Girls natter rugby

Whilst I've never been a sports nut, and I never thought I'd get absorbed in a sporting tournament, the Rugby World Cup has been such fun.  The spirit of the whole thing has gripped the country and the most unlikely of us have jumped on the band wagon.  This becomes apparent when you're sitting having coffee with a group of girls and we are jabbering about the rugby rather than the usual topics.  The flags in all the shops, on every car, the support at every level, and the visitors from around the world has been excellent.

I've been lucky enough to be given tickets to a few games through work and the spectacle has been awesome (as we flew up to Auckland for one of the semi-finals last weekend I realised the cost of our flights would have paid for the plastering in the hallway ... but you only live once right?).  I am struck as the teams run out onto the pitch to the deep roar of the Maori horn how gladiatorial the whole thing is.  We should all be wearing sheets and have laurels on our head as we roar for our teams and watch the spectacle.

It's fun to turn up to a game that NZ is not even in and pick a team to support.  I picked Wales for the Saturday semi-final and was devastated for them when they lost - it would seem that wearing red, cheering madly and waving leeks is not enough to ensure the win.  However, the All Blacks game was a triumph (no need to pick a team to support there).  I will be so very excited for NZ's team if they can win the final - they deserve the pressure of this very passionate and demanding rugby nation lifting, and to be able to relax and unwind without the proverbial monkey on their broad shoulder.  I shall be yelling my wee head off this weekend and hope that this time round cheering madly will generate the right result.  Go the ABs!