Party week wrap up (part2) - a rugby fairy tale.

Apart from a birthday party there were a few other very exciting things going on in this house during this last week.

I think I've mentioned before that my girl is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to interests.
She loves her ballet and music and all things pink and purple, but one of her other passions in life is rugby.

She was fortunate enough to meet the Queensland Reds players after they won the Super 15's rugby championship last month  (link to the post here) 
This birthday week she was even more fortunate to meet the Australian rugby team. She got the chance to play a game with other children against some of the players and got the team to sign a poster which is on her playroom wall. - Lucky girl.

meeting the Australian rugby team and coach

Even though this was all a big thrill an even more exciting thing was yet to happen...

Sibs has a favourite team.

She has a Welsh mother and an English father and she now lives in Australia

...yet her favourite rugby team is the All Blacks from New Zealand!

Ever since a holiday to New Zealand a few years ago when we happened to be staying in the same hotel as the national rugby team she has taken an interest in the All Blacks. She would sit in awe when the players arrived for breakfast and watch their every move. She loved the media interest outside the hotel and the hype of the locals hoping to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
When we went back to New Zealand in January we had to go and visit Eden Park to see one of the stadiums where they play.



pointing out Eden Park, Auckland

They All Blacks were playing in Brisbane on Saturday and we found out that they were appearing in the city centre for an hour on Friday morning.
Could she get to see them?
We pondered over the fact that she would miss a morning of school  (bending those rules again!) and that she may not even get close if there were huge crowds there. In the end the decision was made to live the moment and give her the chance...
We let her know the plans the night before and she was so excited. It seemed to take her forever to fall asleep - it felt like Christmas eve!
The next morning instead of her school uniform she was proudly wearing her All Blacks rugby jersey clutching the biggest sketch book she owns complete with two pens just in case one ran out!

Now, here comes the really exciting part...



making sure Greg Clark knows how to pronounce her name!


Whilst waiting for the players to turn up, Sibs was asked if she would like to go on stage and perform the Haka. (The Haka is a traditional Maori dance that is performed by the All Blacks Rugby team before a game.) So off she went with another three children and stood in front of hundreds and hundreds of people (millions according to Sibs!) Not only that, but joining them on stage were six of the All Blacks team!

What a once in a lifetime experience!

She was then presented with a cap, a scarf , a rugby ball and a huge poster....and then got to meet and chat with the players.

She even made it onto the nightly ABC news and the Sky news!

(See the camera in the top left of the photo?)

How do you top that?

Well you top that by having your photo taken with your absolute favourite player...Ritchie McCaw.

She had the biggest grin on her face in that shot.



hmm...I wonder why he's her favourite player?



What an experience for a nine year old - a birthday week that she will remember for a long time.

Penblwydd Hapus my Sibsy girl.

xxx