Vikings Tour of New Zealand 09
NZ Tour 2009
Touring Party: Glen Christini, Geoff Adam, Duane Peterson, Peter Ibbott, Damien Davies, Kieran Adams, Roydon Awa, Thomas Blencowe, Jack Cartwright, Micheal Clarke, Anthony Crowe, John Gibson, Micheal Harrison, David Haskew, Micheal Henry, Peter Henry, Kyle Hitchens, Josh Hitchens, Jake Knight, Lix Lealiifano, Beau Mokotupu, Dale Pulli, Kaleb Rech, Chris Slack, Andrew Talaina, Tim Tuala, Sione Tuala, Timi Tapara, Pat Toumoua, James Tupai, George Uilelea, Pieter Van Der Merwe, Craig Wilkinson, Wellington Tu'ulakitau, Jay Yeaman, Dan Aualiitia, Lee Cargill, John Desmond Stephenson, Tupou Sukanaivalu.
Day 1
After checking in at Canberra Airport at 8am on Sunday the 8th of March the boys where looking forward to what would become a very successful tour for the Tuggeranong Vikings in the lead up to the John I Dent Cup. There where some very different expressions on some of the boys faces at the airport. Excitement, scared and the face of Micheal 'Chick' Henry was amusing. After enjoying a night of birthday celebrations the night before it would be fair to say his face was priceless and looked more like the scream mask from scary movie.
Needless to say the epic flight from Canberra to Sydney was a quiet one but once we landed we knew that we had a mad dash to get from the Sydney Domestic terminal over to Sydney International Airport. The pace of the transfer was quicker than when Steve Monogetti broke the City to Surf record way back when. It was clear that one Tourist in particularly Dale 'Microphone' Pulli's nerves got the better of him and he held the bus up and he got rid of his nervous energy.
Once we where all on board the plane bound for the land of the long white cloud calmness was restored as we snuggled tightly into our cosy economy seats and dozed off for a few hours.
Once arriving at Auckland Airport we meet up with our very vocal and never wrong bus driver Ronnie. Ronnie gave a brief speech on who he was and what he was about and he started our journey up the Highway to Piahia. Just to get into the mood for our tour Dale 'Microphone' Pulli gave us a cultural lesson and played the DVD of New Zealand's greatest tourist export Once Where Warriors.
We arrived at our accommodation in the early evening of Sunday night. It would be fair to say that the accommodation wouldn't be fit for a king but good enough for a Viking. Down the road was a smorcuss board of entertainment for the boys and even though Monday night hadn't arrived yet plans of an extended after match where on the cards.
Day 2
We started the day with a light training run at 8am at a local park just to run out some of the cobwebs. We caught of few of the locals off guard and Sione 'I only have one pose' Tuala was more than happy to show the locals how hard he has been working in the gym with some special photos.
After the short training run we headed back to the accommodation to organise breakfast. One member from each room had to purchase enough food for breakfast for 4 days with out breaking the NZ$70 budget. The boys did quite well with their budgets but I wouldn't be putting any money on them if they where contestants on "The Price Is Right" if you know what I mean.
Getting into game preparation for our first match against Mid Northern who are a Sub Union rep team in the Northland area, a few nerves where starting to show on boys. Glen addressed the players and told them what they where in for and seriously told them we had to stand up and be counted for. As expected it was a pretty serious bus ride to the game.
On arrival we where told that the town that we where playing in was just a pub and a rugby field and yes that was no word of a lie!!
The 1st game of the tour was for our Colts team plus a few extras. It was obvious from the outset that it was going to be a very physical day at the office. After the early exchanges a quick dart down the left flank from Snaky Knight the first Try scorer of the tour, the boys capitalised on this and ran away comfortable victors.
The second game was played by the Vikings 1st XV against a David Howell lead Mid Northern. Needless to say the brutality of the 1st game was delivered in the second game and as a result a very brave Lix Lealiifano had to be replaced with a fractured ankle after only 15 minutes of play. Not long after Dan Aualiitia had to be replaced with a dislocated shoulder. The Vikings boys managed to rally up a few tries in the game and come away victors 29-27 after the referee decided to continue the last 45 seconds until Mid Northern scored a try. To say it was a physical game would have been an understatement as every one of the boys new that they had played a game of rugby but the victory meant the Lion Red longnecks went down like stubbies. The boys enjoyed a Hangi for the aftermatch and then hopped back on the bus ready for a few quite drinks back in Piahia.
Day 3
A fresh dip in the Ocean at 8am made for a great start to the day. For the efforts of the night before Coach Christini game the boys a day off.
A group of us headed out to Russel for the day for some culture but what shocked us the most was on our way out the Peter "Trevor Hendy" Henry decided to take on the fairy head on armed only in his Kayak and some other personal possessions. Sense obviously kicked in after his moment of madness and he moved on quicker than a dole que in Redfern.
I myself was pretty keen for a hit of golf so Beau Mokotupu and I rounded up a few hackers while Ogre got his Rex Hunt supporters and went off and played with some fishes for the day.
Dessie Stephenson, Dave Haskew and Lee Cargill figured they didn't get scared enough playing against some pig farmers the night before, so they decided to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane. Each to their own I suppose.
