BLACKS GOES TO SYDNEY

Charmaine Lim

OF EXPLORING, EXPERIENCING, AND RUCKIN' GOOD RUGBY.

In the Departure Hall of the Singapore Changi Airport, 7th December 2005, there gathered a group of disparate individuals on a mission: to embark on a journey to the land Down Under to indulge in a bit of rugby. Their individual aims and goals lay latent in themselves, and each bore a sense of purpose on this trip, of something greater in them that they had to achieve. 2 DVT inducing flights and a mind-numbingly long transit in the world's dullest airport later, we arrived in the Sydney International Airport for our um, Virgin experience of ruckin' good times in a country not our own.

The sights were new, the city vibrant and buzzing with metropolitan energy. We acclimatized fairly quickly to the cool, dry weather (yes, lungs the size of raisins et al). Whether this was best done through our trainings or the exploration of the city('s shops) is a matter on which I reserve my judgment.

"Exploration" is probably the best word that encapsulates the entire Sydney experience. It was a journey of personal exploration - of one's strengths and weaknesses in the game, lessons learnt in our matches against girls bigger, stronger, tougher and more experienced than we were. It was a time for exploration of our goals as a team, and individual goal-setting for us all as well. It was also the exploration of the adeptness of our culinary skills, of each others' idiosyncrasies and, in some instances, undergarment collection. It was the exploration and discovery of a great city with attractions nary a half hour's drive from our residence, of good, fresh food (and seafood, and beer), and most notably, of Krispy Kreme. Okay that's probably just me.

There were many lessons to be learnt from our short stint as rugby-playing girls from a foreign land - lessons about rugby, our team, our drinking abilities (and the art of genteel beer drinking), and most importantly, of ourselves. And, just like a Toohey's Black Ale mug, these lessons are free with the experience, to be brought home and put to good use in the future.