Rugby World Cup

Although I'm not a rugby fan it's hard not to get caught up in some of the spirit, some of the enthusiasm and some of the hype around the Rugby World Cup. If you live in New Zealand you'd almost believe that the Rugby World Cup is THE MOST IMPORTANT sports tournament in the world, ... ever ... anywhere. The fact that any country that has enough rugby players to make a team of 15 can send their team to compete doesn't matter one bit. It's still THE MOST IMPORTANT sports competition on Earth.

I enjoyed the Opening Ceremony, it's fun to see All Black and New Zealand flags flying all around the country and it's great to see people showing national pride and loyalty. Yesterday I was in Wellington. It was a rare Wellington weather day of complete calm and brilliant sunshine. The central city was buzzing as people got out and enjoyed the day. There were also a significant number of South Africans and Fijian supporters enjoying the build up to the match between their countries that evening. I spent some time in town with my nephew. He is also caught up in World Cup fever although his enthusiasm is from the curious perspective of a six year old. His focus is on flags. He can name the country of every flag of competing RWC nations and likes colouring in photocopies of the flags. He has a small, fabric All Black flag.

"Where did you get the flag from?" my sister prompted him to explain.

"From Richie McCaw" he said.

"You mean Richie McCaw the All Black?" I asked.

"Mmm," he murmured, as he fiddled with a couple of Weetbix rugby cards.

"As in Richie McCaw the captain of the All Blacks?" I said, "Wow! Did you meet Richie McCaw?"

"Yes," he said.

He wasn't interested in elaborating on the whole event so I had to find out from my sister how Zak got to meet Richie McCaw (at a public event promoting the RWC). I'm sure Zak must have been excited at the time but he clearly wasn't awed by the experience. Maybe that's a good thing. He's not hero-worshipping the players nor showing an over-the-top obsession with rugby. I don't think he'll mind too much which country wins the World Cup as long as he likes their flag!