Cleanup Kiwis look to make amends for ABS bar brawl
LONDON-BASED KIWIS are today set to converge on a bar which drunken All Black fans smashed up in the hours following the men in black’s record loss to England.
A group of boozed fans – wearing All Black jerseys – sparked a brawl at the All-Bar-One bar, in the London suburb of Moorgate, several hours after New Zealand lost 38-21 at Twickenham.
A witness said they were ‘‘breaking glass and dishes, tables and chairs everywhere’’, with staff at the popular establishment being left ‘‘in tears’’.
Following the ‘‘disgusting’’ drunken brawl, bar management banned entry to people wearing replica All Black jerseys.
A week on, a group of Londonbased Kiwis will return to All-BarOne to mend relationships and damage at the bar.
The gesture has been labelled ‘‘Redemption Saturday [UK time]’’ by the Kiwis In London group, with a message posted on its Facebook site stating: ‘‘We are going to the All-Bar-One to show them that not all Kiwis are drunken nasty poor sports.
‘‘We are also bringing stuff along to this – and you’re all welcome to bring along something Kiwiana to share with the staff. We hear all the staff who were there last Saturday [ UK time] will be there this Saturday. Let’s show what being a Kiwi is ALL about.’’
The group said they hoped to make it up to the bar staff who were understandably ‘‘very upset and shaken up’’.
The incident was widely debated on the Kiwis In London site this week, with the actions of the All Black jersey- clad brawlers described as ‘‘appalling’’, ‘‘embarrassing’’ and ‘‘a bloody disgrace’’.
One wrote: ‘‘Seriously? Meant to be representing ourselves to the rest of the world and showing them what awesome people we are. Not that we are bad losers who can’t handle our drink.’’
An eye-witness to the brawl had earlier written: ‘‘To the group of Kiwi guys that had a brawl at AllBar- One in Moorgate last night around 8pm . . . You are an embarrassment to yourselves and our country. Your behaviour was disgusting and you left the rest of us in there apologising to the wait staff and other patrons. We were told that they would not be letting anyone else wearing ‘those jerseys’ [into the bar].’’
All-Bar-One manager Jared Kropach could not be reached for comment.
The bar brawl comes nine months after the antics of many London-based expats were slammed following Waitangi Day celebrations when 4000 Kiwis converged on central London for a New Zealand-themed pub crawl.