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told by some upset Blue Jays fans<br />
to save our money and not bother<br />
buying tickets but we’d come this<br />
far, we weren’t about to back down<br />
now. The Rogers Centre is a huge<br />
stadium and, like every other sport<br />
in the city, well supported by the<br />
Toronto natives. Baseball is the<br />
polar opposite to rugby league –<br />
slow and far less intense – but I can<br />
see the appeal. It’s nice to be able<br />
to just sit there and watch with a<br />
beer in hand.<br />
Saturday was game day – the day<br />
we’d been looking forward to for<br />
months. Toronto Wolfpack are a<br />
full-time team with players who<br />
have played at the very top of the<br />
rugby league tree. Our team was<br />
packed full of youngsters who train<br />
twice a week. We were up against<br />
it but I was confident the players<br />
would do themselves proud. We<br />
were missing a good six or seven<br />
players with injuries or who were<br />
playing for England at the student<br />
World Cup in Australia. The players<br />
who came in were good enough<br />
though so we wouldn’t be using<br />
any excuses.<br />
In the end we were well beaten 62-<br />
10 but every single <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> player<br />
did themselves proud. A result like<br />
that is to be expected when a fulltime<br />
side of experienced Super<br />
League and NRL players face off<br />
against a team that has only been<br />
going four seasons. Our head<br />
coach was more than satisfied with<br />
the effort and desire his players<br />
showed. Unfortunately the effort<br />
came at a cost with a number of<br />
players injured during the bruising<br />
encounter. Alex Gaskell, who was<br />
playing for the first time since his<br />
leg injury in March, left the field on<br />
crutches. Phil Cowburn suffered an<br />
injury to his knee, our captain Steve<br />
Parry’s game was also cut short<br />
after his ankle gave way in the<br />
tackle. Danny Fallon had his arm<br />
in a sling and Luke Stephens, who<br />
did so well to set up Lewis Reece<br />
for our final try, had concussion.<br />
Rugby league is a brutal sport.<br />
The scenes after the full-time<br />
hooter will stay with me for a<br />
long time. It’s worth noting that<br />
in League 1 the post match<br />
etiquette is – shake hands with<br />
the opposition, walk back to the<br />
changing rooms, get changed,<br />
have a plate full of pasta then pile<br />
onto the bus home. Toronto do<br />
things a little differently. The seven<br />
thousand spectators all vacate<br />
their seats and head to the pitch<br />
side to shake hands and take<br />
selfies with the players. The fans<br />
really appreciate the effort and the<br />
players, having run their blood to<br />
water in 25 degree heat, are all too<br />
happy to pose for photographs.<br />
The most pleasing thing, from a<br />
rugby league perspective, was the<br />
number of children and women<br />
in attendance. Children are the<br />
future of our sport and you have to<br />
applaud the Wolfpack for getting<br />
so many youngsters through the<br />
gate.<br />
The fun doesn’t stop there<br />
though. At the end of the pitch<br />
the Wolfpack have installed beer<br />
tents. What better way for players<br />
and fans to mingle after the game<br />
than over a couple of cold beers<br />
and a hotdog? On Saturday I<br />
was approached by countless<br />
Wolfpack fans who wanted to buy<br />
me a beer, I think they thought<br />
I was a player! Canadians have<br />
a reputation of being friendly<br />
and polite but the guys at the<br />
Lamport Stadium really do go<br />
out of their way to make you feel<br />
welcome. I’ve been to many of<br />
the biggest sporting events in the<br />
world – Wimbledon, the Open<br />
Championship, Premier League<br />
football and Test Match cricket<br />
and I’ve never felt more welcome<br />
than I was on Saturday evening in<br />
Toronto. I’d go back in an instant if<br />
travel wasn’t such an issue.<br />
After the game the players and<br />
staff headed into town for a few<br />
well earned beers. On Sunday<br />
morning we ventured back to the<br />
city centre and enjoyed a fine meal<br />
at the harbour. Then the dread<br />
started to set in – our Canadian<br />
adventure was almost over. We<br />
made our way back to camp and<br />
packed our suitcases ready for the<br />
flight home.<br />
Rugby league is a fantastic sport<br />
and it’s heartwarming to the<br />
people who care about its future<br />
to see the Canadians have taken<br />
to it so quickly. To get over 7000<br />
people to watch what is a brand<br />
new sport is nothing short of<br />
incredible and everyone at the<br />
Wolfpack should be very proud<br />
what they’ve achieved in such a<br />
short space of time.<br />
I’d like to finish by saying thank you<br />
to the fans who came to the game.<br />
You made us feel so welcome<br />
and all the players and staff were<br />
blown away by your generosity<br />
and warmth. Rugby league is the<br />
greatest game of them all, you’re<br />
in for quite a journey with the<br />
Wolfpack. I hope our paths cross<br />
again one day.<br />
23<br />
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