All Blacks v. Wallabies

The day after we returned from the Cooks, my group and I attended an All Blacks rugby game. It was a momentous occasion since they were playing their archrivals, the Australian Wallabies for the title of Tri-Nation champion. I knew very little about rugby prior to attending the game (which was the first sporting event I have ever attended) but I quickly learned that it is one violent sport! First of all, the players don’t wear ANY gear – the game is full body-to-body contact. In New Zealand, rugby players are often stereotyped as being dumb (on account of the number of concussions they sustain) and toothless. I can now assure you that this isn’t far from the truth. The coolest part of the match, however, was when the All Blacks performed their haka, a Maori war dance that’s used as a means of intimating the opposing team. If you would like to see the All Blacks perform the haka, click on the first link to your right where you can catch a glimpse of the team’s war dance in an Adidas advert. Oh, yeah, the All Blacks won that evening and were crowned the 2005 Tri-Nation champions. Go All Blacks!