Cardiff Blues!

On Saturday the 13th, my friend Laura B. and I went down to Cardiff Arms Park to see the Cardiff Blues last home match. They played the Zebres, an Italian team. It was exciting because three of the boys from the Wales International Team (Jamie Roberts, Leigh Halfpenny and Sam Warburton) were back and playing. Laura and I were star-struck. The weather, however, was miserable. The stereotypical British grey rain and chill was in full effect. But, that did mean that the match would be played in the mud. That promised to be exciting. And the tickets were only £5 each! How could we refuse?

Laura and myself, ready to cheer on the Blues! (Laura's photo)

We got some hot chocolate (more like hot water lightly-flavoured with chocolate. Disappointing) and a healthy serving of chips each. We were there early enough to see the Blue warm up a bit.

Cardiff Arms Park!

Jamie Roberts 

Leigh Halfpenny! 

Fun Fact # 27: Leigh was catcalled as he walked onto the pitch. I cracked up.

(L to R): Roberts, Halfpenny and Rhys Patchell

Sam Warburton in the middle. He's got quite a distinctive profile, doesn't he?

Team Stretch! 

The rain really started coming down in a bit.

While one half of the team practiced line-out, these guys practiced passing and carrying the ball. 

Look at the rain! 

The pitch was good and muddy by the time the match started up.

Zebres out on the pitch 

Here come the Blues!

Everyone had a healthy coating of mud on them in no time. 

Scrum! 

Of course, with mud comes slippery conditions and injuries.

I'm First Aid and CPR certified! Let me help you with the backboards!

It's times like this that make me want to work in sports medicine or something...

We did get to see some awesome slides and tackles. A Blues player grabbed a Zebre player by the knees, spun around him in the mud and eventually brought him down. So cool!

During halftime, they had some children's rugby going on. It was too cute!

The second half continued to be awesome. One of the best moments was when Jamie Roberts scored a try. It was his last home match with the Blues before leaving for Racing Métro in France.

I wish I'd gotten a picture of the try, but it seems like most of the action was at the other side of the pitch. Gutted (Disappointed).

However, I got to see some dirty (not muddy) play on the Zebres' part. There was some tripping involved. Luckily, the refs noticed it too.

Look at them. They changed kits for the second half!

Hi again, Leigh. 

Back to muddy! 

Final Score: Zebres 13, Blues 28!

Shot of the hi-fives for a good match

The Blues did a quick victory lap around the stadium

Leigh stayed out and signed autographs for the children who played at halftime. It was probably the most adorable thing I've seen in a long time.

Laura and I wanted to warm up, so we went into Queen's Arcade and I got a Vanilla Chai from Bubble Base. Sadly, the barista Laura and I dubbed "David Tennant hair guy" was not working that day.

I did, however, get myself some extra decoration for my room! I've pretty much outed myself as a drooling rugby fangirl, and I am ok with that.

Cardiff Blues flag! 

Cheers!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Check out highlights from the match here.