After one heady week on tour 18 of 21 members of NYM returned from Buenos Aires this Sunday bearing the scars of tough rugby against huge beef-fed Rancheros and countless nights on the town. Here's what can be told, in the words of tour scribe Ben Whitney...

NYM Tour. The Place: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Dates: March 16-24, 2007.

The Tourists: Dave Elwell (Captain), Chris Agnew, David Levine, Ryan McElduff, Peter Galen, Nick the Greek, Andrew Mezo, Mike McNeil, Mike McNamara, Mike Bury, Cody Eckstein, Angel Rodriguez, Josh Yakatan, Rich Richardson, Danny Sonon, Patrick Schall, Luca Loguercio, Bill Ezzo, Mike Martin, Ryan Hodson, Ben Whitney.

Game 1: After getting out of JFK 4 hours late due to weather, the tourists arrived in Buenos Aires at about Noon on St. Patrick’s Day to play a 3 PM game against old friend Gabriel Fuoco’s club called Club Argentina de Rugby. We pretty much checked into the hotel, dropped off our bags, and then got straight on a bus after 16 hours on a plane. Good times. NYM faced an uphill battle against a seasoned and much bigger side. We allowed 2 first half tries, but fought hard through a feisty half that ended 0-12. After giving up an early 2nd half try, man-of-the-match Danny Sonon’s big hits and aggressive running gave us a big lift late in the first half and into the second. The payoff was an Angel Rodriguez score from 5 meters out after some excellent phases early in the second half. Our defense was solid for the rest of the half and we had some big hits in the forwards, but our tanks were empty late as penalties and sloppy defense resulted in 2 late tries and a final score that didn’t display the massive effort. After the game, Gabby and his club treated us well. We were signing autographs for local kids (after we figured out what they wanted) who wanted to trade for any NYM gear we were willing to part with.

Game 2: On Thursday night, we tried to regroup for a friendly match against San Isidro Club [3rd team, B-side]. They are one of the top clubs in Argentina and field over 9 sides. Several of their top players are on the national team and 5 or so play professionally in Europe. We fought hard, but they were too much for us. We had our hands full with lighting quick attacks and powerful forwards all night long. Although we raised our game in the second half, we never had much of an answer. The end result was a disappointing defeat, but NYM played with tenacity and spirit. We were treated well at the after-party, but it was a Thursday and they all had to work the next day.

Other: All in all, an amazing time. Here’s a quick recap of the rest of the main activities:
Saturday: After endless travel – rugby game, after party/dinner, St Patrick’s Day bars and a club until the wee hours. Marathon.
Sunday: Boca Jr’s soccer game amongst some of the craziest fans in the world.
Monday: Bus tour of Buenos Aires, huge barbeque at Gab’s place.
Tuesday: Training, Wine tasting.
Wednesday: Training, Tango lesson and show. Happy 30th to Bury.
Thursday: Rugby game, after party/dinner, Club 69 dressed as superheroes. Best costume went to Angel Rodriguez as El Luchador. Worst: Danny Sonon – drunken German. Happy Birthday to Creepy Irish Mike (not to be confused with Dirty Irish Mike).
Friday: Kangaroo Court (Honorable judges Agnew and Elwell). The punishments for a week of idiocy were tough but fair.
Saturday: Last day boozing.

Fill in all the rest with steak dinners, Kilkenny runs, drinking games, chasing around the gorgeous Argentinean women, releasing of our inner-Burys, and endless laughs. In BA, dinner is around 10, people go out around 2, and clubs can stay open until around 11 AM. Most mornings several of us could be found at the Alamo, an all-night bar owned by an American that Luca discovered. It wasn’t hard for us to remember The Alamo. Tour rules were always in effect.
The coveted BBOT (Best Bloke on Tour) was given to Mike Bury for his ridiculous antics. He considered staying there to run for Mayor.
We had some troubles at both airports, but we powered through. Although we lost both games, it was a huge learning and bonding experience for all.

[And what of those 3 stuck Tom Hanks-like in BA? It's ok, they have later flights, we promise!]

I’d tell you more, but what goes on tour stays on tour.

El Scribador - Ben Whitney