Hi Murph, My sis and I attended the game. We're from the Tampa Bay area so it was about 20 degrees colder than we're used to so brrrr lol..  During the game it would drizzle and stop then start back up.  As soon as we finally got inside I went right to the merchandise booth and got a scarf, 2 t-shirts and 2 hats.  They gave out brochures and a nice sized Rabbitoh card board that explained some of the ruby game vs. american football and you could roll it up and shout out 'try' for a touchdown.

I noticed Russell as soon as he came out onto the field.  He spent most of the time talking to reporters, speaking for the game day event, or being next to his team. I was impressed by that very much.

I took a lot of pics I'd be happy to share, unfortunately the big bunny ones are a bit on the fuzzy side, as I didn't have the greatest camera.

The vibe at the game was as huge as the turn out, it was packed.  As they had previously stated during the pregame (which was cool to watch Spud play!!) the game of rugby is really fast paced and not boring at all.  I'm not the biggest football fan out there as I find the NFL games are too long and drawn out.  The Rabbitohs seemed to do more warm ups prior to the game than the Leeds were doing.

The OCC guys game out and spoke and Russell came up behind Mikey and kinda tackled him gently from behind, very cute!!!  Alot of 'Go Blue' was mentioned that got a big boo from the crowed as Jacksonville is very near Gator Land (Wolverines kicked the Gators during New Years).  Then they presented the bikes the OCC made and wow those were impressive, Russ started up the Rabbitoh one, both bikes were incredible!  They also announced that Russ and Peter along with Layne Beachley would be ambassadors (can't remember if that was 1/2 time or pregame).

We saw so much action and it was heart wrenching to watch the Leeds score so big during the 1st half of the game.  But what a comback the Rabbitohs made!! So very impressive.  And these guys are huge, through their shoulders, biceps, and thighs wow!!! All lean mean muscle machines.  Saw some really tough tackles, I gotta say ouch!! And very impressive to see one guy being tackled by 3 other guys and see him move them down the field a good few yards, some touch guys these rugby players!!

During breaks and 1/2 time they would block off the entrance to the stadium (going from the bleachers to the inside).  So my sister went for a bathroom break and was standing there waiting to go inside when she realized the guy she kept bumping into was Russell, he was standing right there infront of her.  She manages a weak 'hi' and he gave her a smile and nod.  She said he was very down to earth and signed autographs for a bunch of people and let them take pictures.

After the game the place cleared really quick.  This is when we got to go take some fantastic pics of the bikes. 

We got to the post game event at Mavericks around 6:30pm.  The door guy at Mavericks told us Russell was eating at a restaurant at The Landing and would be there shortly.  So I hung out by the top of the escalator (the only way into Mavericks) and sure enough about 10 minutes later he came up.  I was close enough to slap him on the hiney but I didn't, I behaved.  He went into Mavericks which had 2 levels.  The upper level was for VIP's and the only way you could get in is if you had a pink bracelet given to you.  Unfortunately I didn't have a pink bracelet.  So most of the rugby guys (very few if any Leeds were at Mavericks) were upstairs in the VIP section for the remainder of the evening.  I never saw Russell again.  But I was impressed with Dean Widders.  He came downstairs and took pics and gave autographs and mingled with anyone that approached him. I finally got up my nerve and approached him (I'm incredibly shy, so this is huge for me) shook his hand and got him to sign my game day shirt.  AND  he took a fantastic pic with my sis.  This guy is a sweet heart.  None of the other rugby guys did this (that is mingle with us non VIP's).  On a grumpier note, the door guy told us that they would be introducing Russell onstage at Mavericks.  So we stayed, and stayed, etc.. It never happened.  The VIP section cleared out by 9pm.  Very unimpressed by Mavericks, it's just a bar with a dance floor and dj and because they don't serve food you can smoke in there, disgusting for me...  So basically our VIP ticket to the post game event was a covercharge into a bar.  Thank God I didn't take my 16 year old nephew with me as planned, as we wouldn't have gotten through the door as you had to be 21 to enter and I don't recall seeing that warning on the ticket.

But we had a great time even though we froze our Tampa Bay butts off!!  I got to see the Rabbitoh's and Russell and meet Dean Widder's, so I am one happy lady!  We stayed at the Embassy Hotel which was fantastic even though it was enemy camp, yes the Leeds stayed there.  Yes it was just awful seeing a bunch of hot rugby players walk around without shirts on or dripping wet from a dip in the pool, just horrible (wink wink).

Trina