No rugby, but all in all not a bad day out

IT was a bloody beauty of a day for footy and South Africa was in town.

The lads and I were up in the big city on the annual trip and we were pumped to see the mighty Waikato take on the Boks.

We all knew about the debacle going on about the tour, but we weren’t too bothered.

We just wanted to see a good game of rugby.

We were expecting a few hippies doing a bit of weak chanting, but we had no idea what was about to come.

The game had just kicked off and I was seated right above the player’s tunnel in seat 8A.

We could already hear some faint shouting and rioting in the distance but I didn’t think it would come to much.

There were police stationed outside the ground at every entry point, we didn’t even think there was even a chance of anyone getting in.

The game went on and the shouting just became louder and louder.

It was definitely more than just a few peaceful hippies.

The tension was building and there was a weird feeling of confusion floating around the stadium.

Chants of ‘‘Stop the Tour’’, and ‘‘The Whole World's Watching Now’’ sounded crystal clear.

We thought it was a bit of a laugh though, seeing all the protesters and hearing all their chanting and songs — until we saw the first cracks in the fence.

A sea of people in thick jackets sprinted on to the field.

They stopped on halfway, forming a circle and linking arms for strength, but all the police were doing was standing around them gently escorting people who went out of line. It was complete bullsh*t! These protesters had invaded the field trying to stop a game and all they did was stand there.

Then a big announcement blurred out over the speakers: ‘‘The game has officially been cancelled’’.

The crowd erupted and a strong feeling of pure rage was obvious.

Booing, screaming, swearing and shouts of ‘‘we want rugby’’ swamped my ears.

Fans, me and the lads included, burst on to the field looking to do the police’s job properly.

It wasn’t gentle. Punches were being thrown, protesters were being dragged out of the stadium and people were being kicked on the ground.

I actually felt quite bad for some of them, but it was those d*cks’ fault we had no rugby to watch.

After a few minutes of violencefilled antics, they finally got chucked out of the ground, but not without a fair share of beer bottles being hurled at them.

And that was that for us. Some more action carried on in the streets after the game, but we were more interested in a cold one.

Although we didn’t quite get the rugby game we wanted, all in all she wasn’t a bad day out.