Bledisloe Cup, HK, 2010.

What you missed out on, during my absence, was the Bledisloe Cup, which was held in Hong Kong this year:

 See it there?  The Bledisloe Cup?

The All Blacks verses the Wallabies.

 The National Anthems at the opening!

 

The Australian, HK and New Zealand flags

flying over HK.

Although I must say, raised in the 

British Colonial Service

as I was, I was shocked to see

all three flags flying at the same level.

I always believed the host flag

should be an inch higher.

We went and was great fun, although I have to say it was most odd being at HK Stadium, the site of the annual HK7s, without all the fancy dress and party atmosphere.

 Although some folks tried!

Canadian Jason and his lovely wife Fortuna came along because they wanted to see rugby played as a full game, so they had something to compare the slick and fast 7s with.  You may recall these two and how they formerly refused to watch rugby ... until someone gave them tickets to the HK7s and, since tickets to that amazing weekend are like hen's teeth, they thought it churlish to waste them and thus they went and both fell in love with the game!  

Resistance is useless!

This game, Fortuna fell in love with the New Zealand haka ...

... and asked me to send her youtube links so she could see it done again.  She was also asking about other Pacific war chants. Her own people - Borneo headhunter types - have war chants that they're simply allowing to fade into the ether of lost history and this was an eye-opener to her and she was blown away. She loves that we in the Pacific still keep them alive and do them before sporting events like rugby games.  And so, being enormously silly, these are what I sent her:



And Fiji's answer to the challenge:



You love?

Also here's something else I really loved.  NOT! Because I hadn't had lunch and was starving and there was just so much junk food being sold in the stadium, I found a place that had more healthy options and, shouting over the enormous screaming crush of people - SURPRISE! - ordered their Singapore spring rolls and when I fought my way back to my seat and opened the cup (I did wonder why it was in a cup!) ...

Spring WATER! 

But does it come from Singapore?

... and because I really couldn't face that crush again, I just laughed! ... and then went to Nathan's afterwards for those spring rolls!

But back to the game! It was the most nail-biting and fraught thing imaginable, neck and neck the whole way, with New Zealand keeping only slightly ahead.  But then came this incredible finish, where Australia kept the ball in play after the final siren and then got a try which made it a tie, and then, in the most impossible shot ever. converted the try to win, dammit!

 Win to Australia!

Anyway, because New Zealand won ten games overall and Australia only won this one, the All Blacks won the Bledisloe Cup ... so I was really most astonished to see them do The Walk of Shame off the field.

I mean, how can you possibly do The Walk of Shame when you're carrying this enormous cup ...

... but the Kiwis managed it!