They say a week is a long time in politics. It's an even longer time in sport when you don't have a game to prepare for.
With Harlequins no longer in the Carnegie Challenge Cup, our coach Brian McDermott allowed us a few days off to recharge our batteries.
I made use of the time by taking my girlfriend away to Spain for five days but the break did not last for too long, though, and our return to training this week saw us put through one of the most intense weeks we've experienced so far this season.
Greg Inglis: The Blues' destroyer in Origin I
While it will only have been two weeks since our last game it does seem like forever since we played. I'm certainly eager to get going again - starting with Celtic Crusaders this weekend.
In between preparations for our return to action there was the small matter of watching the opening match of the 2009 State of Origin series.
Firstly let me state that I am a Blue, born in Maitland, New South Wales. I had a few of my fellow New South Welshman around to watch the action from Melbourne.
Luke Williamson is the only Queenslander in Quins' squad but he has been surprisingly quiet since his Maroons triumphed. He's kept himself to himself and barely said anything about it. I imagine had the result been the other way around us Blues would have been a bit more vocal.
Luke Dorn
Quotes of the week
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While the result was disappointing for us Blues (Queensland won 28-18), the game was a good one and the new-look NSW will be better for it in the long run having had something of a changing of the guard this year.
Luke Williamson is the only Queenslander in Quins' squad but he has been surprisingly quiet since his Maroons triumphed. He's kept himself to himself and barely said anything about it. I imagine had the result been the other way around us Blues would have been a bit more vocal.
Being from a strong rugby league area, I grew up knowing all about the Origin series. It was something you looked forward to every year as a youngster.
Unique event
It is something a unique event in the sporting world. It is a strange concept to base a game on where you played your junior rugby, but it has worked brilliantly.
Comparisons could be made to the All-Star games that take place in American sports, though they are a little less competitive than Origin footy!
When the series first started it wasn't touted to last too long. Now it is a year-on-year tradition that every rugby league fan looks forward to, including those who watch from afar in England.
What helps to make it such a fascinating spectacle is that you see club colleagues come up against each other - as the old saying in Australia goes, it's mate against mate, state against state.
You can go from playing together in a club side on a weekend to squaring up against each other on a Wednesday night. Everybody knows how much it means to each other, as well as those supporting each side.
It's an intense experience, one that can sometimes spill over. It has been known for club colleagues to exchange punches in midweek and then play alongside each other again at the weekend.
As for this year, I'm hopeful the Blues can rally and keep the series alive. They showed enough in the opening contest to suggest they can turn things around.
And finally...I would like to congratulate my Quins colleague Tony Clubb for his selection in the England squad to play France in Paris on June 13. He's a London boy who has worked really hard and is now getting the rewards for his efforts.
Comments (2)
Dave Evans says...
I believe the NSW's forwards will have to set a platform in the second game of the series to have any hope of squaring things up. They were second best in the first game by a long chalk and were outmuscled for the entire 80 minutes.. For me the game was disapointing and lacked the fire seen in 99 percent of what is the best contested game of rugby league in the world bar none. I believe the British game would benefit from a similar series so that players are picked for the national side based on how they go against each other man to man. There's nowhere to hide and the best man for each position is judged against his contemporary over the three games.
Posted 10:35 7th June 2009
Alex James says...
Although the Maroons had the best back line of all time, I thought that the Blues put up a good challenge. If the Blues cut out their mistakes, they could really challenge for this series.
Posted 22:26 5th June 2009