Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Rugby World Cup Fever Strikes - Or Luke Warmness, Perhaps

I must confess that where rugby is concerned I know little and care less (as I confided to Mrs Peaceable in a frank moment one day.)  It is a shameful admission in a country where rugby rules and every man and sometimes his dog has an opinion as to who should be included in the national team, who should be omitted, and where the coaches have gone wrong.  For years I have been able to happily ignore the whole topic and when I discovered the Rugby World Cup was coming to our fair shores I found it hard to suppress my groans at the waste of money and the inconvenience which would be caused to the citizenry. 







Fireworks over the harbour to celebrate the opening of the Rugby World Cup

Now that it has arrived though it is best to keep any doubts about the benefits of the world cup to myself and just enjoy it as much as possible and so far it has been very enjoyable!  The opening ceremony was brilliant, the fireworks magnificent and all the trials and tribulations with inadequate transport facilities added a certain piquancy to the proceedings.  At my workplace the staff decorated their offices with the flags of the countries whose teams they were supporting and one lady even managed to incorporate a flag into her hairstyle!  The people of the Kingdom of Tonga in particular spared no effort in their enthusiastic support for their team, their cars were festooned with flags and they flocked to the airport to welcome the team on the day of their arrival.  There was a carnival spirit all through the city on the day of the opening ceremony and first game, and though I still secretly might think the whole thing was a ridiculous waste of money we might as well enjoy the spectacle.