Pulse check- Who is your Second team?

Anyone but these guys can win.... 

So another couple of days in Auckland enjoying the atmosphere for Sunday's two big rugby games from both codes. The city is now firmly gripped by Rugby fever with everyone in the city willing on the Warriors in the grand final on Sunday & the All Blacks match also on Sunday against Canada.

As ever during my time here I have been taking regular ‘pulse checks’ on the state of the nation to see how they feel on some crucial Rugby World Cup issues. I’m sorry that I have to be pessimistic but this week’s big question is needed. If some how the All Blacks Don’t win the RWC who would be the second choice team of the people? I decided to ask this tough question to some Auckland locals.

“I’ll go for England if the All Blacks can’t win…. But it will be the All Blacks.” Fiona Watson- Howick.

Fiona went for Martin Johnson’s men if the men in black some how can’t win the Webb Ellis cup come the 23^rd of October. “ I suppose I’m only going with them considering I was born there, & the final a few World Cups ago when they won it and beat Australia that was special for both us expats and kiwis. If they get through the pool on Sunday they could have an easy run to the final.” But Fiona who works in a organic food shop in East Auckland, is fully behind the AB'S. "I think they will win it anyway regardless, Auckland has been buzzing for months now, it's impossible for them NOT to loose."

“South Africa would be my second choice- they play the best rugby after the All Blacks.” Daniel Turnwell- Ponsenby

Barman Daniel thought the Springboks could be a reasonable shout for the final’s and could even defeat the All Backs on the way to victory. “I obliviously want the boys to win it just like everyone else, but if they don’t I’ll go for South Africa.” As he poured my cool afternoon beer on the viaduct, “they play good powerful rugby, exactly the stuff I enjoy watching. So If I had to choose it would be them.”

 Well as it’s stands they could meet in the Semi Finals if results play out in the next couple of days. The springboks had a slow start to pool D, but have looked stronger as each match has gone on. They certainly look good value betting wise with some sites to win outright at 8/1.

“I’ll go for Ireland, I always love a good underdog, so why not them.” Kristina King- Epsom.

 Expat brit Kristina went for Ireland in the unlikely event of All Blacks crash. “I have been living with a few Irish guys since I have moved to Auckland, and they our mad rugby fans; I even seen the Irish against the USA a few weeks ago.” Waitress Kristina chose the boys in green for other reasons aside of sharing accommodation with a few Irishmen. “Well after that big win against the Wallabies you have to follow the underdog, you never will beat the Irish!”

So here you go. I am preparing you for the worst All Blacks fans, if by some amazing coincidence you don’t make it to the Eden Park final come the 23^rd of October you can have a second team to follow. It’s a pretty enjoyable experience in following a second team at the Rugby World Cup. It’s a safety net if your team tends to fail in the tournament. I suggest you try it. My Rugby World cup has certainly been richer for following the All Blacks. Besides everyone will be happy as long as Australia doesn’t win! 

Mitch

Cocky Scotchmen & Passionate Singaporeans.

Actual Picture of the Scotchman who woke me up

After an intense couple of days travelling we finally arrived Auckland for our final group game against the Scots. I’m looking forward to this grudge match against our local rivals, especially after a rowdy night in our hostel in which a pair of Scotchmen proceeded to roll in at four in the morning waking us sleepers up. They proceeded to babble in 'Scotch' about how they could beat England by 8 points and dump us out of the competition.

It’s highly unlikely that this will be the case come Saturday evening as they talked up the Scotch game. After all the Scotch have not defeated the English by 8 points for over 25 years, the stats are on our side.As we pulled up in Auckland's city center I got out  my phone to catch up with some of the contacts I had gained over the last few weeks down on South Island. One of the first names to pop up was that of Keith Oh, a Singaporean who has an interesting and very expensive Rugby World Cup story.

