Sunday 18th September

WOW, what a rugby match ! Auckland seemed to have a lot more Irish fans in town than Aussies. On the way to the match, along the 'fan trail' (a 4km route from the cities waterfront to the stadium) there were not  nearly so many Aussies around. There was lots of banter, with the Aussies very confident of a win. One guy told me there were not so many here tonight because they were waiting to come to the final !!
The stadium was fab, we had  fairly good seats, close to where the Irish nearly got their tries. The Irish sang and cheered to the extent that the Aussies were never heard. It felt like you were at a home game. It all got more exciting as the clock ticked on and our neighbouring Aussie fans had a lot less wise cracks. Quite a few escaped as Tommy Bose went on a surge up the sideline, so nobody noticed as the skulked out. Some did stay to the end and then they endured a long route back to the city centre. Kiwis in houses around the stadium were partying and taking ever chance to shout at the Aussies as they walked past. The Aussies huffed and sulked their way home. There were buses and trains waiting to take us to the city centre. We went by bus and the singing continued. We got off the bus and followed a river of green bodies all walking back to the waterfront fan zone. Off the main street there were bars bursting with green clad people celebrating. All in all a great atmosphere and event from beginning to end. The kiwis were delighted and they were joining in on the Irish party.
The kiwis and Irish were still congratulating each other on a great match the next day. The press is full of Irish praise as well as Aussie bashing. They also evaluate everything from an All Blacks perspective. One heading read 'touch,pause....improve'(they were referring to the AB performance). It feels like the tournament has found another gear and it gets more interesting with every passing match.
I still can't quite believe we were at THAT match. I'm now looking forward to work tomorrow morning, when I will talk rugby with some colleagues who happen to be Aussies !