NOOGA RUGBY

The bus left Friday afternoon filled with 'Nooga ruggers and
supporters alike with a destintation of the historic and beautiful
city of Savannah, GA! As soon as we were on the road, our tour rules
were implemented. This year's theme: The Simpsons! Character names
were carefully chosen and a lot of the Simpsons' characters were
represented, from Mr. Burns to Grandpa to Rod Flanders! Other rules
were also implemented and penalties enforced by Chief Wiggum himself!

Once arriving downtown at the Hilton, everyone went out and enjoyed
the live music, food and festivities of the local square and nearby
River Street. It was a "relatively" early night for most of the team
as we had to wake up on Saturday and prepare to play the Savannah
Shamrocks.

Kickoff was scheduled for 1100 am at an awesome pitch in Forsyth Park
which was surrounded by oak trees. It was a gorgeous winter day: 60's
and sunny!. Three periods were scheduled to be played so that
veterans and new players alike were able to get plenty of playing
time. The first period saw some promising play by veterans, though
with plenty of preseason rustiness to be worked through! Tries were
scored by Tom Snow, Daniel Tardy, Kirk Nuebauer and Steven Jones. As
the first period wound down, new rugby players were subbed in. All of
the veterans were impressed with their aggressiveness, heart and
determination in not allowing any tries! Well done! And for his runs
on offense and big attacks on defense, first timer Jamie Pettus was
chosen as man of the match!

After a fun social at Coach's Corner, it was back to the hotel for
Kangaroo Court! Where no rugger was safe! Punishments were doled out
for various offenses with the punishment seeming to always be Mr. Lisa Simpson having to wear skirts and bonnets! He got brought up on
charges a lot! Others had to come up with some pretty clever
explanations as to why they were wearing army gear, oven mitts, bike helmets, carrying a stuffed rabbit and dressing up for prom!

After court it was off to River Street! The evening started with feats
of strength at the nearest pub. With Barney/Ethan being the clear winner and Jack being the clear loser. There was plenty of representation of 'Merica thanks to Duff Man! As expected, we were there when the bars closed singing karaoke and dancing our legs off!

We left on time the next morning and returned to Chattanooga after
having a great weekend. Thanks to everyone who helped plan the trip.
It was a great bonding opportunity and we hope you can make it next
year!