We met Keith on our very first England game in Dunedin. As we chatted we talked all things rugby; particularly his love for the game and his passion to watch any rugby game going. But for this World Cup he has set himself a challenge with his friend Mauth to see as many matches as they could get their hands on.  As you can imagine Singapore is not the biggest force in Asian rugby. They currently lie 50^th in the IRB world rankings and our in the second tier of Asian rugby teams. So I find it puzzling that these two fella’s would have such a love for the support in a country which can barely fit into New Zealands lake Taupo in the North Island.

“We always played rugby at school, when we graduated we decided we would visit New Zealand and see some group games.” Said Keith over a Facebook chat, if you look at this page it’s full of photo’s with the stars at the Rugby World Cup. He has attended most training session within the Auckland area being snapped with the likes of Bryan Habana, Paul O’Connell & the world famous Quade Cooper. His fanatic nature for the game does go even further;

Keith & Mauth With Greg in Dunedin

At current count Keith & Mauth has seen 7 different games in the North & South Islands. They have taken in the following-

England V Argentina

Wales V South Africa

Fiji V Samoa

Australia V Ireland

Russia V USA

Argentina V Scotland

New Zealand V France.

All of this along with the two Semi-final match tickets & Quarter final tickets. It makes for staggering reading considering the expense and travel for each game. But when asked on how much they have spent I am given one answer; “It doesn’t matter how much they where- It’s not every day I can see the best players in the world playing rugby.”

I found it amazing how from all the time and money these two had such a deep rooted passion for the game- and how they have taken to  the tournament with open arms (and wide open wallets) to see as many teams as possible. The two Singaporeans had truly embraced the slogan of the tournament “A World in motion.” Through spending vast amounts of money following the sport they love. Hopefully we will meet up with our Singaporian pals in Auckland to swap some stories before we dump the Scotchmen out of the Rugby World Cup. I have to say I’m excited for my five day stay in the beating heart of Rugby Country.

One last time in Dunedin

So sadly this is the last time my blog will be based from Dunedin. Over the last three weeks I and Greg have experienced unbelievable hospitality from our student hosts. So with great sadness we embarked to our final weekend at the student digs on Friday. We had a nice quiet night of a relaxing game called beer-pong, a game I had never partaken in before. Needless to say I was convincingly the loser, and went to bed excited for the big England game on Saturday.

Come Saturday and we organised a nice little pre-match visit to the Speights brewery in the centre of the city. After a rambling hour talking about hops & beer history we enjoyed our all you can pour free samples of Speights five premium beers. It certainly got us in the mood for the rugby; we also had a spare ticket for the crunch tie, which we gave to our couch-surfing host Liam for free. After all he did help us out all those month’s ago when trying to sort our accommodation for the pool games in Dunedin, it was the least we could have done.

Onto the game and England needed to silence the doubters over their World Cup credentials. After less than impressive victories against Argentina & Georgia Martin Johnston’s needed to step it up if they wanted to give themselves a chance to win the World Cup. England started well with fly half Johnny Wilkinson who found his kicking form early with a first minute penalty.  England didn’t relent against an initially strong Romanian defence; the ball was being worked well in the break down by England which lead to a well worked try from Mark Cueto on the fifteenth minute.

Cueto went onto score a first half hat-trick in eleven minutes as England’s wingers went on the rampage. The returning Cueto & Northampton Saints winger Chris Ashton both scoring a hat-trick of tries. With the charismatic Aston swan-diving on all three tries to the delight to travelling English fans. England went in 34-3 up at half time.

England didn’t relent in the second half with midfield pairing of Mike Tindall & Manu Tuilagi looking dynamic against the Romanians. Tuilagi was particularly impressive breaking the Romanian defensive lines, he capped off a strong performance with a try on the 61^st minute. Wilkinson made way for Toby Flood in the second half and continued kicking well, which leaves Johnston with a potential selection dilemma for the game against Scotland on Saturday.

The match finished 67-3 with England scoring ten tries overall and will go someway to improving moral in the camp, especially after fresh allegations of Mike Tindle canoodling on that night out in Queenstown. Bigger tests of Scotland & France (Depending on results) lie ahead, and with arguably in the ‘easier’ side of the draw you can certainly see England in the semi-finals.

