Although we'd been given plenty of opportunities to buy tickets for the Final, we had decided against it, having been to so many matches already in the competition. Instead, we came up with a plan to have a few beers in Devonport before jumping on the ferry into town and head to one of the giant screens set up around the city. The atmosphere was incredible; streets buzzing in a sea of black, bars mobbed and people in fancy dress all over the place. We tried a couple of places to watch the game but they were quickly filling up and we were encouraged to head to Aotea Square. You can get an idea for the photos how busy it was - just something so unusual for New Zealand.
You should know the story of the final by now but a quick summary is that they were playing France in a repeat of the first RWC Final in '87. France have managed to pull out all the stops against the All Blacks in recent years, knocking them out of two previous World Cups to the shock of everyone, and although France had been pretty average throughout the competition, people thought there was a chance they could do their usual trick. It was a tense, nerve wracking 80mins and a rollercoaster of a game with the ABs having to bring on their fourth choice stand-off to replace yet another injured player but a try from prop, Tony Woodcock, (Iain had Woody on his coupon) and a penalty from Stephen Donald sealed the game for a much deserved All Blacks victory. Cue a stunned silence on the streets of Auckland followed by cheers and singing well into the night with a parade the following day watched by crowds estimated at 200,000.
And that was it. All over for another four years. Six weeks of amazing rugby, amazing people and an amazing tournament.
No comments:
Post a Comment