The Steelformers!

We took in the local rugby game with Cash on Saturday. As an intro to the game, their mascot, "Barry the Butcher" came out and pretended to tear up the opposing team the West Coast, with his meat cleaver. It was pretty scary when you consider that most US mascots are big, furry, huggable stuffed animals!



But don't worry, even though Barry the Butcher is weilding a meat cleaver and has multiple sharp knives hanging from his belt...he'll still take time out from butchering the opposing team to shake hands and hug the kiddies! (I guess that's one thing that's universal...kids LOVE mascots, even if its scary Barry the Butcher!)

Barry the Butcher is looking on as Wanganui trounced West Coast, 31 to 9. Big win! We are slowly learning the many rules of rugby, but still miss out on some of the nuances. The local fans were loud and proud, as the Wanganui team is similar to a Minor League baseball team in the US in rank. Some of many things we heard shouted were: "Oh, ref, why don't you take a time out to put in your contacts?!" "BRILLIANT!" "Tear his head off!" "Go Blue!" "Let's go Wanganui!" (Note, cheering for a town with 4 syllables takes a minute, this is for the really dedicated.) "Ruck him!" Our favorite is when a rather portly front man from the opposing team ended up having to move the ball a bit, and the Wanganui crowd shouted all variations of how he had forgotten to stop by McDonald's for his breakfast.

We ended up trying out the local Irish pub that night, and lo-and-behold, both rugby teams were there, in their blazers and ties, drinking pints and eating HUGE steaks. They all had bloodied and swollen faces. And we noticed that even in jackets and ties, really big guys just look a little silly (a-la Arnold Schwarzeneger in a suit). Some of them were even drinking Smirnoff Ice instead of beer, which Patrick and Cash thought was pretty funny, as its pretty much a sissy drink in the US. We did NOT however mention this to the rugby players. Big rugby players, as I pointed out, can drink WHATEVER they want...and it is not sissy.