After a brilliant match we watched the All Blacks convincingly beat France at our student digs. Again a result which will go someway to breaking the 24 years of hurt for AB fans, a big cheer also went up for Richie McCaw who looked great in his special silver 100 cap. Then we piled into town for one last time to celebrate our respective wins. So after three memorable weeks with our Scarfie mates we are onward to Auckland via Wellington. Let’s hope we experience more of the same legendary kiwi hospitality up in the North Island.

 Mitch 

Can New Zeland Beat France? I ask some students....

So a few weeks ago I ran a pulse check on the nation to see if the All Blacks could defy the odds and win the Rugby World Cup. On the eve of their biggest game of pool A against bogey side France I decided to find out the feelings of the people. Arguably a strong win against the side that defeated the AB’S in the Quarter-finals of the 2007 Rugby World Cup will galvanize the nation offering the belief that finally the men in black can lift the Webb Ellis trophy, after 24 years of hurt. I decided to quiz some of my student hosts in Dunedin to get the low-down on this grudge match.

Shaun Ferguson- ‘I think we can beat the French convincingly’

Some of the students we have been hanging out with.

Shaun was pretty confident on a big win for the All Blacks come tonight at Eden Park. ‘I think that we have had a good run in our first two games, even though Japan & Tonga aren’t the best sides we won convincingly and confidence will be high. We gave all the squad a run-out over the last two games and that’s good to get the winning feeling for the whole squad.’ When pushed on a score Shaun went for 31-18 All Blacks- ‘I think that’s a big enough margin to show everyone how good we are’

Dimitar Trifunovski- ‘I want a win by a margin 15 + points- that’s all.’

Dimitar was upfront with his score predictions for the big match tonight. ‘I have some money on a couple of results at the Rugby World Cup and if it comes off tonight, I will be in line for a big windfall.’ When asked about the game Dimitar felt Richie McCaw will be the difference. ‘He’s going to be the first All Black player to reach 100 caps tonight, he’s done it all on a rugby field- his experience will be crucial for us against the French.’ When it came to a score Dimitar just wanted the 15 points margin. ‘I don’t want to jinx it by putting an exact score to the game!’

Lloyd Campton-‘It’s a tight match to call but the All Blacks will just shade it’

Auckland born Lloyd thinks the All Blacks will do just enough tonight for the win. ‘We are strong at Eden Park- the crowd will be behind the boys 110% and I think we will win.’ Lloyd looked to France’s other pool games as a source of comfort for nervy All Blacks fans. ‘I know the French won both group games but the Japanese really fought back against them- could be a sign of weakness considering we destroyed Japan.’ When pushed on a result Lloyd went for a low scoring match up. ‘I think it will be down to a couple of tries and penalties for this one’ He called the game 17-10.

So the students of Dunedin have called an All Blacks win tonight. Whatever happens tonight a victory by any margin will go some way to banish the ghosts of that night against the French in the Millennium stadium. Hopefully after the win the AB’S and a nation again united behind them a place in the final awaits.  

Dolphins,Dunedin & Georgia.

Actual Wild Dolphins

So after a few days travelling around South Island we made our way back to Dunedin. It had been a pretty great few days as Greg finally got to live his dream to swim with dolphins. It was his life aim to swim with the “jesters of the sea” ever since our coach driver told everyone on route to Kaikoura a few days ago and who was I to stand in his way.

Red Hot boat action.

We donned our tight-fit wetsuits and within 45 minutes jumped into a chilly Pacific Ocean to hang out with some dolphins. I’ll be honest here I was never really fan of dolphins before this trip to New Zealand. I always thought these oversized fish where slightly smug, always smiling and performing for us humans in water parks. This all changed after a hour or so in the water with the wild dusky dolphins, my opinion of them has changed.

