Wellington v Bay of Plenty, Thur 30 Sep, 2011

The forecast was for rain and wind.

There had been an accident on the motorway north and a train crash had stopped rail activity to Johnsonville so I arrived in the capital to busy wet roads.

The cab ride to the Cake Tin involved some great dialogue with an ex-pat Cantonese chap now a local after a dozen years in the capital.

I had enjoyed watching the Chinese play at the Hong Kong Sevens earlier in the year and commented on the progress of rugby in China (they looked very organized, athletic and far superior to the side that played at the 2000 Wellington Sevens).

He said that rugby was played in the Army and by the Police. They were among the more robust professions of a generally quite passive population.

The Game – Wellington v BOP

There are a lot of sub-text stories involved with the two sides.

- Wellington Rugby CEO Greg Peters was the CEO of the Bay Union in
- Wellington coach Andre Bell started his coaching career with the Bay of Plenty
- Bay coach Sean Horan is from Wellington
- Wellington fullback Apoua ‘Potsy’ Stewart played for the Bay between
[Stewart is from Wellington]
- Bay lock Luke Andrews used to play for Wellington and the Hurricanes
- Wellington and NZ Maori half back Ruki Tipuna is from Tauranga

As it turned out, the rain wasn’t that heavy, the wind was a northerly and hence not cold and the ground was firm allowing for a reasonably flowing game – a great introduction to the stadium for me.

My primary targets
1. Shaun Treeby with his ‘take home to mum’ short back and sides

2. Fa’afli Levave and the 80s movie mullet

3. Taneala Moa with his Afro after switching from corn rolls 2 weeks ago

Selected photos