Preparations Underway and Almost Completed

Well, preparations are underway for my trip to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup:

• Airfare Purchased - PHX - LAX - SYD - AKL
• Hotels booked and confirmed
• Rental Car, check!
• Match tickets, Check!
• International Cell Phone - pending

From September 8th through the 28th I will be touring the North Island of New Zealand. Camera and blog at the ready to chronicle the trip of a lifetime. I went to the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. Just four games during the first round, but I was hooked. I knew I had to go to the next one. For four years I've been planning, saving and plotting. Now it's here. 3 Weeks in New Zealand, 11 matches, what could be better.

I hope to be able to provide regular updates on this blog so that family back home in New England and Atlanta, as well as friends and teammates back in Arizona can get a feel for what a World Cup event is like. Hopefully, the guys on the Storm Rugby Club will be inspired to work on their fitness during this time, ready to propel themselves into a very aggressive rugby season at home which kicks off with a trip to Dallas in October and concludes with a trip to England in June of 2012 for an international tournament of their own.

For now, it's time to count the days....make sure the camera is ready, and invite all of you to follow my adventure to New Zealand! In the coming weeks I will provide a preview of some of the Tournament and preview some of the areas I will be visiting. For now, enjoy this preview of the Rugby World Cup 2011.

Mike