Playful, friendly and dare I say relatively intelligent the dolphins where fantastic. There must have been at least 15 dolphins in the group who where all eager to play with the 20 humans who braved the chilly sea. I genuinely felt humbled by staring into the eyes of that dolphin frolicking with us. Greg meanwhile was in his element goofing about with his fishy friends- bless him.

After a few days in Kaikoura we made our way back to Dunedin to hang out with our student lodgers. Unfortunately the long bus journey made me miss out on the All Blacks crushing Japan 83-7. Watching the highlights later in the evening The AB’S result certainly sent out a message to their rivals with a strong result against admittedly a weak Japanese side. Again I was impressed with Sonny Bill Williams who was good value in his second half run-out with two good tries.

Onto Saturday and we had a bumper day of rugby ahead of us with three games to take in. Argentina looked impressive against Romania with a 43-8 victory, and the Puma’s certainly look like dark horses in this tournament. The most impressive victory from the trio of games was South Africa. The Springboks struggled in a tight opening game against Wales, but brushed off an unusually under par Fiji side 49-3.Danie Rossouw looked particularly impressive in breaking Fijian defensive lines during the game.

The final game of the day was Australia and Ireland. The game itself was tight, but thankfully Ireland got the result that I (Being part Irish and all) and the whole of New Zealand wanted. The Irish won 15-6 against a young Australian side under the stewardship of Kiwi Robbie Deans.

Most of the focus pre-match was made up about Quade Cooper. Who has been dubbed ‘public enemy number 1’ by pretty much everyone in New Zealand about his comments about AB captain Richie McCaw. Personally Quade should focus on his own game before commenting on his peers. I thought he had an absolute shocker, particularly defensively when he often backed out of the tackle.

Onto Sunday and after an evening out ‘celebrating’ the Irish win we were not the sprightliest come the morning. But we eventually mustered up some strength and made our way down to the stadium. Immediately we where greeted with the reassuring sight of St George flags everywhere. A relief, finally perhaps this match would be all English support.

Chris Ashton Swan-dives over for another England try. 

Again the people of Dunedin came out to support the underdog. Mainly students came out in force to support Georgia, with doctored English flags and painted faces the main source of support for the locals. In a game that was average from the English perspective, the biggest cheer of the night came just before half time when Dimitri Basilaia crashed over the whitewash for Georgia’s only try of the match.

Thankfully England’s superior fitness showed in the second half as the 2003 winners crashed over four times to place the match in little doubt, with Delon Armintage the standout man for England. Understandably many England fans will be frustrated with the result, especially in the light of impressive results over the weekend by New Zealand and South Africa. You can only beat what you have in front of you.

Martin Johnson made 9 changes to the team against Argentina and it showed, but that is what the World Cup is about the strength of your squad. England will have to improve for tougher tests ahead, but we got the win. Onwards to Romania, and a final weekend in Dunedin!

Cold War Rugby Match-up points to New Rugby World Order.

Cold war Match up points to potential new world order in Rugby. Last nights clash of former foe’s USA & Russia proved to be an interesting match up in a number of different ways. The build up was clearly wrapped in the Cold War theme which pitted the two political powerhouses together for the first time in a Rugby World Cup.

 But whilst most of the commentators where playing out similar cliché lines on television I was looking forward to the game which promised the unknown. Especially in a tournament which thus far has pulled only one major shock result. With Canada stepping up in their opening game of pool A to defeat Tonga by 25 points to 20.

 This was Russia’s first game ever in the Rugby World Cup, and they certainly offered an aspect of the unknown with a squad of unknown players. With Melbourne Rebels lock Adam Byrnes the only recognisable name for most Kiwi’s. Completely the opposite could be said of the USA who came into this game after 17 matches overall in the Rugby World Cup and who many considered favorites in this matchup, especially after a courageous defeat to a under par Ireland by just 12 points last Sunday.

 The match itself was a match up of brute force of the Russian bears matched by the technical skill of the American eagles. The Americans will be pleased with scrappy victory which was played in wet conditions in New Plymouth. The eagles opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a well taken try by Mike Petri. The Russians held out in the first half barrage only conceding a second penalty and going in 10-3 at half time.

