“Allez Les Bleus”! Its the rallying cry for the French rugby team. And the French are here in vast numbers, descending on Eden Park Stadium in Auckland to take on the home team, the All Blacks of New Zealand. Vive La France! But I am getting ahead of myself.
Saturday September 24th I awoke in Paihia in the Bay of Islands. My last day here in this beautiful bay. I walked into town and had a hearty breakfast: Bacon, Fried Egg, Beans on Toast and cappuccino. I walked back to the motel along the waterfront path. I said my goodbyes to the motel owners, checked out and headed south to Auckland. The 3 hour drive was a fun easy morning. The weather was brilliant and warm. I saw the countryside on the return trip, since on my drive north at the beginning of the week, the weather was poor, downpours and fog. The return trip, was the opposite.
I stopped in Whangarei for coffee and pulled over at the sports park and watched a little Cricket. It’s like baseball but different. At the highest levels of international play, the matches can literally last days. Don’t ask me to explain the rules, I have no idea. But after rugby, it is the number 2 sport here.
I made it to Auckland and found a convenient ‘Car Park’ (garage) next to the train station. The whole waterfront area of Auckland was turned into a festival zone. I spent the afternoon roaming the waterfront. It was already a busy place, despite the fact that the match was still almost 5 hours off. It was a carnival atmosphere. Eventually it was time to head to the stadium. The organizers had established multiple ways to get to the stadium:
- 3.5 mile walk (Auckland is very hilly, like San Francisco, but not as extreme)
- Shuttle bus
- Passenger Train
I opted to try the train, as the week before I did the 3.5 mile walk each way with fellow rugby coach Carlos (from San Diego) who is a friend of mine. Once the trained pulled out of the station for the short ride, the French burst put into song. They very proudly sing the “Marseillaise”
- “Aux Armes, Citoyens! Marchons, Marchons..” (translates: “To arms, citizens! We march, We march, citizens!)
The New Zealand fans, well they just aren’t use to that singing. Kiwi fans are very proper and polite at the stadium. They sit, they enjoy the rugby, etc. But they are not use to the Irish, French, Argentine, Welsh and other fans who:stand during the match, singing throughout, etc. But the Kiwis are not to be outdone. Once the French finished, the Kiwis broke out in the New Zealand National Anthem. A rare thing for them indeed.
The stadium was very electric. I shared some photos of the crowd the other day. All Black fans could be seen dressed in black of course, silver ferns painted faces etc. The French, well they were more creative. A fair amount of berets, two French Chefs in all-whites, the three musketeers, lots of rooster hats (the national symbol of France) mimes, etc. It was very funny. Even a few Canadian fans showed up in hockey jerseys, with hockey helmets. I even saw a Samoan dressed up as Uncle Sam!
After rousing national anthems, the French team lines up and faces the All Blacks as the New Zealanders performed the ritual Haka! The challenge thrown down! What was great about this, was that it was not just the regular Haka. There is a rivalry between these teams in World Cup play, and so this was very emotional. The entire crowd of Kiwis participated. You really have not seen or heard the Haka until you see a stadium of 50,000+ slapping their chests, and yelling out the Maori challenge. It was amazing to witness. I wish I had my camcorder for this match for that alone. But I got some great photos with my SLR which I continue to share here.
In the end, the All Blacks won easily, but everyone knows, that they will have a strong chance to have to play the French again, in the elimination round in order to win the Webb Ellis Cup.
Tomorrow, on Sunday, I will attend Ireland vs. Russia!
For now, Enjoy the pictures of New Zealand vs France, including the pre-match Haka...
No comments:
Post a Comment