except i got caught (no hat to brekkie) and have to sleep on the pool table in the common room tonight. Richard Bach suffers 100 lashes from pillow as punishment for almost burning hotel down.
Saddle up ready for test. Am quite nervous as i play today. I asked Gappa if I could have a run for a NZ team and today I will turn out for Marist St. Patricks Presidents side. We go for a site seeing spin down the coast 1st wich was very beautiful. Once in town we drop the teeam off at the hospitality tent (2 pints and a bit of food) before gappa and Marsh take me out to the pitch. It was right next to where Athletic Park used to be but is now all housing. Marist St Pats Presidents turn out to be a veterans side. A friendly bunch and I'm about the youngest there. The game went ok, won a lineout or two, rucked someone, won a maul, but never really got into the game. It was a good experience though playing alongside some Islanders and Moari. Apart form being bigger than your average Welsh side there was little difference. There was no big team talk 1st and many of the players turned up changed and them disappeared straight afterwards. We were expected to lose but managed a 12 all draw and the game was in a competition, not a friendly. we had a couple of beers on the side of the pitch before dispersing. I am sad to report that crap cold showers are not confined to Wales.
Caught bus into town and settled in arranged meeting spot but didn't see the boys til we got into the stadium. not bad seats and quite a good game although Shane and Henson had poor nights. Our kiwis were suprised at how busy it was in town afterwards but it was just like any international in cardiff. proper drinking laws meant we could bump about all night without having to go to a poxy disco. Most of the boys went back on the bus as 12 midnight but again I managed to stay out for what was a good night of bars and beer. Was even forced into a strip joint at some point. Marshy was determined to follow in the steps of his father and get on board the biog ship they had for Lions fans. There was a two pronged attack with gappa and Deano beating the 1st security gaud but unfortunatley room 6109 didn't exist whilat Marshy, Rob Sheep, Lee and myseld did slightly better by jumping a fence, avoiding the 1st two security points and the metal detector before getting up the gangplank. I thought the guy dressed up as the Captain was going to welcome us aboard but he asked for our passes and that was the end of our piracy adventure. We did get on the boat though!
Got back very late agian. filmed everyone snoring, made myself comfy on the pool table (under the little shelter the boys had built) and had an hour or so before waking and going back to my room.

Friday 1st, Day 4.

Checked out of hotel, leaving behind a nuclear war of tour terrorism in the form of colgate door handles and late night Sionny bach y knocker. Asked everyone 3 times if they'd checked their rooms and then produced 7 cds, tour book, t shirt and a swimming kit which had been left on a heater and almost burnt the hotel down all from the same room. Charred black it was still smoking when the maid gave it to me. 21 bum salute for Rhys the kiwis' carer/sister Jo who was leaving the tour.visited a vineyard and had food at the oldest pub in NZ. the Greytown (burgers again). Good couple of hours there and by the time we left the whole pub turned out to wave us off. Traveled onto Scotts College in Wellington, a boarding school where we were staying. It was a way out of town but we were lucky to get it as there were no hotel beds for miles. School meals for couple of days and some of Gappas mates from Hamilton came down to watch the test. No doors to rooms just curtains. Former All Black Dave Loveridge come along for food as well but didn't say much. Had quietish night at local bar rather than going into city center. Couple of boys fell asleep in the pub (NO NOT ME!) Snoring very impressive throughout block.

press coverage carterton match

Local paper report and mention in The Telegraph

Carterton and Warriors

1st night Palmerston Nth, Jumpin asleep standing up.

Thursday 30th, day 3 in NZ

Picking up from my last post. We got on the bus ready for the game. We picked up a couple from Swansea who were with Gullibles. Their trip had been given 'own lesiure time' which might have looked good on the itinerary but Carterton is a very small town so they decided to join us for the day. On match days I guess most people like me tend to spend the morning just hanging around and thinking about the game. I was nervous enough as it was then, what with having to worry not only about my own and the teams performance but also how would the opposition take to it all. My nerves were not helped when we stopped at a tourist shop/factory were they made souveniers from Paua shells. It was a good call though as we sorted a lot of pressies out (so we can go next time again). You could watch them making the stuff as well. We then stopped for a bite to eat in the town. Like most towns out here it looks like something out of the wild west: all 1 or 2 storey buildings made of wood and quiet. we found a cafe and bought a slab of carrot cake almost the size of a beeze block for $3 (£1) before finally heading onto the game.
The club looked fairly typical with a couple of decent pitches next to the changing rooms. We had a quick warm up and there was a press reporter taking photos. As it was Jumpin' John Horwoods 100th game Captain Dai Ed led us out and we formed a tunnel and claped him out.
The game went well. Very similar to matches against bewts in that they played a fair bit but weren't worried about wether they won or not. A full match report should appear on the warriors web site. i managed to 'boosh' someone which doesn't hapen very often and got a big cheer from the crowd. The crowd was pretty large including a police car and camper van. Megan the mascot sheep was used as a ball in a late line out and generally the game was a lot of fun. Rhys Bersley our kiwi LD player kicks very very well but tackling is as yet and untried art form for him. marshy reminded me very much of a moving Andrew Scannell in the back row with his constant 'show and go' Big Al played well and Colin Talcon was every where. The Warriors led near the end but in the last move of the game the carterton side scored a try in front of the posts to come back to within 2 points. the conversion was successful but Louie the linesman said it hadn't gone over despite the fact he was still on the half way line. The ref ordered a retake and again Louie waved it away. The 1st time he has cheated for us in 10 blydi years!
It was good to run the beer out and a fun game to play in. The club house reminded me of Cwmaman 1st Cub Scouts hall. One big room, tin roof, No dirty gum boots allowed. They took us to a local hotel for food and presentations.

we had to sing but thankfully our choir practise had helped a bit. we had a very large stoodgy meal with lots of potatoes and meat. Big Al's mates from Pontiates had turned up and booked into the hotel for the night. We went back over the club house wher Marchy and Gappa helped the 1sts and seconds train. (we played the Presidents or 3rds) The players were all very friendly and we made the 1st swops of tour. the local captain gave a great haka on the stage and we had a good sing song with vocals now aided by a couple of pints and our supporters. They were very taken with 'as long as we beat the e**lish' and we had to do the national anthem twice. The 'e' word has now become a swear word with fines applicable.
We went back to the 'Cob and co' where we had had a meal the previous night and joined in the kareoke. Rob Sheep was the main performer for the Warriors with 'sex bomb' and a full Monty, Gappa also took a couple of numbers. We had a couple of free drinkls from the bar man and everyone was very interested in our game and so on. the trouble with hotels is that they have bars open late and we couldn't help stopping off there (again) on the way to bed. the Gullibles who had shown an interest the night before asked how we got on and althought there were a few heated discussions about the e**lish-Wales relationship it was a nice mellow end to the day. (if you think this is a long entery, very day as like this, honest)

Back home again

Hmmm, well that didn't quite go as planned. didn't even get a chance to update on the way back in singapore but never mind. It certainly was the trip of a life time and i will write it all down as much for me as for anyone else. Its a good story and I reckon well worth a read so....