 In the second half the Russians threw everything at their American counterparts with poor kicking, and difficult handling conditions the main factors in not denting into the Americans lead. It was only till 15 minutes to go that Chris Wyles kicked a penalty to leave the game in the eagle’s favor, despite a late penalty from Rachkov to cut the deficit to seven points by full time. With a final score left at 13-6 to the eagles

 The Russians can certainly take heart from the result and look to capitalise when they play Italy in Nelson next Tuesday, Northampton Saints new signing Vasily Artemiv certainly looking the lively on the wing. More interestingly I think this result potentially could point to a slight change in World Rugby.

 So far the most impressive ‘minnow’ side has come in the form of the USA who under the leadership of former Ireland boss Eddie O’Sullivan who have won plenty of fans with their first two results at the Rugby World Cup. Recent figures suggest that uptake for rugby in recent years has exploded with a 56% uptake in men since 2004. With growth coming from college and youth rugby, the game which has similarities with American football is slowly gaining a reputation as a viable alternative to one of America’s most popular sports.

 With the Eagles third ever victory in the tournament last night they are certainly winning some fans in New Zealand and the Rugby World. Could this nation be potential winners come World Cup in 2023? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Couchsurfing, R & R in Queenstown & England squad meetup.

After England’s tense victory on Saturday against Argentina we decided to take a few days out to relax over in Queenstown before we and to travel around South Island on the Kiwi experience.

So far our time in New Zealand has been fantastic. From the friendly nature of the locals, to the intense reaction and build up to the All Blacks match against Tonga it’s been great. I really have enjoyed hanging out in Dunedin with our couch surfing hosts. Before this trip to the other side of the world I had never considered couch surfing before, but thus far it has only been good.

Couch surfing is an online community where people can offer a free bed for the couple of nights for travellers who are looking for a super budget bed for the night. Most people tend to offer the host a small gift for the bed, so in our case we brought a case of beer for our host Liam. Our bed for the next few nights was situated in north Dunedin in the centre of student accommodation.

We met up with Liam and his housemates who promptly welcomed us into there home; first order of the day was to watch Band of Brothers. Over the next few days we fully embraced life in the house and its residence. We had long chats about life in the UK, to sharing a couple of beers outside on the porch, ironically it’s was warmer than inside most of the time.

 Although painfully cold in the evening, and certainly not on the sparkling clean side our experience in Dunedin with the students was superb. We spend a couple of nights out in the centre of town with them heading out to a couple of student bars including the smallest bar in the southern hemisphere (allegedly) which was fun.

I suppose through this process of couch surfing we seen a side of Dunedin that many England fan’s would have missed out on. Our tourist guides where the students of that house who told us the places to go. Thanks to Shaun, Liam, Lloyd, Harry & Jordie we took in everything from the Forsyth Barr stadium before most England fans had laid eyes on it, along with cheap eats at the Cook bar & cultural events such as the Hakka-off.

After such a great experience we have already booked up the next couch for the next weekend. After Saturday’s result we quickly packed up with the promise of seeing our student friends again set off for Queenstown. Driving through the wild hilly valleys of Otageo we passed some breathtaking scenery. Snow capped peaks to wide sapphire blue rivers whizzed passed as our bus made its way around the bending roads.

After several hours we landed in Queenstown. Then we promptly jumped into the local bar to catch the South Africa verses Wales match.  Taking in the busy atmosphere of the pub we ordered some Steinlarger (Which I’m getting fond of now) to settle down to watch the match.

Suddenly we noticed a few of the  England squad relaxing in a couple of the booths taking in the game. The likes of Lewis Moody, Chris Ashton, & Mike Tindall all sat down relaxing before an intense week of training before our next test against Georgia. They where all happy to interact with fans, and pose for the odd photo. It was great to see the squad away from the field of play, away from the intensity and pressure relaxing in a local Queenstown bar. Let’s hope this rest and relaxation will be the perfect tonic for a win against the Georgians. 

