SB came home Friday night and showed me a picture on his phone that sent me into a jealous rage. After sending me to unsuccessfully stalk the All Blacks this week, he was coming home through Causeway Bay and ran into Dan Carter and Ali Williams taking photos of each other at Times Square. So he got to meet them and take a picture.
I eventually got over it and was very excited when SB and I woke up on Saturday. Saturday is rugby day, after all. This was my first experience seeing the All Blacks, and the Wallabies also! We had another delicious breakfast at 2 Rooms Cafe (I love their coffee) and eventually we moved on up the road to So Kon Po. We intended to meet several of our teammates there at a nearby pub; apparently everyone else had the same idea. It seemed like all of the Australians and Kiwis we had seen stumbling around Wanchai and Lan Kwai Fong last night were trying to order beer. After realizing that we would not get served in the hour that we were there, we headed to the stadium. Unfortunately for the visitors, Hong Kong Stadium was not equipped to deal with the massive desire for beer, either. I heard several people complaining about standing in the beer line for twenty minutes before giving up and returning to their seats. These antipods must consume far more beer than the locals expected.
SB and I had been invited to one of the ANZ booths and were looking for it but we lost interest once we managed to sneak past the security and found ourselves standing by the pitch where the teams were warming up.
Overall, the match was a bit low on energy. We read later that the humidity took a toll on the teams and they lost great amounts of fluid all week. The referee called for water four minutes into the match for himself. In the local Hong Kong games we have scheduled water breaks to rehydrate. Also, the rain contributed to a soft pitch and the grass almost seemed sprayed on because every time a player tried to step sideways the ground gave way so there was a lot of falling and not much dangerous running. You could also clearly see where a scrum had been because there was a discernible tunnel with two triangles of bare ground on either side. SB told me that he remembered the pitch being like that. I have yet to play in Hong Kong Stadium so I am curious to see how slippery it is. I have my big girl boots with me so I could take them out if I ever play there. Otherwise I have just been playing in molded cleats.
Our side of town stayed packed with tourists way into the night. For the most part they seemed well behaved. The pubs and restaurants all looked packed so I imagine this must have been great for business. The "dancing girls" in Wanchai looked extra made up. I think it was a good night for all.
Comments