Australia, we feel your pain

When David Kirk lifted the Webb Ellis trophy to end the 1987 Rugby World Cup, it was the grand, emotional finale to an incredible carnival of sport that extended from Auckland in the north to as far south as Invercargill.

John Kirwan scored his famous, length-of-the-field solo try against Italy at Eden Park, but there were many other historic moments to savour in Napier, Palmerston North, Hamilton and Wellington.

In the South Island, Christchurch and Dunedin also hosted matches, and 29,000 people turned out in Rotorua when Wales pipped Australia 22-21 to take third place.

As Kiwis we thought globally and acted locally, with an enthusiasm that wasn’t quite matched by the rest of the world, but certainly soon would be in tournaments that followed.

It was world rugby’s showpiece at our house, and how we partied. Together.

New Zealand securing the rights to host the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup is a bittersweet moment.

Those involved in the bid have every reason to pop the corks in celebration.

For the rest of us, it feels like we’re not invited; we’re not part of the A-list – Auckland and all points north.

The Australians missed out and are, apparently, licking their wounds. For once, a substantial slice of New Zealand can understand their pain and empathise.

There are a number of issues of concern on this side of the Tasman.

One is that World Rugby was impressed that so many Kiwis are passionate about the game.

It now appears they were misled by people happy to trade on that national passion but not share in the spoils derived from it.

And it is frustrating that among the group leading the bid were Mark Robinson, the former boss of Taranaki rugby, and Farah Palmer, who represented Otago, Waikato and Manawatu¯ during a stellar career. Both should have known better.

And what of the funding by the Government, which helped us secure the cup?

It has declined to release the figure, apparently for commercial reasons, but the Australian Government was set to inject $10 million, so it seems fair to assume we were somewhere in the ballpark.

It’s great that our Government is contributing to an event that will honour female achievement in our national sport; it’s unfortunate they forgot about the ‘‘national’’ bit. For the sake of a little more money, both New Zealand Rugby and the Government have missed a grand opportunity to ‘‘supercharge’’ the game at home, as well as abroad.

Think of the young boys, and possibly future All Blacks, who would have been inspired by the arrival of Serge Blanco, Gavin Hastings, Jonathan Davies and Simon Poidevin in their towns 31 years ago.

Think of the many young girls who will miss out when their rugby heroes land in this country for a grand tour of a few stadiums in Auckland and Northland.

How many of them will be inspired to push on and emulate the success of Portia Woodman, Selica Winiata and Kendra Cocksedge?