If you have any suggestions of places to see in South Island drop is a comment! 

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Game time in Dunedin.

Dunedin burst into life on Saturday as the city prepared to host its first Rugby World Cup game in twenty four years. Walking around the town after a couple of days now and you could see the swell in numbers of supporters from both sides eager to take in the crunch match in pool B.

Parts of the centre of the city where shut off for local bands to treat an appreciative audience to some local music. As we wandered the streets it’s was getting clear abundance of Argentinean on the streets, in full costume and full voice. Cars streamed passed with groups of Pumas fans beeping horns and waving flags at everyone making it clear they where in town.

 On the other side of the fence the England fans kept a relatively low profile, relaxing in bars and catching up on pool B rivals Scotland who played Romania. English support away from home across all sports is admired across the world, why such a lack in numbers I wondered. Initial estimates from the local council pitched 13,000 England fans would descend on Dunedin. But it seemed not even half of those had arrived.

Come game time wandering from our cheap student digs towards the impressive Forsyth Barr stadium a couple more England fans added to the atmosphere. Disappointingly chants of “Vamos Argentina” rang out as we walked towards the beautiful 30,000 venue.

Then it clicked, it wasn’t all Argentinean’s who made the 6,000 mile journey to Dunedin. It was passionate local support who where swelling the numbers of the Puma’s fan base. Decked out in anything they could find to support the underdogs (mainly soccer shirts with Messi on the back) they joined in as if seasoned fans of the South American side. It just shows how passionate the locals are for the game in Dunedin, especially how eager they are to embrace any side that in playing at the Forsyth Barr stadium.

 Arriving early into the impressive indoor venue you could feel the atmosphere bubbling over. With steep banked seating close to the sidelines you just knew the action inside coupled with passionate underdog support would make this a tricky match up for the English.

 

The game was a tight close affair and the passionate away support proving an initial stumbling block for the English. The Puma fans where in full voice during the game and this was boosted further by the acoustics in the roofed venue. In a tense game in which Johnny Wilkinson missed five kicks, before Ben Youngs scored his second test try with just 13 minutes before final whistle, With the English scraping to victory winning 13-9.

Perhaps the fierce atmosphere coupled with no wind in the world's first fully-enclosed grass arena, was the reason for the talismanic Wilkinson’s lack of accuracy through the posts. Let’s hope he and England can improve in the next match up against Georgia at the Forsyth Barr stadium. 

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The Haka.

As a young man growing up in England and watching the All Blacks I had no real idea of what the Haka dance meant. I just associated it with the All Blacks and rather thought it was a dance to freak out the opposition. But on Friday I was certainly found out a little more about the Haka and how it pays such a crucial role within New Zealand culture, both on and off the rugby pitch.

Our Haka education was found by accident as we stumbled into an impromptu “Haka-off” in the Octagon in the centre of Dunedin. Hundreds of people crowded around the square for a glimpse of the completion. People of all ages took part from young school kids to the old. All colours and creeds where represented from Samoans, Maori and White ethnicity groups.

The performances where full of passion and surprisingly there is more that one form of the Haka. This came as a surprise as I presumed the only Haka was the one preformed by the All Blacks. But the groups that preformed had different routines with unique chants and phrases. It was a real education.

More importantly I found it fascinating how this dance has a unique power to bind everyone in New Zealand, and not just those who where at the square for the competition. It’s a source of national pride & when it’s through one fearsome, snarling war dance it’s nothing short of amazing.

The Haka then took another turn as The All Blacks entered stage left for the opening game of the Rugby World Cup. We headed to the town hall to enjoy the match at the fan-zone and we not disappointed with the atmosphere brewing in the theatre. Fans from England, Argentina, and off course New Zealand all watched on to see how the pre tournament favourites would fare.

