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Kiwis party as All Blacks open with win
Source: Agencies |
September 10, 2011, Saturday
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This Rugby World Cup is already delivering a new addition to the New Zealand lexicon: the flash mob haka.
On the opening day of the seventh World Cup yesterday, performers of the traditional Maori war dance wowed crowds as New Zealanders shed their reserved image by transforming downtown Auckland into a party zone with a distinctly Pacific feel.
Tens of thousands of fans flooded the streets, draped in the flags of their favorite teams. Some brought guitars, others sang their national anthems.
One man used hair spray and lacquer to paint his shaved head in black with a silver fern, in support of the New Zealand All Blacks team. Hundreds of cars cruised through the city with flags waving and horns blaring.
The opening ceremony at Eden Park featured a stylized sequence in which a young boy in a rugby jersey smashed through crowds of would-be tacklers who fell at his feet like skittles.
After the ceremony, the All Blacks fired a few shots of their own in a devastating first half against Tonga.
The All Blacks raced in for four tries in the first 33 minutes and led 29-3 at the break, then went cold for 20 minutes before finishing off their Pacific neighbors 41-10 with two late tries in the first of 48 matches at the seventh World Cup.
Fullback Israel Dagg and winger Richard Kahui scored two tries each and Jerome Kaino and Ma'a Nonu also crossed for tries, with Sonny Bill Williams providing plenty of offloads for the All Blacks backline.
"There was some good patches. I thought we brought the physicality," All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw said. "There's some good bits there. It's a start, that's all we can look at it as."
Replacement prop Alisona Taumalolo scored Tonga's try in a second-half that will give his team some confidence in its remaining games.
It was crucial for the home team to open with a win after seven years of preparations in New Zealand, where the public will grow increasingly uncomfortable until the All Blacks break a long drought and win a second World Cup title. The New Zealanders haven't won since they hosted the inaugural tournament in 1987.
On the opening day of the seventh World Cup yesterday, performers of the traditional Maori war dance wowed crowds as New Zealanders shed their reserved image by transforming downtown Auckland into a party zone with a distinctly Pacific feel.
Tens of thousands of fans flooded the streets, draped in the flags of their favorite teams. Some brought guitars, others sang their national anthems.
One man used hair spray and lacquer to paint his shaved head in black with a silver fern, in support of the New Zealand All Blacks team. Hundreds of cars cruised through the city with flags waving and horns blaring.
The opening ceremony at Eden Park featured a stylized sequence in which a young boy in a rugby jersey smashed through crowds of would-be tacklers who fell at his feet like skittles.
After the ceremony, the All Blacks fired a few shots of their own in a devastating first half against Tonga.
The All Blacks raced in for four tries in the first 33 minutes and led 29-3 at the break, then went cold for 20 minutes before finishing off their Pacific neighbors 41-10 with two late tries in the first of 48 matches at the seventh World Cup.
Fullback Israel Dagg and winger Richard Kahui scored two tries each and Jerome Kaino and Ma'a Nonu also crossed for tries, with Sonny Bill Williams providing plenty of offloads for the All Blacks backline.
"There was some good patches. I thought we brought the physicality," All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw said. "There's some good bits there. It's a start, that's all we can look at it as."
Replacement prop Alisona Taumalolo scored Tonga's try in a second-half that will give his team some confidence in its remaining games.
It was crucial for the home team to open with a win after seven years of preparations in New Zealand, where the public will grow increasingly uncomfortable until the All Blacks break a long drought and win a second World Cup title. The New Zealanders haven't won since they hosted the inaugural tournament in 1987.
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