Unbelievable. That's all I can say about last Saturday's grandslam showdown between Wales and Ireland at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff. Everybody saw it and everybody has read about it since in the paper so there is no need to go into specifics. But the day was without doubt one I will remember for the rest of my life. A just reward for a generation of Irish players who have so narrowly missed out on the title in recent years. Sorry to say 'I told you so' but I did say a few years ago that Eddie O'Sullivan should be replaced. Not to disrespect the man, he did a lot of the groundwork in getting this generation of players to where they are today. But it became clear a couple of years ago that he just wasn't the right man to take these guys all the way. Still, all's well that ends well.
Once Ireland had beaten Scotland in their penultimate game of the tournament, one of the biggest issues in my head was that of where and how to watch the grandslam decider the following week. It wasn't long before I decided to attend a day of fun out in Stef's place in Ranelagh. The weekend began on the Friday after work when I rushed home to get ready for a gig I had that night. Although the gig went well (thanks to Lynn, Chops, Eric and their respective mates for attending), I was far too excited about the next day's match to think about anything else. Despite having a lateish night because of the gig, I was up pretty early on matchday. It was like the excitement of Christmas morning when you're a kid! I wanted to keep busy so I decided to engage in some early morning toilet cleaning but not before a smoothie and a veggie juice.
Toilet clean, Ails and I headed out for a Saturday morning bootcamp session in Bushy Park. This turned out to be the perfect way to take my mind off the match. It was at this point that I was grateful for not drinking a drop of alcohol at the previous night's gig much to the astonishment of my band mates. We did burpees, hill sprints, mountain climbs, push-ups and planks not to mention jogging a few laps of the pond and a couple of flights of steps. By the end, I was thinking ahead to a shower and a bit of lunch more than the match.
Once we arrived home, we had barely enough time to eat a couple of tuna salad pitta breads, clean Gregg's cage and watch the end of Italy's embarrassing 50-8 defeat by France. Soon enough we were on our way to the 46A stop; destination - Stef's place. I was up to 90 by this stage and I'm sure I was annoying the hell out of Ali, Wig & Ails on the bus. We stopped off in Spar for a couple of beers once we got off the bus and arrived at Stef's only to find out that she'd just popped out to the shop herself. No problem, we just sat on the wall outside her house drinking beer till she returned. We must have looked slightly unsavoury as anybody walking past her house gave us a wide berth.
Stef arrived back from the shops shortly and let us in. We were up to 5pm now - only thirty minutes till kick off. I was getting really excited now and the prospect of winning up to €480 from the six different bets I had on the game wasn't helping. We all know how the game turned out but I ended up winning one of my six bets (Wales to be ahead at half time and Ireland to win). Not only that but because O'Driscoll scored a try, most of my other stakes were refunded. So I ended up not doing too badly at all.
We celebrated the win with beer and Indian food before heading in to town. Specifically, we headed for a place called Bon Ga on Capel St which is an all-you-can-eat Korean restaurant with karaoke facilities upstairs. Having just had a load of Indian, we headed straight for the karaoke booths. Over the course of the next two hours we screeched out various popular tunes such as Paperback Writer, Bohemian Rhapsody and of course the classic "I'll see you when you get there" from Coolio. Although it was late after this and one or two weren't drinking and wanted to go home, I managed to persuade people to go for at least one more. And so it was that we found ourselves in the Porter House catching the end of White Chocolate's set.
I knew there was no way I could persuade people to stay for more than one in the Porter House, especially with the offer of a free lift home from Emsy, and so I gave in. But not before a lovely chicken kebab courtesy of Zaytoon. A fun night and a great day to be Irish. I also attended the homecoming the next day and although the occassion was a little short and a little flat, it was great to see the boys in the flesh and be part of the crowd to welcome them home.
Now away with ye...
