By Graeme McNicol
Well what a busy and exciting week I’ve had. It’s Tuesday afternoon, it’s 15.36hrs and I am still in agony (we’ll get to that story soon).
We’ve spent last week at Lanark Rugby, training hard for our top-of-the-table clash with Arran. Numbers at training were high as everyone wanted to be in with a chance of being named in the 22 man squad for the all important game on Saturday. Initially we thought we were in for some tough decision making on Friday night; who was in and who was out. However, a couple of late call-offs due to illness and a family emergency meant that we were struggling to fill all 22 jerseys!
My luck was in though. With my job, I often attend various charity events at various hotels, in various cities. This Friday night I was in the Marriot in Glasgow and who was sitting in the hotel lobby playing cards. None other than the Leinster team! So I got a bit of chat going and tried to get them to come and play for my team – gutted as their coach said no!
09.30hrs on Saturday morning: I set off from my house to the coach company at the top of my road. I jump aboard and head off for what would become an epic journey!
We picked up most of the team in Lanark, a few in Carluke (my home town), a couple more in Newmains and then the last 2 in Glasgow – and we’re off to Ardrossan to catch a ferry over to Arran. As with most of these trips the bus is rather quiet on the way there; everyone is listening to their iPods, reading their paper (or adult literature) or just chatting away. There is no singing or real carry-on ahead of big games.
We arrived at the ferry terminal in plenty of time, except for our starting 2nd row Fran, who was making his own way and got delayed. I had to plead with the boy at the ferry company to hold the boat for him.
Eventually we got to Arran, headed to the pitch and played our game, for the full match report click here.
Having won the game in such an exciting way, the night ahead was set to get very, very messy! We went to a local hotel where the Arran boys drink and started to consume some booze. However I was struggling to find any energy to sip my beer!
I am not too sure if any of you watch Coronation Street or Taggart, but have a look at who we met:
Thankfully, everyone made the ferry back to the mainland! Whilst we were on the ferry we had a good bit of fun, with one of the newer members of the team, Connor, believing there was both a duty-free outlet on the boat and a shark in the water! We also had the full boat literally rocking with a singsong. I’ll get it onto Youtube and tweet the link!
They ferry folk said that we were a brilliant laugh and they had not seen a team like that In years! Probably because we are the first team to beat Arran at home this season! It would have been an altogether different atmosphere If we had lost! However we won and are now back at the top of the RBS West Division 4 League!
Following a monstrous carry-out for the bus and with all of us singing every song we knew, we were back home – and in some state! I came home from the pub with 3 jackets and a munchy box! Not too sure if you all know what a munchy box is, but it’s basically everything that a kebab shop do, in the one box!
When I woke up on Sunday morning I was like a cardboard cutout! Delicate is not the word, I was struggling, big style. However I’m a trooper and I managed to soldier on. So off to the Scotland game I went! I had managed to get a hold of a couple of tickets to the game and this is the first time that this fixture has been sold out since 1994!
The Atmosphere was electric, the bagpipes bellowing out, the beer flowing, the fireworks, the lights and the music all getting the crowd fired up! I had even managed to get me and a couple of my mates and my dad into hospitality! It's not what you know; it's who you know that counts!
I don’t know if it is just because I’m a Scotland supporter through and through, but don’t you think that Scotland played some fantastic rugby? Really well played, especially from their backs!
Hogg is a breath of fresh air, he is so dynamic with ball in hand and he puts in a very good defensive shift as well! It was also good to see Duncan Weir get his first cap! The only negative point: far too many mistakes by the front row.
I was gutted that we lost the first two matches of this campaign as I believe that had we played to the same tempo as the France game, we could have won. On Sunday however, it was a good game with a fair outcome. Scotland really are coming together and I am sure that a win will come soon enough.
This weekend we’re away on a ferry again (Water-Miles anyone), this time against Cowal. However, the night before sees the Clydesdale Sports Awards and my team is nominated for Senior Team of the Year. So hopefully I will have something to say about that next week.
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