IRELAND v USA:AS THE resident and proud New Yorker in the USA Eagles team, Mike Petri was in demand when Eddie O'Sullivan announced his side to play Ireland yesterday. It felt almost intrusive to pry into his psyche on the eve of this match, and by the end of his round of interviews he already was a little emotional.
As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 nears, so media coverage intensifies back home and everywhere else, but for Petri, a thoughtful, well-spoken young man, the reminders are fairly constant anyway.
“It’s certainly come to the forefront more lately. I’m reminded of it all the time being back home. One of my best friends lost his father; he was a firemen and was killed. Guys I grew up with lost brothers and family members,” said Petri.
“There are constant reminders all the time. I pass by Ground Zero almost daily. You live with those things every day. With this game coming up, there has certainly been a bit more attention to it publicly.”
Petri and his team-mates have known for some time that they would begin their World Cup campaign with a game against Ireland on this day of all days.
“It’s obviously a very significant day for us and for all our fans and supporters back home. It will be very emotional and I do believe that it can only be a positive thing for us to follow that emotion,” he said. “The opportunity to represent your country on such a day as September 11th, albeit the 10th anniversary of the attacks, is a huge honour.”
Yet, one would imagine that there must be a risk of the Eagles bringing too much emotion to a day which will begin with them attending a memorial service 10 hours before kick-off.
“Too much of anything can be dangerous,” Petri admitted. “I think that holds true no matter what you do whether playing sport or however you live your daily life. There has to be a balance in everything you do. Certainly we’re all aware of that. It is important to funnel that emotion into positive energy.”
For the Eagles, playing a Tier One nation such as Ireland is a daunting enough prospect in its own right.
“Ireland are one of the top teams in world rugby. A side we watch regularly back home in the States in the Six Nations. They are the guys you’re watching, emulating and looking up to.”
For the majority of the Eagles squad, they don’t train as professionals, though Petri maintains that others teams are in a similar position and that they effectively do so for the month leading into this tournament.
Having played at Sale briefly and for the Dragons this season, he has seen “both ends of the spectrum” and like other team-mates sees this World Cup as an opportunity to earn a professional contract somewhere.
“I’ve played professionally for a year as well as juggling the daily life of an amateur player back home. Juggling that life can be difficult. Your days start pretty early in the morning with a 5:30 workout to jump start your day. You’ll have a full work day, whatever that may be.
“I’ve done quite a few different things. I’ve done plumbing for my dad; construction work for my uncle. More consistently, I’ve been doing some trading on the stock exchange in mid-town for a private bank.
“At the end of the day, you go home and you have to start all over again with your training. So sometimes I leave my house at 5:30 in the morning and mightn’t get back till 11:30 at night.
“There are a lot of guys on our team who are in similar positions. It’s not the most glamorous thing, but I’d have my life no other way. I love and enjoy it.”
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