Wellington Regional Stadium - Scotland vs Argentina

I did not get my wish that it stay dry for the game tonight. Nope, that game was very wet. Very wet indeed.

I had fantastic seats, 6th row at mid-field. It's the closest I've seen a rugby match since my brother played in wide open fields, and I'd just sit on a patch of grass a few feet beyond the touch line. I could've taken many great photos from that location, and I did for the first little while, when the teams were loosening up. The last one I took was during anthems, though, because as soon as the game started, the rain started, and it only got stronger and wetter as the match progressed. I kept my camera safely dry in my pocket for the duration.

I happened to be seated in a row full of Scotland supporters, but the rest of our section was dominated by excitable, bouncing, singing Argentinians. Up until then, my every run-in with the Puma fans had been entertaining and harmless. But with the game on the line, they were obnoxious, and got so crazy at every tiny Argentine gain that I was actually knocked in the head several times by their celebrations. That, combined with the cold and the rain, did not make me feel like being a very good sport, particularly when Scotland lost, 13-12.

Both teams were pretty evenly matched, and their defense was on the mark. Unfortunately the soaked field and slippery ball from the rain hampered the offense. There were a lot of ball handling errors, and almost all the points were scored on kicking. It was a pretty tense game, but Scotland controlled the scoreboard for most of the match. It was only in the last 10 minutes that Argentina scored and converted a try to go up by 1 point, and Scotland missed their last drop goal attempt only a moment later.

So 13-12 it ended. We drenched and heartbroken Scottish fans filed out silently while one of our own was named Man of the Match, and the Argentinians stayed in the stands, continuing their shouting, pogo-ing and singing in the driving rain.

I'm somewhat speechless, gutted at the loss, and possibly hypothermic, as I'm still not warmed up over an hour after getting back to the hotel and changing clothes. But I'm so glad I was there; I wouldn't have missed that match for anything.