Mauger thanks Lions for mentoring Kiwi fans
AS the army of Lions fans continues to swell, former All Black Aaron Mauger has thanked the tourists for teaching his country a lesson in how to support their team.
New Zealand fans can be more reserved, and Mauger, who played in two of the three Tests when the Lions last visited in 2005, said: “Lions tours were always big news but it wasn’t until 2005 that the scale of it all really dawned on me.
“You’d see fans from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales walking down the street, singing their songs and having a fun time – all in good spirits – and the New Zealand fans acknowledged just how well supported the Lions were and took that on board.
“Clearly the Lions being in New Zealand was great for the local businesses, but I think it was great for our fans too; it taught them how to enjoy the moment and support their team in full voice – not just sit there and analysis the whole game almost in silence.
“By the time we got to the second Test in Wellington, our fans were in full voice and it hard to tell who was the noisiest of the two sets of supporters; the atmosphere inside the Cake Tin (the Westpac Stadium) was incredible.”
More than 20,000 Lions fans are expected to descend on New Zealand once the Test series gets underway next week, but Mauger reckons they’ll be going home disappointed.
“It’s hard to go against the All Blacks because they have been so dominant for such a long time,” he said. “I’ve been impressed with the way they go about their work.
“Steve Hansen has been involved in the All Blacks set up since 2004 so he has got them pretty well tuned.
“They seem to keep producing good players through the environment and it never seems to take them long before they are performing at their best, so he is going to have some tough decisions to make around selection.
“There are probably 40odd players in New Zealand who could put their hand up for a Test spot.”