Succumbed to Rugby

I am afraid I will have to admit that I have finally succumbed. Succumbed to what you may ask? "Well (head bowed in shame), to watching rugby"

In New Zealand Rugby is an integral part of its culture, even a religion to some. Once to be a true NZ man, the belief was Rugby, Racing and Beer made a kiwi bloke. Thank-goodness we have finally evolved, now it's only Rugby and any other sport you can think of, Betting on whatever's available, all topped off by Drinking anything with an alcohol content. What more can we ask for? (My apology to the nice guys)

Now what brought this madness to participate in this pastime even if from the couch position? Well rugby is not only a religion for NZ, but it also is an important part of the NZ community. Apart from maybe parts of Auckland, which is a bit more cosmopolitan and follows Rugby League. There would be a Rugby club somewhere, even more so in small towns and country areas, where it is often the focus of the community along with the school and pub. The Rugby following is like the "Old school tie" concept where if you belong, you are all classed as Mates.

National wise and internationally it is important too. The All Blacks are the ultimate. Fueled by blind patriotic pride and lots of testosterone, it sometimes seems to be a matter of life or death, especially between rugby nations.If we lose the whole country goes into mourning.


For my hometown, we have been submerged in rugby fever. There is this international professional competition called the "Super 12" between teams in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Our local team the Crusaders won every game this season and the final was last weekend in our local stadium.

I tried hard to not get swallowed up in the fever. But Christchurch is one of two southern cities,when it comes to Rugby, are very one eyed, parochial and devoted (I could go on and on.). It was very hard when at work on Friday we were meant to wear team colours - Red and Black and I spent the Thursday blowing up red and black balloons and making streamers to decorate the office. The prize for all this effort was a bottle of wine from our rugby mad boss.

The day of the match was dreadful. The weather couldn't have been worse except if it snowed. In NZ we don't have stadiums that have fancy roofs to cover over if the weather is bad. It was a howling gale, that night and pouring with rain. When the ball was kicked up too high in the air against the wind it nearly came back to you. But despite all this the fans packed Jade Stadium.

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