Scotland and Edinburgh Rugby centre Nick de Luca writes his exclusive Rugby World Cup blog for www.edinburghrugby.org on the back of two victories over Romania and Georgia...
Well we have left invercargill with what we wanted, two wins and 9 points. But by no means in the manner we would have liked!
As I mentioned, the Romania game spawned every human emotion for the 8 guys not involved. I was hiding under my jacket, unable to watch, Graeme Morrison was praying and we were all in a state of complete shock when Romania went ahead with ten to play.
It was only when Simon crossed for his second try that we could truly relax! And we managed to come away with no injuries and 5 points.
Georgia were up next and with only 4 days between the games there were 11 changes to the squad.
There was a lot of talk around the strength of the Georgian pack and not only did our pack deal with them, they came out comfortably on top. The tight 5 in particular were outstanding!! And although it wasn't the same display of attacking skills as against Romania it was a mature and comfortable performance from the boys and we got the win we wanted.
Invercargill and the people will hold fond memories for us all but we have to move on and we have now arrived and settled in Wellington. But as always, arriving at a new place involves the “room mate lottery” and because we are here for 10 days it's essential to get a like-minded person. Luckily I got Mr Scotland himself, Cnris Paterson. However that meant I had to give him the bed with a view of the harbour and I am in what has been affectionately described as the cave.
Wellington is a beautiful city, the sun is shining, the views are spectacular and we are enjoying exploring the city. The boys have already visited the studio responsible for Lord of the Rings, and may or may not have had their photo taken with the oscars (due to legal reasons I am not allowed to confirm this).
Our next game is a week on Sunday so plenty of time to get the training in and make sure we are flying for what will be another tough game.
Finally a congratulations to Greig Laidlaw for signing a new deal with Edinburgh Rugby and to all the boys for their victory over Connacht!
Regards,
Nick de Luca
