Sunday 13 November 2005: It is 3.10pm on a sunny but cold sunday afternoon. I slept in til 9.30am this morning and completed my case study essay due on Tuesday morning. I have rugby training for an hour this afternoon from 4.00pm until 5.00pm. It has been a week of up and downs. In some subjects I am struggling in others I am doing well. I wrote 95% of an essay which earned my study group its first A grading this week which was a real highlight. I don't have much time today so I will keep the summary short this week.
Tuesday: After rugby training I joined some of my MBA students to attend the Oxford University Australia and New Zealand Society Ball. It was a fun night but as I was playing rugby on Wednesday I only stayed for 2 hours and drank the one beer. See photos below.
Wednesday: I played virtually a full 80 minutes of rugby on Wednesday as the blindside breakaway got injured in the first few minutes. It really tested my fitness and my defence got pretty sloppy in the second half but I scored a try off a rolling maul and got around the park causing a few turnovers, etc so I was pretty happy with my general performance. We beat the competition favourites Cardiff University reasonably easily in the end.
Saturday: Took the day off the MBA program and escaped from Oxford to watch Australia lose to England at Twickenham. Went with Josh a mate from the MBA program and ran into the Oxford University coach and captain in the stands. We had excellent seats and saw a couple of tries scored in our corner. Ran into ex-Churchie boys Andy McLeod, Al McLeod, Paul Allen and Richard Beconsall after the game and went for drinks with them in Twickenham. Arrived back in Oxford at midnight very tired from too much bus travel. Photos below.
Cheers,
Doug.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Willy O
Sunday 6 November 2005: Just following on from my post yesterday I have added some photos of the MBA crew that I watched the Australia v France Rugby Test with and also from the Oxford Blues game against Tonga.
The Blues played very well in pretty muddy and cold conditions but the Tongans, as expected, proved to powerful and won quite easily. An unexpected highlight was to see Willy O in the Tongan camp. After the game I bailed him up to be in a photo with me and my Aussie Greyhounds team mate Alex.
Willy is a giant and when I shook his hand it felt like I was shaking hands with somebody wearing a baseball mit.
Cheerio,
Doug.
The Blues played very well in pretty muddy and cold conditions but the Tongans, as expected, proved to powerful and won quite easily. An unexpected highlight was to see Willy O in the Tongan camp. After the game I bailed him up to be in a photo with me and my Aussie Greyhounds team mate Alex.
Willy is a giant and when I shook his hand it felt like I was shaking hands with somebody wearing a baseball mit.
Cheerio,
Doug.
Week 4 - Lecture Half Way Mark
It is hard to believe that I have completed four weeks of lectures, half this term's lectures and exactly 1/6 of my total lecture weeks at Oxford. This past week has been a complete blur as the days and nights blend into one. We lost daylight savings on Sunday morning which means that it is now getting dark at 5.00pm. Although the temperature should not be influenced by daylight savings almost simultaneously the air has turned much colder and it feels as though winter has arrived.
Highlights for week 4 include watching the Blues play NEC Harlequins on Monday night at Iffley Road. Harlequins fielded three England capped players in Will Greenwood, Tony Diprose and Mike Worsley. They defeated the Blues with complete ease, Greenwood in particular turned on an outstanding game. Who said tall skinny centres belong in the second row?
I played in the second half of the Greyhounds away game against Gloucester University on Wednesday afternoon. I came on at blindside breakaway and managed to attract enemies from the first ruck including a hot headed centre who kept offering me a free swing at him. I said I would be willing to oblige his request but only when the ref was not looking. I also put on a dubiously late tackle on their 5/8 to advise him of my general presence (technically it was a shoulder charge) but it was not spotted but this did not further endear me to the opposition. We ended up winning a pretty scrappy game but it consumed my entire Wednesday for a net game time of about 30 minutes. Given my shoulder injury it was also the first time I have ever played rugby in shoulder pads. Because the bloke who lent them to me is only a short slightly built hooker they sit very much like a girl's midrift top. For your viewing pleasure I have even included a photo. With my current red beard I feel very much like Ray Price circa 1985 Parramatta v Cantabury GF.
Tonight is the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes night and there are explosions going off left right and centre. Not a good night for study so I after working this morning on an essay I have decided to watch Australia v France in a bar tonight over a couple of quiet beers. I will be up early and at my desk again tomorrow because in the afternoon I plan to watch the Blues play Tonga at Iffley Road. I will take a few pictures, given that Dad played rugby at Oxford and worked in Tonga for two years I am sure it is a game he would be interested in watching.
Cheers,
Doug.
Highlights for week 4 include watching the Blues play NEC Harlequins on Monday night at Iffley Road. Harlequins fielded three England capped players in Will Greenwood, Tony Diprose and Mike Worsley. They defeated the Blues with complete ease, Greenwood in particular turned on an outstanding game. Who said tall skinny centres belong in the second row?
I played in the second half of the Greyhounds away game against Gloucester University on Wednesday afternoon. I came on at blindside breakaway and managed to attract enemies from the first ruck including a hot headed centre who kept offering me a free swing at him. I said I would be willing to oblige his request but only when the ref was not looking. I also put on a dubiously late tackle on their 5/8 to advise him of my general presence (technically it was a shoulder charge) but it was not spotted but this did not further endear me to the opposition. We ended up winning a pretty scrappy game but it consumed my entire Wednesday for a net game time of about 30 minutes. Given my shoulder injury it was also the first time I have ever played rugby in shoulder pads. Because the bloke who lent them to me is only a short slightly built hooker they sit very much like a girl's midrift top. For your viewing pleasure I have even included a photo. With my current red beard I feel very much like Ray Price circa 1985 Parramatta v Cantabury GF.
Tonight is the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes night and there are explosions going off left right and centre. Not a good night for study so I after working this morning on an essay I have decided to watch Australia v France in a bar tonight over a couple of quiet beers. I will be up early and at my desk again tomorrow because in the afternoon I plan to watch the Blues play Tonga at Iffley Road. I will take a few pictures, given that Dad played rugby at Oxford and worked in Tonga for two years I am sure it is a game he would be interested in watching.
Cheers,
Doug.
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