Ireland's Call was well and truly answered at the weekend as we defeated the US Eagles by a record 83-3 margin. "So what?" I hear some people say. "Surely we should beat the States comfortably?" That may well be the case but to score 80 points against any opposition means we must be doing something right.
Following the Argentina match home truths were aired, and effected, and a genuinely solid 80 minute performance was achieved, albeit against the limited Eagles. Thirteen tries in the match was definitely unlucky for some but welcome relief to all involved and a fantastic springboard to take us on into Canada.
For those who didn't get to see the game there were some excellent individual performances; a hat-trick of tries by Mike Mullins and a brace each for new caps Guy Easterby and Geordan Murphy, who at times both oozed class. The match, which also saw the introduction of five new caps, has helped ease if not erase thoughts of Buenos Aires, and the team's morale is off the chart.
The day before the game most of the players were in their rooms resting up, watching a movie about a college footballer called Roody. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, he finally played in a match and was hoisted off the pitch by his team-mates . Well, we now have our own "Roody", a certain Frank Sheahan. After "benching" so many times and not getting an opportunity, the whole squad is delighted that he has the first of what will undoubtedly be many caps. Way to go Roody!
To say we had a couple of scoops that night would be an understatement, but with the relatively short trip to Toronto ahead, travelling with a headache seemed to be a fair trade.
Everything was going smoothly, all bags on the bus and all hotel accounts paid. Even checking in at the airport was hassle free. We boarded the plane on time, which by the way was around 3 o'clock, and at that point came the first of what turned out be many communications over the tannoy from the bursar.
Sadly, due to a ferocious storm over Toronto, the plane would be delayed by one and a half hours. "But we do have a movie for you to watch," came the tannoy address, The Hurricane. How apt.
With a sigh from the entire plane, headsets were donned and the movie began (the movie is about a boxer and not the weather by the way). It was actually quite comical that at every critical moment in the film, to accompanying groans from virtually everyone, the dialogue was interrupted by the bursar, telling us that we were still awaiting take off. Well done Trigger!
And so we come to the last leg of our Americas' tour, Canada. We trained for the first time on Monday and, as you could expect after such a fine win, everyone was eager to train well and continue from where we left off a few days ago.
Barring a few slight niggles and the loss of the "Claw" to family commitments, we are virtually at full strength and chomping at the bit for this weekend's final test. We know that the warm reception we have received already will be equally matched by heated exchanges on Saturday, and that only our best possible performance will do.
In the meantime, we are relaxing and have planned a trip to Niagara Falls. As for going over them in a barrel, maybe, as long as I can drink the contents first.
In conclusion, all good things must come to an end so here are my final thoughts on the tour. The failure of the Argentina match has been surpassed by success in the USA game combined with the exciting and at times innovative play of the new caps on tour. The management have controlled each aspect of the tour outstandingly and friendships have been formed or renewed.
And I'll leave you with another song lyric. Our goal was to win three out of three but we let the first one slip away. So, if we beat Canada at the weekend, in the immortal words of Meatloaf, don't be sad, 'cause two out of three ain't bad.