As the formalities of the opening ceremony finished and game time approached the atmosphere went up several notches. Richie McCaw appeared on the screen a high pitched screen erupted around the fan zone (presuming they where from the ladies in the audience) the beatle-mania like cries where only beaten by Dan Carter & Sonny Bill Williams.

The national anthems boomed out across the theatre. To my surprise everyone in the auditorium stood up in respect for both anthems. Something you would never expect to see in England.

The mighty Haka from the All Blacks cranked up the atmosphere even more, pumping up and preparing the nation for 80 minutes of war. The match itself could be considered as a disappointing result as the All Blacks took the foot of the pedal as they went in at half time at 29-3.

In the second half New Zealand only crossed the whitewash twice compared to the four try’s in the first half. With the game ending 41-10, that statistic in itself show’s the pressure placed on the All Blacks from this nation. An impressive 31 point victory margin at full time, yet still they where slacking in the eyes of some of the fans.

So I learned about the Haka and its unique place in modern New Zealand. The dance and how it’s unifying presence to prepare a nation for 80 minutes of war is unique. Come next Friday when the All Blacks face Japan in Hamilton it will happen all over again, I cannot wait.

Mitch

Can New Zealand win the World Cup?

Ever since we arrived in New Zealand a couple of days ago this has been the major if slightly obvious question on our minds. Can the All Blacks succeed at the Rugby World Cup on home turf?

We decided to take up the challenge of asking some regular Kiwi shop keepers of Dunedin to get the pulse of the nation when it came to this most important of questions.

“We can win it… but I’m nervier now than two weeks ago.” Brent at Otago Sports Depot.

Brent was nervy about the All Blacks chances in the forthcoming tournament starting tomorrow. “I think we shouldn’t be experimenting with our side in our first group games. This should have been sorted out before the first game against Tonga.”

We also spoke about the prices of the brand new All Black shirts for the impending tournament. Many people have been angered by the high retail price of the shirt, but Brent disagrees. “To be honest I cannot get enough of them at the moment. We are currently sold out and I have twenty people waiting for the new order to come in.”

When asked about his second choice team surprisingly he chose Australia because of Kiwi coach Robbie Deans. He also felt that if the All Blacks could not win on home turf then “It would be a long time before we can lift the Webb Ellis again.”

 “I want the All Blacks to win but I think we will bottle it… again” Jasmine Barakah Dunedin.

Jasmine was pretty forthright with her views. “New Zealand just always seems to bottle it anyway. I think the pressure will definitely get to them.” I was really surprised at her reaction and asked her why she thought it wouldn’t work out for the All Blacks. “I’m not a rugby expert but I just think they choke, the whole country want them to win I can’t see them getting to the final.” Importantly she did admit she would go mad if the All Blacks would lift the Rugby World Cup, but just felt that it was not meant to be.

 “I think we’ll get to the final but will lose, in the final stages it’s all about luck” Mary of Bed, Bath and Table Dunedin.

Mary seemed sure that the All Blacks will cruise past the group stages and the initial knockout stages but was unsure when it came to the final match. “We’ll destroy our pool matches and do well to begin with. But I think the media will hype up the players and set them up for a fall.” She certainly thinks the All Blacks will have a strong tournament but will fall at the final. “I think it’s all about luck. The smallest fumble or penalty can make the difference; it’s that tough in the big games.”

When asked about his second choice Mary went for an outside shot in Wales. “I just remember when they had great players like Gareth Thomas playing for them, they are not the same players as before but I think they can pull an upset.”

So it seems from my brief gauge of the public mood that the All Blacks are destined for failure at this year’s RWC . Noted for falling at the final hurdle by two of the people I asked it seems that New Zealand are set to loose again but this time on home soil.

Personally I think that The All Blacks are dead certain to win the Rugby World Cup this year. The passionate home support coupled with a strong overall squad seems to point to a repeat of the 1987 victory in my eyes. Let’s hope they can repeat the glory of twenty four years ago.

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A Tale of Two Cities.

