Each summer, Michigan Rugby sends one or two select players to New Zealand to train with our partner club, Poneke FC. Jack Regan, Zach Small, and Max Nelson are there now, and Jack is writing about his experiences abroad each week. This post concerns May 19- 25.
The week started with the arrival of Max, the 3rd and final player to come over here to Poneke. This week was definitely an interesting one, sorting out housing and starting our new job at Aspen Landscapes. We’ve finally got used to the bus system here and have been traveling all around the city and using it to get to work.
Practice has been intense and fun like always. We usually do drills with the Premier men’s team to start and then split off and practice our own plays. It’s been great practicing with everyone and learning from coaches and teammates alike. Unfortunately, this didn’t translate well on Saturday as we lost our match. However, Max did make his debut and nearly scored a try so not all was lost. Our sorrows were short lived as we had a celebration at the Newtown Bowling club that night to send off our British teammate, Charlie, who played his last game and was set to head home.
The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxing and hiking. We were all looking up hikes to do in Wellington and settled on the Red Rocks coastal walk. We took the bus out far to the coastline where we admired the crashing waves and tall mountains that ran all around the island. We went at the right time and were able to catch a pretty sweet sunset too.
Overall, it’s been a good time and we’re looking forward to doing more hikes. Catch you in the next journal entry!
