"
"It's pretty unbelievable," said Carla Brash, who is taking time off from her job as a certified athletic therapist with the Kingston Athletic Therapy Centre to work as an athletic therapist with Team Canada."
...
"
But last week, Canada opened with a 25-20 win over Tonga in Whangarei, opening the eyes of New Zealand fans in the process.
"Oh my goodness, it was unreal," Brash said of the upset in front of a sellout crowd of close to 18,000 at the Northland Events Centre.
Canadian flanker Adam Kleeberger, who has a bigger, bushier beard than ex-Kingston Kimco Voyageurs assistant coach Peter Goulet sported in the 2009 RBC Cup run, also has become a mini-celebrity in New Zealand.
"They're selling fake beards," Brash said. "They are sold out everywhere. ... He's had that beard going for seven or eight months."
Brash has worked for rugby teams for the past nine years, leading to a call from the national program four years ago.
In November, she found out she was heading to the biggest stage in the sport. The journey started with a two-week training camp in Australia.
"It's been a goal of mine to make it here," she said. "It's a huge accomplishment for me."
While it sounds like a dream trip, there has been precious little down time — Brash has fit in some deep-sea fishing (one Canadian player actually caught a shark, she says) and a wine tour.
On her first day off of the tournament earlier this week, Brash said she simply stayed in her room and watched TV.
"There are lots of bumps and bruises and things like that," Brash said of the daily grind of working for a rugby team. "It's such a physical sport that you treat them every day, sometimes twice a day.""
