The other Bledisloe Tour
July 22nd 2007 01:48
Jonah
If Twickenham, England, is the Rugby Mecca of the Northern Hemisphere, then Eden Park, Aotearoa, New Zealand, is its South Seas equivalent. Perched in the lee of Mount Eden on Auckland's inner fringe, it's a national icon. Every young kid, playing barefoot Saturday morning Rugby on a frost covered paddock up and down the islands, imagines one day running onto the historic ground, wearing the black and the silver fern. Many a grandfather has dreamed of shuffling off his mortal coil in those weathered stands, watching a grandson put the ball into touch for the All Balcks. A former French "Rugbyman" turned entrepreneur, even named his "Rugbywear' label after the famous park.
The Haka
The Wallabies and the All Blacks have met in many great and memorable clashes on Eden Park. Last evening they met again for the Bledisloe Cup final and Tri-nations decider. What match a match it was too! Wallabies die-hard supporters predicted certain green and gold victory. Staunch All Blacks followers forecast the same for the Kiwis. But old and experienced realists conceded that it could go either way. And in truth, isn't it the uncertainty and the suspense that are the essence of sport - the core elements that generate the excitement and the drama. Isn't that really why all sports fans love it with a passion?
The Haka and Rugby ghosts
The kick for kick cliff-hanger of the first thirty minutes seemed to bear out the old guard's view. It did look as if it could go either way - as if, in the end, it would be a close call. Rugby is always described as a game of two halves and this certainly was. The second half, was a different game. There was no strike for strike, no tit for tat. The All Blacks simply snatched control, dominated and seized the victory.
For the Wallabies any defeat by the arch-rival is keenly felt, but last night's loss had an even greater poignancy. It was George Gregan's last game against New zealand in New Zealand. A victory would have been a fitting tribute to the player who has been such a long-standing and repected adversary of the Blacks. The genuine regard of the Kiwi team was evident from the handshakes and embraces and certainly from Richie McCaw's "nod" to Gregan in his victory speech. It was fitting however that George played his last game aginst the All Blacks on Eden Park's iconic turf. This great ground, in fact every Rugby ground in New Zealand, will miss Gregan's unmistakable figure, his charismatic presence and his fine and sportsman-like, after-match speeches. Some devoted Wallabies supporters claim that when Gregan goes, Australian Rugby won't be the same, that he'll take a huge chunk of its heart with him. But this too is all part of sport. Kiwis felt the same when Buck Shelford left the All Blacks and Jonah and Tana but in Aotearoa, there's an old Maori saying "Ka hu te ruha, .Ka hau te Rangatahi " which means "When the old net is hung out to dry, the new net goes fishing" meaning, of course, in Rugby terms, that the when the old player retires, he merely makes way for the rising star.
Jerry and Tana
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