Each summer, Michigan Rugby sends one or two select players to New Zealand to train with our partner club, Poneke FC. Jack Regan and Zach Small are there now, and Jack is writing about his experiences abroad each week. This post concerns May 26- June 1.
We had a bye this week, so lots of time to rest and relax after a tough loss the week before. The week was filled with practice and work like normal, with some delicious dinners from local places in Wellington mixed in. The food here is phenomenal with hundreds of different options within a 20 minute walk.
On Saturday, the team had a golf event held by our coaches, Tui and Alby. Everyone took turns hammering golf balls trying to see who could hit it further. I’m not much of a golfer so mine didn’t go that far. However, Large was right up at the top of the leaderboards for longest drive. I would argue he was the best because he consistently hit the ball well, but that’s a topic for another day.
That evening, we had another team bonding event in the form of “court”. I won’t go into further details but if you end up playing for Poneke (or almost any other club) you’ll find out. Lots of laughs and funny costumes made it a great night.
The big news for the weekend was that we could finally move into our new apartment. That Sunday, we spent the day cleaning and getting supplies for our new home. What a relief to have a permanent spot for the remainder of our trip. There haven’t been any new crazy hikes, but I’ll surely have some good new adventurous content in the next update. Cheers!
