Redcoats turn Wellington Stadium into a Lions den

The Lions players said the crowd played a big part in bringing them home.

I didn’t begrudge the hordes of Lions fans strolling around Palmerston North spending up large, but I did take umbradge at their colonisation of the Cake Tin last Saturday.

What on earth was NZ Rugby doing, allowing two-thirds of the stadium to be population by redcoats?

The prices were bumped up so many Kiwis couldn’t afford tickets, allowing the red masses, at about NZ$2 to their quid, to turn the second test into a home game for the strange alliance of British and Irish.

The Lions players said the crowd played a big part in bringing them home, all of 12,000 miles from Blighty.

It will be more populationequitable at the 50,000-seater Eden Park where, hopefully, the climate will also work in the All Blacks’ favour.

Wellington proved to be perfect for the Lions – rain, an All Black seeing red and the style of flustered French arbitre, Msieu Garces. The equally Gallic Romain Poite at Auckland, is also likely to play into the Lions’ hands, as he’s so accustomed to stoppages and snails-pace European play, such as the Lions’ delaying pow-wows before their lineouts.

Video ref George Ayoub kept proffering more evidence through the static at Wellington, but Garces wouldn’t answer the phone. It has been opportune for those toxics, so envious of celebrity, to condemn Sonny Bill Williams for shouldering Anthony Watson.

Anyone who has laced on a footie boot knows things can happen in a millisecond in the collision sport that is rugby. Slowmotion replays exaggerate them until there are calls to swing the player from the yardarm.

While on Sonny Bill, coaches who have worked with him will tell you he is a wonderful human being. It was just a pity he wasn’t there to plough into the two Lions five-eighths to get our heroes over the gain line.

Curiously, many of the British media at the time felt red was excessive. Whatever, it stuffed the test. Garces dismissed Ayoub’s call to examine the swinging arm of Irishman Sean O’brien that poleaxed Waisake Naholo. One minute later, Toby Faletua scored down the absent Naholo channel where Israel Dagg was left alone to arrest the big lump.

Later, despite clear video evidence, O’brien was exonerated at trial by three Aussie beaks and yet his victim, Naholo, suffered more damage than Sonny Bill’s target, Joseph. That very English prop by name of Mako Vunipola was also lucky to stay as a cheapshot merchant who torpedoes his bulk into rucks.

Expect both teams to start hopping about the field in kangaroo fashion at Auckland. That way any tackle will be made in the air and a penalty will result, as that against Charlie Faumuina at Wellington.

The Lions have come through injury-free in their 1st XV, whereas the All Blacks must now get by without Ben Smith, Ryan Crotty and Sonny Bill, as well as Dane Coles.

It’s all very well saying the ABS will come out with flared noses at Eden Park. But they must find a way through the Lions’ Hadrians Wall. For Steve Hansen, Wayne Smith, no pressure.

Museum a Lions’ den

But for the presence of the NZ Rugby Museum, most Lions rugby fans might have bypassed Palmerston North.

As it was, the museum was swamped by an average of about 250 visiting fans per day for the past 11 days or so, with Welsh and English in the majority. It was a must-stop for the busloads of tour groups.

Given the paucity of beds in the capital, many stayed in Palmerston North for three days. It was also a good call by the city council to stage the Winter Festival in conjunction with the rugby tour and to block off George St and Coleman Mall for two nights.

Another bonus was that the city hosted them without having the Lions team stopping off and terrorising Manawatu, as they did in 2005. Also visiting was the Lions’ Male Voice Choir, which gave one of only four concerts on the tour, at the conference and function centre on Friday. It was top value at only $11.50 and packed out the place out with 800 people.

There was a downside. Everyone had to queue way down Main St and a few patrons were bombed by sparrows in the trees. The Choir’s opening item was Gwahoddiad and Welsh conductor Iuean Jones, in jest, said ‘‘sing along if you want’’.

They also sang a Maori Medley, with Palmerston North Boys’ High School’s OK Chorale and Freyberg High School’s Bellas and Fellas. One of the Englishmen in the choir told me he learned the Maori words to songs such as Pokarekareana by listening to Hayley Westenra on You Tube.

Sadly, the best item was Lions Medley, which the choir all but overlooked. They burst into song with it after half of the patrons had left, a mix of Land of My Fathers (Wales), Flower of Scotland, Ireland’s Call and that tiresome Swing Low Sweet Chariot.