Random thoughts from Eden Park
Sport Review #212
We booked tickets for the family for the All Whites as soon as they came out. Then, I was lucky enough to receive a ticket to the Bledisloe last minute - the Eden Park double header was on!
The All Blacks are steadily going about ripping up the ‘disaster season’ storyline by winning the Bledisloe and Rugby Championship at a canter. Sure, we wasted the Aussies, but no-one in our group had a clear summary of what we’d just seen, we simply racked up points against a team that didn’t really show up. It’s cherish to complain about a performance like that, but it was all a bit meh.
Arguably, there’s a section of the rugby public that have been engaged with rugby more this year because the All Blacks have been shit, and even because of the blood in the water in the coaching box. That’s slipping away now, despite concerns we’re going to get hammered in Europe, and not in a good way.
Eden Park looked magnificent - a sell out, we’re told. As always, rugby crowds can be a bit reverential, a bit weird, a bit ‘here we are now, entertain us.’ Generally, All Black crowds want the team to generate the energy and buzz, not the other way around. The people who did show up for the Black Ferns were much more into it.
Compare and contrast to the All Whites crowd.
Maybe it was because it’s the first home game in years, maybe it was the warm, sunny spring Auckland afternoon, maybe because we don’t like Australians, but the crowd was buzzy and up for it. We booed the Aussies, we got stuck into the officials (sorry!), we got behind the team with chants. The atmosphere was amazing, and the kids loved it.
We smashed them and still lost in Brisbane on Thursday night, and created a few decent chances here but couldn’t score. Australia played bloody well, handling our energetic start, neutralising Chris Wood by sticking 2 or 3 guys on him and eventually getting the upper hand.
Seeing international footballers’ pace, skill and aggression close up was a great spectacle - with hopefully more matches to come. A great day out and a tremendous experience for the kids.
Even if you think a proper national stadium downtown somewhere still needs to happen, Eden Park is a decent experience. There are people telling you what to do everywhere, the queues aren’t out of control and the bowl looks great. Having three internationals in two codes in two days isn’t easy and the crew were hard at it changing things over almost as soon as the All Blacks left the field.
Transport Review
Here we go. I was dropped off to Constellation Drive park and ride at approximately 5pm and walked into Eden Park at approximately 5.30pm after cruising down a blocked off Sandringham Road like the Queen’s funeral procession down the Mall, for free. It was awesome. Because we mucked around, by the time we waked out of Eden Park, Reimers Ave was thick with taxis and the surrounding streets were positively choked with Ubers. Easy.
Because of weekend logistics, we took a car to Eden Park on Sunday. It was a nightmare. Queues started on the North Western motorway. There were more cones in Sandringham than a Castle street flat, and no parks. Like, zero. The good people of Morningside must hate match days. Just as we were panicking about kick off we spied someone pulling out of a park - thanks to desperate elbows-out Sandringham Road crossing and a combined U-turn / blocking manoeuvre, we had a park and a fifteen minute walk to the ground. Do not recommend. Afterwards we jumped on a free bus into town and got there in no time. Easy.
Thanks for reading - Richard
This week's best NZ sport content
Dave Leggat’s final piece was a typically thorough and thoughtful profile of Black Sticks captain and coach Pat Barwick [Locker Room]
Dylan Cleaver went to the All Whites and got OG football journo Bruce Holloway to write up his thoughts [The Bounce]
So, why is the Women’s Rugby World Cup only being held in the very upper North Island? Joseph Pearson found out [Stuff]
Guy Heveldt asked Frankie MacKay about the mankad and gets a typically well thought through answer on why it’s necessary [1 Sport]
Sport-adjacent: What will proposed alcohol reforms mean for sport sponsorship and funding, and is Sky’s new box enough to tempt you back? [NZ Herald, Spinoff]
Video nasty
Me this week:
Long read
The full story of Hunter Biden’s laptop, how it was stolen while he was going through a breakdown and his father was running for president, and how its contents were weaponised [NY Mag]
Recommendation
The Rewatchables Boogie Nights podcast is an almost four hour long arguably unnecessarily detailed discussion of PTA’s greatest film. Well, after Magnolia [The Ringer]
Bring back the gif
When you drop your best ideas in the meeting.
