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Wouldn't you have loved to be here? In the record Twickenham rugby crowd of 82,223
8 November 2014
Aftermatch Report; New Zealand v England; November 8 2014
Sitting there, high up in the towering stands at Twickenham my first impression when this game was being played was how tough it was and how long the game took to play!
It seemed to me the first half in particular took ages to reach its 30-minute mark. I guess that was because of the tightness of the contest and the fact that the All Blacks did not have it all their own way.
You have to understand that sitting and watching test rugby with Kiwi fans is still a relatively new thing for me. For much of my working life,(that's gulp, 40 years or so, ago) I have concentrated on commentating the games for TV or I have watched from supposedly quiet press boxes. [It was an old New Zealand Herald 'rule' that reporters never spoke during a game (Dear Terry McLean and Don Cameron would wheel around and glare if one dared to utter an exclamation at any 'goings-on' on the field which had not been detected)]
So all around me at Twickers yesterday I marveled at what I heard - mostly from the New Zealanders on our tour supporter's groups. The first thing was someone really grumping at the crowd singing right over the top of the All Black haka. 'The bastards have no respect!' one of our guys sneered. I know he is a life member of his own club back home. I felt like saying, 'but mate, this is England! They DON'T have to have regard for our cultural differences.' However I let it lie.
I agreed with the next thing I heard, 'Hey Keith, we can't read the bloody numbers of these new All Black shirts.' That was defintely true. Whatever adidas were trying to do with their 'blackest All Black jersey ever' promotion which they had been trumpeting about these last couple of weeks to me it was pathetic that the very people they should be trying to impress, i.e; the fans, could not identify the heroes wearing their colours.
And then there were the comments at the first major highlight in the game - a superbly taken try by the England winger Jonny May. He simply scooted around Conrad Smith and a couple of other All Blacks and gave a whoop and a holler as he scored. Some of my new Kiwi friends of a couple of days were derisive. 'Bloody soft try!' I heard and the like. There was simply no praise for what May had brilliantly achieved. It crossed my mind how loud the cheering would have been if such a try had have been scored by one of the All Blacks!
I was really pleased that Sonny Bill Williams went so well and that the coaches gave him the 'full 80' on the field. SBW seemed to relish it and might have scored a try right in front of us if only he hadn't slipped after a wonderful bursting break.
The point that Steve Hansen made to the press afterwards seemed valid. The crowd (a record 82,223) seemed to scream blue-murder if they sensed England had been wronged. Was it a coincidence that suddenly the referee Nigel Owens would then be drawing the TMO sign in the air and replays would appear, over and over, on the big screen. The crowd screamed no such protest when it was England who were getting a questionable decision going their way. Hmmmm...
In the end the All Blacks could take tremendous satisfaction in their victory. It was tough, tough all the way though when the rain came tumbling down it leveled things out just when New Zealand were spinning the ball at high speed at making the big men of England struggle to keep up. If it had stayed dry maybe the margin for the All Blacks might have been wider.
The whimsy in me had hoped that after Beauden Barrett had kicked a penalty and the score stood at 19-14 that such a score would have been appropriate given the commemorations of the week. But 24-21 was good too though for the life of me, with the distance and murk being what it was at the end, I had no idea of having an opinion of why England had been awarded a late penalty try..
My pre-match prediction of 35-16 to New Zealand was wide of the mark but one lady in our group, Evelyn Wright, let out a mighty squeal at the end (right in my ear Evelyn!). She had picked 24-21 to the All Blacks and so was 40 quid richer.
Good on her - and good on the All Blacks for a solidly taken victory today. That's two games played (the one in Chicago remember which our group had not attended) and two good wins!
.....
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Richard Hugh McCaw - to be known universally as Richie - came into the world.
HADEN, ANDY
Auckland and New Zealand
41 internationals for N. Zealand 1977–85
A 2 metres (6ft 6ins) tall lock forward, at one time the tallest man to play internationals for his country, Andy Haden became a giant in the sport in other ways. He rose above early arguments that he was not aggressive enough to make a career as a top-class international forward, and by the end of his time in top rugby he was one of New Zealand’s great locks.
Haden had excellent lineout skills, was a solid scrummager, and around the field he often surprised with his mobility. As a captain and touring All Black he became one of the craftiest competitors in the game. Every Welshman will tell you how Haden ‘cheated’ to make referee Roger Quittenton award a last-minute penalty to New Zealand against Wales at Cardiff in 1978. The big New Zealander tilted and dived out of a lineout, giving the impression that he had been pushed. When the penalty – awarded for an offence by Geoff Wheel, not for Haden’s dive – was converted into points by Brian McKechnie, the All Blacks won the game by 13 points to 12. Years later Haden still has to live with Welsh criticism of his dive that day.
He first made the New Zealand team for the 1972–73 tour of Britain and France, but did not make the international games on that tour, and after being dropped the following year, he disappeared off the New Zealand domestic scene for a time. He continued to play rugby, but combined it with seeing the world, becoming one of the first truly global footballers, playing for clubs in France, England and Italy.
Back in New Zealand in 1976, Haden was chosen for the All Black team for the tour to Argentina where, under captain Graham Mourie and coach Jack Gleeson, he blossomed, playing in both the unofficial tests. By 1977 he was drafted into the All Black test team for his first official caps. Thereafter Haden was a regular choice for his country and he went on every tour on offer, except when business interests interrupted his rugby in 1983 and 1984.
Haden became one of the champions of players’ rights and he took on the rugby establishment in New Zealand. His attempts to better the lot of New Zealand’s international players led to misunderstanding and suspicion of him, resulting in charges of professionalism being laid on him by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1984. He defended these successfully, though there were many who were not as convinced of his innocence in 1986 when he was part of the organising of the unauthorised Cavaliers’ tour to South Africa. Charges were leveled that the team took payment to play its tour and Haden, as one of the principal organisers, faced many questions on his return.
Haden played his final game for New Zealand in 1985 in Buenos Aires on the All Black tour that replaced the cancelled official tour to South Africa. He had accumulated 41 test caps and 117 tour matches for his country.
In which New Zealand Rugby Province was the Ranfurly Shield resident for the longest duration of time?
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