Yesterday was Fathers’ Day.
Family who live nearby came round for “brunch” (whatever that is) and lots of hugs and a nice time was had. Then my splendid son-in-law took me and my youngest son Anthony to the rugby match between the Wellington Lions and the Manawatu Turbos at the Westpac Stadium. We were lucky to be in a corporate entertainment area and could sit comfortably and have waiting staff offering drinks and food.
Though I like to watch a well-played game of rugby, I confess to being a half-hearted armchair critic who really doesn’t understand some of the ever more technical aspects of the rules. Nevertheless, the opportunity to see a reasonably high-level provincial game was very nice.
Because it was a provincial game, notwithstanding that Wellington was one of the competing teams, the crowds were not great. Our stadium can accommodate about 35,000. I suspect we had 30,000 empty seats yesterday. Those who did attend were wearing the colours of their teams, so there was a lot of the black and gold of Wellington.
This was pretty much mid field and was the most densely occupied spot in the stadium
The game itself was interesting, and for 63 of the 80 minutes, Manawatu were in the lead.
They keep changing the rules about scrums
Late in the game, Wellington appeared to wake up, and actually began to compete. They even crossed the line a few times and in the end, won by 42-15.
Note the total absence of protective equipment other than mouthguards
I think the scoreline was flattering to Wellington.
Alas, he was taken to ground by a determined defence.
Sports is an unlikely topic for me so it won’t happen too often.
