Three Disasters and a Triumph

It's been a tough year for New Zealand but last night was a chance to celebrate when the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup. After a run of disasters (Pike River mine, Christchurch earthquake and the Rena grounding/oil spill) it's a great morale boost to the country for the national team of the most popular sport in NZ to become world champions.

There were a few disasters along the way for All Blacks too. After Dan Carter was injured they had to call on the reserve of the reserve of the reserve after two of his replacements were also injured. Luckily there are plenty of rugby players in New Zealand and Stephen Donald stepped in and kicked a penalty to keep the All Blacks a hair's breadth in front of France. Even though I'm not really a rugby fan I was desperately hoping the mighty All Blacks could hold onto their lead in the face of an equally mighty challenge by the French. A one point lead was all they needed for a win and a one point lead was what it took to win the World Cup: All Blacks 8 - France 7.