Day 118 - Rugby Team BBQ - Cairns, Queensland - Coffee Maple BBQ Sauce

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Before our last Reserve-grade rugby game of the season the following day, one of the players hosted a Friday-night team barbecue. All were encouraged to bring their own meat to throw on the barbecue, with the usual salads and sides provided by the host.

Naturally I wasn't about to show up with food only for myself. To me, that seemed like an entirely UN-canadian thing to do, and I wasn't going to have any part of it. Besides - who doesn't like the guy who shows up with extra chicken wings for everyone??!! lol

Our game, the next day, went very well. Although I didn't score a try myself (darn), the team won by a fairly wide margin. All involved were to happy to have finished our season on a win, something to take into next year.

To my surprise, the A-grade coach asked me to dress in uniform as a back-up player for the A-grade's game immediately following our reserve game. Woooh! In the second half, with 10-minutes left to go in a tighly contested game, I got substituted into my usual second-row position. Faster pace, bigger guys, and a lot more skill ... but I held my own, I think. We did end up losing by 2 points, a bitter pill to swallow for the A-grades going into the playoffs the week following, but it was a great experience to be put into the game in the game's dying minutes. Several of the other players came up to me after the game to congratulate me on my game-play and skill improvement to date ("Not bad for someone who wasn't playing rugby until a month ago.") The opportunity to play in their game, a kind gift on the part of the coaching team (truly), was a great way to end my rugby experience here in Cairns.

*** Game pictures soon to follow, waiting to get copies from one of the game's spectators - I'm hoping there is AT LEAST one action shot of yours truly. (I gotta have SOMETHING to show you guys, don't I? *grin*)

Following our games, I was speaking with one of the assistant coaches about my short time with the Bulls. My comment to the coach was "In my quest to better understand this country, its culture, and its people, this rugby team has been the most Aussie thing, thusfar, that I have found." I would be lying if I said I didn't get choked up a little bit, for one small moment (I've always been a tad emotional when it came to playing sports). My rugby experience, although it wasn't something I planned on pursuing prior to leaving Canada, has become one of the great memories I will take away from Australia, even if I never play another match again in my life ... though, I doubt that will be the case. :)

I thought I would share our team's song also (as you can imagine, I've sung it a time or two while here in Cairns):

THEY CHEERED US FROM THE GRANDSTAND
THEY CHEERED US FROM THE HILL
THEY CHEERED FOR BARRON RUGBY
WE GAVE THE CROWD A THRILL
WE HAD A MIGHTY FORWARD PACK
AND VERY SKILFUL BACKS
AND WHEN WE THREW THE BALL AROUND
WE SLAYED EM IN THEIR TRACKS

CAUSE WE ARE, WE ARE, WE ARE, WE ARE, WE ARE THE BARRON BOYS
WE CAN, WE CAN, WE CAN, WE CAN DEMOLISH 40 BEERS
DRINK RUM, DRINK RUM, DRINK RUM, DRINK RUM AND SO SAY ALL OF US
AND WE DON'T GIVE A BUGGER FOR ANY OLD BUGGER THAT DOESN'T GIVE A BUGGER ABOUT US
GET STUFFED

I've made the above barbecue sauce before, pulling the recipe from Food Network Canada's website (http://www.foodtv.ca/). In their version, they use 2 tbsp of molasses instead of maple syrup. Alas, molasses is not a common item found in grocery stores, so I decided to increase the "Canadia" content with maple syrup. Easy to prepare, feel free to use instant espresso powder if (like most of us) you don't have an espresso machine in your home kitchen.

Ingredients: Coffee Maple Barbecue Sauce

· 1/2 cup ketchup
· 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
· 1/2 cup brewed espresso
· 1/4 cup cider vinegar
· 1 medium onion, coarsely, chopped
· 3 jalapeno, halved, seeded
· 3 garlic, cloves, crushed
· 4 tbsp Canadian Maple Syrup
· 2 tbsp dry mustard powder
· 1 tbsp water
· 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
· 2 tbsp ground cumin
· 4 tsp cayenne pepper

Chicken Drumsticks

· 12 chicken, drumsticks, well rinsed, patted dry
· coarse salt, and freshly cracked black pepper
· vegetable oil, for brushing grill

Method - Sauce:

1. Mix mustard powder with 1 tbsp of water to make mustard mixture.
2. In a saucepan, prepare the barbecue sauce by combining ketchup, brown sugar, espresso, cider vinegar, onion, jalapenos, garlic, molasses, mustard mixture, Worcestershire, cumin and cayenne pepper.
3. Bring to a boil on medium heat and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Let cool completely.
5. Put the chicken and the sauce in a resealable plastic bag and seal.
6. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.
7. Remove chicken from barbecue sauce.
8. Cook the barbecue sauce in a pot over medium heat.
9. Bring to a boil.
10. Reserve sauce for brushing the chicken.

Chicken Drumsticks

1. Heat a grill on medium heat.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Brush grill with oil.
4. Grill chicken for about 8 to 10 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through reaching an internal temperature of 175 to 180 degrees F, brushing with the sauce.