Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The Dust Settles

You might have wondered what happens after the last test! Well, we get a very welcome break, a few nights out and a few nights away from the pitch, gym, each other and well just a chance to relax and unwind!

It’s done and dusted, we salvaged some pride in the last match which was some consolation but not what we came here for, its dissappointing to not win the series no matter how you feel you did personally, it’s a team thing and failing to reach our goal is never easy to accept...

The whole tour was of course an amazing experience, on and off the pitch, one I am very proud to have taken part in. Personally I have had a great season, a grand slam win and Heineken Cup victory, while it would have been great to cap it off with victory in the Lion’s test series I really can’t complain too much. Right now I am off on (what I feel!) is a well deserved break for a few weeks before next season so all that’s left to do is thank the people who followed the blog and for not only reading here but for all the support from back home and those who came down with us. Thanks for all the kind messages they were really appreciated throughout. Roll on next season – another big year in Irish sport!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Lion's Pride

Well, it was not the dream test match leveler we were all hoping for, in fact it’s gutting to have held onto something for such a large part of the game and to probably have been the better side until that smash right at the end. It's heartbreaking, I'm happy with how I played and I think that as a team we dug deep and performed really well.

I suppose that what makes things just harder to take, when guys are playing out of their skins, and putting in some fantastic performances, to fall just short is heartbreaking. We know South Africa play a physical game and probably two of our key guys in the centre took the brunt of that. It was unfortunate to lose those guys. But we will pick ourselves up now and a 2-1 defeat will be much better than 3-0.

Saturday night was a sombre affair with a few beers and a lot of aches and pains.It's over now and we have to look forward to the next challenge this weekend. We have had a few days off and got to go on safari in the Kruger national park, I even got to pet a Lion, not something you get to do everyday.

So back to training tomorrow and focus on salvaging some pride and a result on Saturday and then it’s the long awaited holidays. It's been such a busy year, time has flown by, but I'll admit, holidays are a very welcome addition, some time to rest and recuperate. Fingers crossed for a big performance on Saturday and I will finish my season on a high!