“Before leaving Dublin we asked only one thing of this Irish team; a whole-hearted performance. And, by God, they delivered that in every second of every game.”
“Tosh arrives over to make the deposit in our laundry press. CLICK, FLOP: a pair of boxer shorts lands with unwavering precision in the middle of my bowl, breakfast is over.”
“Men like Tom Crean and Roald Amundsen have looked into such tracts of the wild unknown and thought ‘onward.’ For us, this will be the southern limit of our lifetime.”
Some 84 kilos of Irish beef free-falling toward the Heineken-bottle green river below. Checklist completed; seen it, done it got the T-shirt… now for some rugby.
The free-fall from 9,000 feet lasts around 20 seconds. It was terrifying, exhilarating and a serious rush for the senses – it was almost as good as beating Australia in Eden Park.
The Happy Camper puffs out his cheeks in an exhausted exhale. His camera battery is dying, the memory is full and he has just been to Milford Sound, the place New Zealanders go to sight-see.
“Tosh’s catchphrase for the week has been “schnappy schnappy” as every time a scenic vista presents itself he is compelled to take a photo of it. The words echo around the cabin as often as the steering is turned.”
“It feels so long ago since the dizzy highs we experienced in Auckland, but you can always rely on the Irish to make you feel part of a group, at kick off 20 people have drifted in.”
“It was another early start in Wellington this morning, 7 am at the ferry terminal. With the Aussies in town, we shacked up on the outskirts of the city, in Porirua, and catch a train to spend Friday evening chanting ‘USA, USA’”
In between witnessing historic Irish victories, and hob-nobbing with international rugby managers, our man in the van hits New Zealand’s adventure sports.
“As optimistic a bunch as we are, we presumed that Ireland would finish second in this group and so, we have tickets to the wrong quarter-final. They are both in Wellington however, so the hope is that we can make it to both.”
The bags are unpacked(ish) and there’s a city waiting to be explored. The Happy Camper and his merry men soak up the sights and sounds of Auckland before tomorrow’s big match.
TWO ALL-IRELAND SEMI-FINALISTS confirmed, two more to follow today.
Another big Croke Park double-header lies ahead, with the mouth-watering meeting of Armagh and Galway kicking us off.
Kieran McGeeney’s Orchard county have serious momentum behind them after qualifier wins over the usurped All-Ireland champions Tyrone and Donegal, but they face a stiff challenge from Connacht kingpins Galway next.
It’s a novel pairing, and it’s hard to call which way it will swing. But this is a massive opportunity for both counties.
Another standout tie follows as Kerry and Mayo gear up to do battle.
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No strangers to the business end of the competition at this stage — or each other — the winners of this heavyweight clash will go up against Dublin in the semi-final.
Who will win today’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals?