SNOW storms during May are unusual in Spokane but nature turned on a spectacular welcome for the Outback Queensland Barbarians on Monday.
Spokane is a city of about 400,000 people in Washington State in North Western America. About 10 minutes after arriving in Spokane to play their first match of the tour the heavens opened and the surrounding air filled with falling snowflakes. The temperature seemed to drop by about 10 degrees as well, forcing a cancellation of the team's training session - one of only about three the players were hoping to have as a team prior to their first match together. Despite forecasts of more snow on match day, the skies were clear by kick off and the game was played in almost perfect conditions, much to the relief of the outside backs in particular.
WHEN the opportunity to see a live ice-hockey match arose in Spokane (pronounced Spo-Kan according to the locals), the Outback Queensland Barbarians jumped at the chance. Spokane’s local team, the Chiefs, play in the Western League Conference, a level below the National Hockey League, and are currently locked in a seven match play-off series for the championship against the Tri-State Americans. The Outback Queensland Barbarians arrived in Spokane just in time to see the third-play off match on Monday night. The fast pace of the match and the regular big hits as the speeding players players repeatedly smashed each other into the glass puck-boards resonated well with the rugby boys. Rockhampton’s Murray Brooks and Townsville’s Cory Camps talked their way into a corporate box, where they spent the entire final period drinking beer with the owner of the Chiefs. They even added a few public “Aussie Aussie Aussie” chants across the stadium from their balcony for good measure. For the record the Chiefs won 2-0, giving them a 2-1 lead in the seven match playoff series.
RUGBY is a game of traditions and one of the great traditions of any tour is that the youngest member must carry and never lose the team mascot. For three weeks Condamine Cods fullback Sam Rollinson from Brynog, Surat will carry a stuffed Merino ram named Cecil, named in honour of the veteran sire from the Footrot Flats cartoons. However, the chances of Cecil living longer than his cartoon namesake appear limited. Sam hadn't even left Brisbane without having to apply some bandaids to Cecil's legs following some damage sustained at the tour meet and greet the previous night. Even more damage was inflicted during the tour’s first night out in Vancouver, after which Cecil had been reduced to little more than a head and a fleece. Sam cleverly managed to get some running repairs done when he discovered that the Concierge of the Red Lion Hotel in Spokane had a wife who is a seamstress. Cecil returned looking miraculously as good as new, but alas he was in a bit of strife just 24 hours later after a hard night of celebrating the Barbarians opening victory. Cecil's chances of seeing out the final whistle appear to be lengthening by the day.
OUTBACK Barbarians skipper Trent Raymond is expanding his ever-growing media profile in the United States by the day. At both Barbarians matches he was interviewed by several television news crews wanting to know all about the boys from Down Under. The local paper in Missoula, the Missoulian, gave the Barbarians-Maggots match on Thursday front page treatment with a colourful story and a video, in which Trent is also interviewed. To see footage of the Outback Baa Baas and their skipper in action go to www.missoulian.com and follow the links to the multimedia section.
RISING fuel prices are rivalling the US Democratic leadership race as the main front page story in America’s newspapers at the moment. But fuel prices here still have a long way to rise before they reach the heights being paid in Australia. Gas prices at fuel stations passed by the Barbarians so far list regular petrol at US $3.80 per gallon, which equates to about US 84c/litre. There’s no doubt most Australians would still prefer that to the $1.50 prices looming at home at present.
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