Naz, $9 beers and a dreary day out
We sent reporter Joseph Pearson to the singles zone but he left unimpressed.
The novelty of the Auckland Nines is dead.
A returning Ruben Wiki, Joseph Parker running the water for the Warriors, and a singles zone in a corner of Eden Park – these appear to be Duco Events’ last attempts to reinvigorate a tournament that has gradually lost its appeal since its inception in 2014.
As a Warriors B-team crashed out yesterday minus an injured Shaun Johnson, one fan wearing a fake bushy moustache and t-shirt that read ‘bring back the biff’ asked me if I had found the singles zone, which set punters back $107.93.
The truth is, nobody would have known there was one, even if reality TV celebrity Naz and her friends were scantily clad in rows towards the bottom of the stand, where families, young children and couples were present, as well as an array of fans in fancy dress knocking back small bottles of beer that cost an eye-watering $9 each.
Naz was later spotted wearing white pants after some of Eden Park’s fun police had spoken to her. It’s unclear if her change of attire was related to what the men in orange said. Among the fancy dress brigade were four girls wearing full hot dog costumes, and as they sizzled in the heat, cold water was slowly pouring on the future of Auckland retaining the Nines.
One woman in the ticket office said the singles zone was sold out. If it was, then lots of people were dressed as grey seats, and fantastically so.
A few idiots were kicked out for drunken antics, but it wasn’t full, and it felt no different to any other section of the stadium, with fans kicking back to watch a limited number of NRL stars on a scorching Auckland day that ultimately led to a dreaded Mexican wave trying to lift a dreary atmosphere.
NRL coaches made no secret of their dismay at having to play in a two-day tournament in pre-season, with Manly’s Trent Barrett grumbling that it carried a ‘massive risk’ of injuries.
Teams were weakened across the board, after Duco used Johnson, Johnathan Thurson and Jarryd Hayne as promotional poster boys.
Johnson didn’t play a minute because of a hip problem, and losing 17-0 to Parramatta in their second game eliminated the Warriors.
The Warriors do have the bigger picture of an NRL season to prepare for, but organisers must have shuddered as boos rang out around Eden Park, followed by thousands of fans heading for the exits.
Ironically enough, there was confusion about what time gates were supposed to open to fans before the opening game at 12pm.
Upon finally entering the singles zone, there was a smattering of Mexicans, Fred Flinstones, cave men and cave girls among the ‘younger crew’, as well as families, couples and young children, who must have been wondering what on earth the singles zone was all about.