Winners of Goff Rugby Report's USA v. Australia ticket giveaway have been selected.

Joe Parrish and Nick Udovich have both won two tickets to this weekend's clash with the Qantas Wallabies at Soldier Field.

Contestants were asked to give us their best first-game-as-a-fan story. We received many touching, interesting, and funny stories. The best were grouped into a smaller pool and two were picked at random from that pool.

We will share some of the other stories this week.

Here is Joe Parrish's story:

My first rugby match as a spectator was in Atlanta to watch USA v Uruguay qualify for the World Cup. It was a rainy morning that started with watching Kennesaw State v Georgia Southern and then moved into the main stadium for the international matchup. It was great as we have two guys on our club from Uruguay who came and had actually played with a few of the Los Teros. We were able to secure front row seats in the corner of the try zone and watching USA defend the scrum reset after reset 10ft away was amazing. (Even though they ended up giving up try.) We heckled Uruguay as much as possible and even got a look over the shoulder from Luke Hume. We think he was saying good job or shut the hell up. 

After the match we were able to shake hands with the USA players and take a few photos with the guys. After sitting next to an older gentleman and his wife the entire match talking about grass roots rugby and our club in Louisville and how great it is to see the game growing Chris Wyles walked over and gave them a hug and called them mom and dad. I looked at the man and said have a great day Mr. Wyles. 

It was a great day to watch rugby from it's most basic form in two university teams taking each other on all the way up to watching two countries battle for a spot in the World Cup. I will always remember that day and speaking with Mr Wyles as one of my favorite rugby moments. Little did we know USA Rugby had taken a photo of us and used myself and one of the other Louisville Rugby lads during their email campaign for USA vs New Zealand, painted faces and all. 

Here is Nick Udovich's story:

The first time I ever attended a rugby match was when I watched my best friend's dad play. His name is David Niu and he played for team USA. He is the sole reason I am playing rugby today. His passion for the game is what drove me to quit baseball and pick up a new kind of ball. When I say it was the best decision I've ever made I mean it. I am now the current co-captain of my high school team who have recently captured our schools first state title and even a title on the National level at HSRC. This experience was so significant for me because it began a journey for me in which i intend to keep alive at the collegiate level. As I begin my college search, Rugby is a huge part of my decision. I think these tickets would be in great hands with me because I've come a long way with the rugby culture and appreciate the game and have all the respect in the world for rugby. Thank you