Alan Dymock.
Brace yourself Queenstown, this tourist is coming, writes
If you are reading this, Mum, I am sorry: I enjoyed my stint in Wellington, but I’m about to shame myself over a few free days in Queenstown.
We have reached the home straight of this Lions tour, with only one Test match left to go – in Auckland again for the fourth time on the trip. However, with bags under the bags under our eyes, we head to the southern resort for some much needed R&R before heading back to the North Island for the final push.
It has been a punishing Test runin. And that’s just for some of the whinging press folk, like me. Having never spent more than a few days in one place during our voyages it was a blessed relief to be able to unpack a suitcase… or more fittingly get enough washing done so that I could stop wearing my pants inside out. Wellington was a relative Nirvana; a chance to slow down and catch the breath as we spent one week of six in the same place.
I will admit to having preferred Welly to the other places I have been to so far on this trip. Fresher than Auckland and more diverse than Dunedin, it was not worried about being different.
The nightlife has been fun too, although two-for-one cocktails on a Wednesday was like sending Little Red Riding Hood into a bull pen. Also, a note for the doormen of Wellington: a driver’s license should be ample ID, lads. No one wants to take their passport on a night out.
Of course, the gentle breeze of life encamped in Wellington had to end at some point. There was the second Test, and we all know how that went. And now it is southward ho, aware of the job at hand. Oh well, we will always have Titahi Bay…
If you have listened to any of the rugby chat over the last five weeks – and I’m not talking about the dreary ‘‘war of words’’ as two middle aged men slag off the other in print or radio, before both agree that the whole clown cartoon thing was as original as slicing bread – then you will hear certain repeated, made-up phrases that only exist in the sphere of It has been a punishing Test run-in. And that's just for some of the whinging press folk, like me. predictable rugby interviews. It is no longer ‘‘lessons’’, it’s ‘‘learnings’’
Well as I head to the scene of England’s downfall in 2011, eager to avoid any dwarf-tossing, there is one learning I can bring with me. The Lions might be the talk of the town, but a band of Irish rugby players is making a big impression at clubs around Wellington.
While the Ulster junior sevens team’s tour might have been somewhat overshadowed by the British and Irish Lions, the parallel tours are no coincidence.
The touring party of 14 under 11 players and about a dozen coaching staff, parents and supporters touched down in Wellington on Monday for a week of rugby.
As well as playing four matches in Wellington and Lower Hutt — including a match billed as the MiniLions against the Mini All Blacks against Wellington RFC — coach Roger Alexander said the tour was about letting the boys experience the excitement of a Lions tour.
The group attended both matches in the capital this week and were on-field flag-bearers for the Lions during the second test.
Alexander said a tour of New Zealand was the trip of a lifetime for any rugby player, and the boys were excited to be playing and experiencing rugby on the other side of the world.
‘‘For many of the players, New Zealand is the epitome of rugby.‘‘
Before leaving Ireland, the team also raised $2000 for The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and Wellington Regional Children’s Hospital, which went towards a chairbed that enabled parents to stay by their child’s side when staying at the hospital.
Alexander said the team wanted to leave behind a legacy of good will in both countries. No matter how beautiful the scenery, if you take me on a vineyard visit after five weeks of touring and two Tests under the belt, I will not so much be drowning my sorrows as waterboarding myself with wine.