So finally after 22 hours up in the sky (and three questionable breakfasts over 3 different continents) we finally arrived in Christchurch on Tuesday. Bleary eyed me and Greg wandered through passport control, quickly picking up our rucksacks and headed off to Christchurch city centre.

Our bus pulled up by Hagley Park passing the mass of rugby pitches & the fan zone dome. Getting our bearings we decided to explore the city centre, intriguingly we where greeted with steel fences everywhere.

Confused we wandered around some more to find a gap in the fence for us to get into the area that seemed to be the main part of the city. Then we realised that this was no puzzle- It was the red zone, the area that was at the epicentre of the 6.3 magnitude quake. I was surprised to see so many of the buildings in the epicentre where still unstable. Most shocking of all where the bars & café’s just by the Avon which had significant damage to them.

Many of these bars & café’s would have been brimming with England fans before the kick-off for our first match against Argentina. But after the devastation from the 22nd of February quake deemed the Lancaster Park stadium was unstable and so two of England’s group games have now been moved to Dunedin.

It’s certainly a shame for me as I was excited to explore New Zealand’s second largest city. But it seems that the red zone severely dented my plans. On a brighter note, it was great to see Lewis Moody & Martin Johnson on the T.V jetting into Christchurch on Wednesday to visit some school children who where affected by the disaster. I’m sure the earthquakes will not deflate the passionate Christchurch support for the Rugby World Cup.

With Christchurch’s disappointing loss came ultimately Dunedin’s gain. After exploring the city this morning you can certainly feel a buzz of excitement with England in town. All over the city the shops have some form of Rugby World Cup decorations.

The Octagon square in the centre of the city is the main hive of activity with a few Argentina & England fans milling about this afternoon. We also managed to spot members of the England coaching staff enjoying a spot of lunch in the square.

Speaking of which Martin Johnson named his first   team for the game against Argentina on Saturday today (Thursday). With Johnny Wilkinson as expected is taking the number 10 jersey, along with Tuilagi partnering Tindle in the centre. Delon Armitage is replacing the injured Mark Cueto on the wing.              

Aside from team news the highlight was visiting the Forsyth Barr Stadium which was undergoing final preparations before the big kick off on Saturday. I have to say its impressive nestled on the edge of the bay and I expect a vibrant atmosphere in two days time. Let’s just hope England can get the result to kick off there Rugby World Cup campaign.

Mitch

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Off to Rugby Country....

So welcome to this, the first blog post for the Not So Sweet Chariot boys. The plan is to make this pretty regular as I & my partner in crime Greg are jetting off on an 11,771 mile journey from Luton all the way to Christchurch in New Zealand to follow England in the Rugby World Cup.

We’ll be trying to take in the cultural sites of New Zealand whilst also attending England’s four group games in Dunedin & Auckland. Aside from sightseeing, and the excessive photo-taking, we’ll be looking to offer a differing view on the Rugby World Cup. This will be firmly from a fan’s perspective, taking in the views from the many followers of rugby who we hope to meet on tour and the tales they have.

I’m personally excited to see the Rugby World Cup in a country which is so passionate about the sport. Many Kiwi’s I have every crossed have even described the place as “Rugby Country” and I‘m eager to experience as much of the game as I can whilst out in NZ.

Another first for me will be jumping onto a long haul flight, which at current writing (2 days before the big off) is a pretty daunting experience. Greg has already had a fancy-pants trip to Australia back when we were 14, so he knows what to expect on long haul flights. In comparison I am a relative novice when it comes to air travel, with a 3 and a half hour haul to Turkey being my longest journey.

Aside from the fear of deep vein thrombosis, it’s been pretty manic for me with sorting out what to pack. What comes with this is a whole range of menial tasks to make sure that I arrive at the airport with everything that I need for my 3 month trip away. So the last couple of days, I have been trudging about town dealing with faulty 5 year old digital cameras to picking out gimpy light-weight fleeces. Hopefully at this point I have not forgotten anything major such as renewing my passport as I plan to have a relaxed weekend with friends and family before heading into the unknown.

See you In Christchurch.

Mitch.

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