Rugby World Cup. No. 8 ranked team in the world Ireland vs Rugby Minnows USA. A morning remembrance service in New Plymouth. Tears in the eyes of the USA team. The US Ambassador to New Zealand in tears. The US Marines band fly in from Hawaii and parade down the longest high street in the Southern Hemisphere. Both teams wear black arm-bands. The US team belt out the Anthem so they can be heard in New York. Rugby Park is full to capacity. And for 80 minutes we belt every green shirt we see. We play with ferocity, courage, spirit and heart. We lose (narrowly) by 22-10. We have never played better. God Bless America.
