Once the Opening Ceremonies wraps up, the first day of competition will see six games, with every team playing a single game.

Time Game #, Teams
12:45 1 #1 NZL vs. #12 SUI
12:45 2 #2 CAN vs. #11 NED
14:15 3 #4 USA vs. # 8 JAP
14:15 4 #3 GBR vs. # 7 SWE
15:45 5 #6 AUS vs. #10 BEL
15:45 6 #5 GER vs. # 9 DEN

I'm trying to determine when the last time we played the Dutch... they weren't at the 2005 Astra-Tech Games in Sweden, where we played Germany, Sweden, Belgium, and Norway... they've never qualified for the Paralympic Games, and they weren't in our pool at either the 2002 or 1998 Worlds.

They haven't been to either of the international tournaments that we regularly attend in Tampa or Birmingham, and they've never been to a Canada Cup (which this year was quickly filled up by the top-8 countries in the world).

Eleven years ago... when the web was young... we met them at the 1995 World Championships in our first game... and won by a score of 33-24. We have two returning players from that game, namely 0.5 Jared Funk and 3.5 Garret Hickling. Judy Zelman, who played on that team, is now the chair of our rugby committee, and is the IWRF Secretary. She is in New Zealand, along with the only other present member of our 1995 Team, her husband, Eron Main, who is now the IWRF Competitions Commissioner. Eron was our Equipment Manager at the 1995 Worlds. On the Dutch side, they have one of the same team staffers, Joke Beekman, and high-pointer Ruud van Luijk.

If any of our faithful readers can point out a tournament since then where we've met the Dutch team, I'll give you credit in the blog.

I'm interested in a few of the other games, including a couple of games where the teams know each other well. The Swedes and the Brits will tussle again, with their most recent games at the 2006 Canada Cup both going to GB. We'll also get to see how speedster Shinichi Shimakawa and his Japanese teammates do against US players who Shin is now very familiar with. Denmark is a bit of a darkhorse, and one that we would have like to have played against in Gothenburg at the Astra-Tech Games. They are in the other pool, so we may again pass like proverbial ships in the night. The Danes take on Germany in the other game of European rivals.

~That is all~