After dinner we all checkout the local night spots and played in a little bit of Pub Olympics, but being sober it probably didn't have the same effect as it should of. A few of the better looking players (front row) continued there fishing exploits by throwing the line out there and to see if there where any bites………………..
Day 4
In what was looking like a tradition on tour, another recovery session was ordered at 8am. Most of the older boys were seeing the benefits of this and as a young looking sea lion Sione took up the challenge of getting all the boys wet with his Ian Thorpe like porposing through the water it was a great start to the day.
In not knowing what to expect from the game that afternoon, you could sense a few nerves but with the challenge of going through the tour un-defeated the players knew that they had to set the standard early.
On arriving at the ground I think the boys really appreciated what they have at Viking Park let alone at Gowrie Oval. Once we all got changed and headed out for the warm-up the boys switched on.
We set out to start the game at our own pace and let them catch up to us……if they could. We scored some great tries early on and this set the tone for the rest of the match. To be honest we really kicked into good form around the 2nd and 3rd quarters and this was the catalyst for our 55-10 score line once the ref blew his whistle.
All players and support staff where very happy with the outcome and welcomed the night of a few drinks to celebrate the victories so far.
As a group we enjoyed another unique aftermatch function hosted by the Rugby Club. I personally got stitched up more than an underbelly victim but a great night was had by all, and yet another hangi was provided for us which went down real well.
Once we got back to Piahia we settled in pretty much for a few beers and a couple of late voluntary swims in the ocean.
Day 5
After another 8am recovery session, we had to quickly head back to the accommodation, pack and clean up and get on the bus for our trip down to the North Shore of Auckland. After the celebrations from the night before it was a quiet bus trip down south.
On arrival at our new accommodation we found an oval and had a quick game of touch and football baseball. The forwards won of course.
For dinner that night we went to an all you can eat Mongolian Restaurant. A very different experience and we got quite a few funny looks from the chefs at the concoctions of food that we where bringing up to the hotplate for them to cook us.
We had a pretty quiet night afterwards, just playing cards and catching up on some washing.
Day 6
In what was a break from tour tradition, we still rose at 8am but instead of swimming we had a short but sharp ball skills session. Today was quite a big day for us as the bus driver was taking us into Auckland for some sightseeing then to Sky Tower for Yum Cha.
On arrival in Auckland, a few of the daredevils decided to break the laws of gravity and saneness and get flung into the air; I for one was not interested.
After Yum Cha two of our better daredevil's Beau Mokotupu and James Tupai decided to defy death by jumping out the tower which was 197m high. Each to their own once again I was not interested.
After watching the cool guys jump to their death we where back on the bus to have a quick training session then back to Genghis Khans restaurant.
After almost putting Genghis Khan into liquidation we then went to watch the Blues destroy the Cheetahs. Pieter "Sweet and Sour" van der Merwe almost came to tears as we saw more than just the cheetahs lose grip of a great chance to score.
Once we got home to our lovely chateaus we had another early night to wake up fresh to tackle Silverdale and the referee's convention early in the morning.
Day 7
On our second last day of tour we where rewarded with a sleep in and privileged to get up at 9am to pack our bags and hop back on the bus to entertain the referees from the North Harbour Rugby Union. We arrived at the refereeing course on time and where split into groups. I was with coach Christini and the other forwards minus the front row. Glen did a great job explaining to the powers above about the ELV's and how they worked and as there where 4 groups on a rotation he also told the same jokes 4 times as well.
We survived that session but with our minds on the Silverdale game we knew once again that we where in a great position to finish the tour undefeated.
We arrived at Silverdale Rugby fields a bit early but this just gave us the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere and shake of the painful talk we had with the referees an hour before.
The Colts where the first game of the day, they lost a closely contested game in the 47th sec and just couldn't come back from there. I still blame the rain for that loss and leaving Dale "Microphone" Pulli on the sideline, but there was some great courage shown in that game, from Daniel Aualiitia and Micheal Harrison braving dislocations to take the field.
When 1st's ran on, the rain had stopped and the spirits where high. In what was a very fast game it wasn't a physical as the previous two and once again our goal was to set the standard and let them if they could catch us. We where two good and got up 12-0. It was a very satisfying win and a special mention to Craig 'Johnny' Wilkinson who had a great game and came of age on tour despite having two very question scabs on his knees leading into the week.
A few Lion Red Longnecks after the game and a time to reflect on what we had achieved on tour. 4 wins from 5 games, unearthed some players, guys stood up and friendships where formed.
Day 8
Time to come home!! Don't get me wrong the maleness that we all shared in the past 7 days gave us a bond but after a successful tour all we wanted to do was get home safe and sound and know that we where safe from the "community"
I was very proud to be apart of this tour and very proud of the efforts of the boys. Its going to be a big year for the Vikings and the tour will be the foundation for what will be achieved.
Special mention must go out to our 5 dedicated support staff, Damien Davies worked tirelessly all tour - great job mate, Peter Ibbott our trainer, weak effort for not getting in the water at 8am but thanks for your help, Duane Peterson, took charge of the colts team and did a fantastic job with them and bridging the gap between players, Glen Christini, a true professional and gave and got the respect of the players and to our fearless rocking robin tour manager Ogre, well done mate you where a crowd favourite.