Rugby and beer - all in a days work
Meridian, the company that I work for, is a silver sponsor with Canterbury Rugby. Every now and then Canterbury Rugby will invite their sponsors, to whatever function, as a gesture of goodwill. Last Friday was such a function, and due to a coin toss win I was able to represent Meridian, along with 4 colleagues. The aim of the day was to see a pre-season friendly between Canterbury and Tasman. The itinerary was sent and I was surprised at what I saw. I realised that a coach was involved and the inevitable beer but to see that we would be stopping at two pubs en route to the rugby ground, see the match at 2pm, a few more pub visits on the way home and that home-time was open ended, wow! When we arrived at Canterbury Rugby Headquarters, at 10.45am, it finally dawned on me that I would be on board a booze bus!
Yep, the blue chilli bin was carried on to the bus, and as soon as we sat down we were all asked what we wanted to drink. Considering the first pub stop was only 20 minutes away, we declined - there was still a lot of day left to catch up on drinking!
First stop Baracoutta in Belfast. There the beers were already waiting for us, and food followed suit. Canterbury Rugby was taking their responsibility of host very seriously, with drink you should always have food!
After about an hour eating, drinking and being merry we set off, in the direction of Omihi Domain, or Glenfield Park, where the rugby game was being played. But in Amberley we had to stop off for a drink at the local hotel! Again, beers were poured freely and a lot was said about the interior of the pub.
After a quick drink at the Amberley Hotel we set off for Omihi Domain. We arrived a little after the start of the game, so hurried to a good spot to watch the game. Disappointed with the corporate seating arrangement we ended up standing at the side line instead.
Not sure what to make of the game. Canterbury had 60 players, they changed the entire team every 15 minutes. Tasman did not seem to have any subs, poor them! Anyway, the disruption of changing the tea, constantly must have had a bad effect, Canterbury ended up losing 30-18 or something like that. Honestly, my memory did become a little faded during the day.....
A Dan Carter in the making?
After the game we got back on the bus, reloaded the chilli bin with more beers and set off to the Waipara Hotel. Managed to sneak a quick 12 of Speights in, when no-one was watching. Yes, the only downside of the day was that TUI was the beer of the day (TUI is also a major sponsor). We ended up staying at the Waipara for quite a while, and were drinking with a real celebrity: Alex 'Grizz" Wylie. Sorry, forgot to take a photo, but then this man is not really any significance to me. I rather watch real football!!!
Food was brought out, too. Real pub fare it was, all fried and no-one could really work out if the snacks were chicken or fish. Not that it really mattered at this stage, it was hot and it was food!
We left the Waipara and drove towards Christchurch. It nearly looked like we were going back to the Amberley, but we were fooled. We ended up at a pub in Sefton, no idea what the name is as it did not have a sign outside. That did not matter, as beer flowed freely again and we even managed a game of darts. Team A against Team B but the team members played for which ever team, and even managed to hit the board a few times.
After Sefton we did finally set off homeward bound, but still, there was plenty to drink on the bus. I ended up back at work at 8.30ish, what a great long day, especially as I was away from my desk!
My day had not really finished, I met up with Pete and Helen and her friend in Sullivans, for a drink before we went to the Civic to see the band Elemeno P perform. A good gig it was, too! Thanks Helen, great birthday present!
After the gig I managed to have another drink, but felt fairly tired. Pete and I set off for home, and kind of sobered up when we realised that it was raining quite hard and we were cycling.....Soaking wet we got home, and fell asleep straightaway. All day drinking does wear you out!!!!
Yep, the blue chilli bin was carried on to the bus, and as soon as we sat down we were all asked what we wanted to drink. Considering the first pub stop was only 20 minutes away, we declined - there was still a lot of day left to catch up on drinking!First stop Baracoutta in Belfast. There the beers were already waiting for us, and food followed suit. Canterbury Rugby was taking their responsibility of host very seriously, with drink you should always have food!
After about an hour eating, drinking and being merry we set off, in the direction of Omihi Domain, or Glenfield Park, where the rugby game was being played. But in Amberley we had to stop off for a drink at the local hotel! Again, beers were poured freely and a lot was said about the interior of the pub.
After a quick drink at the Amberley Hotel we set off for Omihi Domain. We arrived a little after the start of the game, so hurried to a good spot to watch the game. Disappointed with the corporate seating arrangement we ended up standing at the side line instead.Not sure what to make of the game. Canterbury had 60 players, they changed the entire team every 15 minutes. Tasman did not seem to have any subs, poor them! Anyway, the disruption of changing the tea, constantly must have had a bad effect, Canterbury ended up losing 30-18 or something like that. Honestly, my memory did become a little faded during the day.....
A Dan Carter in the making?
After the game we got back on the bus, reloaded the chilli bin with more beers and set off to the Waipara Hotel. Managed to sneak a quick 12 of Speights in, when no-one was watching. Yes, the only downside of the day was that TUI was the beer of the day (TUI is also a major sponsor). We ended up staying at the Waipara for quite a while, and were drinking with a real celebrity: Alex 'Grizz" Wylie. Sorry, forgot to take a photo, but then this man is not really any significance to me. I rather watch real football!!!
Food was brought out, too. Real pub fare it was, all fried and no-one could really work out if the snacks were chicken or fish. Not that it really mattered at this stage, it was hot and it was food!
We left the Waipara and drove towards Christchurch. It nearly looked like we were going back to the Amberley, but we were fooled. We ended up at a pub in Sefton, no idea what the name is as it did not have a sign outside. That did not matter, as beer flowed freely again and we even managed a game of darts. Team A against Team B but the team members played for which ever team, and even managed to hit the board a few times.
After Sefton we did finally set off homeward bound, but still, there was plenty to drink on the bus. I ended up back at work at 8.30ish, what a great long day, especially as I was away from my desk!
My day had not really finished, I met up with Pete and Helen and her friend in Sullivans, for a drink before we went to the Civic to see the band Elemeno P perform. A good gig it was, too! Thanks Helen, great birthday present!
After the gig I managed to have another drink, but felt fairly tired. Pete and I set off for home, and kind of sobered up when we realised that it was raining quite hard and we were cycling.....Soaking wet we got home, and fell asleep straightaway. All day drinking does wear you out!!!!
posted by pandc at
18.7.08
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