Feast for the eyes, ears and
If you were on the big bird, you’d get almost to Perth and do so with a bit more cushion under your behind and a steady rotation of hot meals dispatched directly to your tray table.
But a ruler-width TV screen and companions who’d rather be anywhere else can’t compare to the warm spring sunshine on your face and the company of more than 40,000 others primed for today’s Women’s Rugby World Cup threematch opening day bonanza at Eden Park.
The triple header turns the green light on the first major live sporting tournament in New Zealand since Covid-19 spoiled pretty much everything for two years — including the original 2021 schedule for this tournament.
Views are to yawn over when trapped in aluminium tubes 10,000 metres up, but expect any jaw dropping to be of the more animated kind today as fans embrace almost seven hours of live footy in the suburban Auckland stadium.
The triple-header kicks off with South Africa taking on France at 2.15pm, followed by Fiji meeting the Red Roses of England at 4.45pm and the marquee event between incumbent and five-time world champions the Black Ferns and transtasman rivals Australia at 7.15pm.
Fans will also be treated to performances by British pop star Rita Ora, who recently wed Kiwi filmmaking maestro Taika Waititi, with the Hot Right Now songstress on stage at the end of the second match, and again when Black Ferns and Australia break for halftime.
The full on- and off-field schedule in what’s expected to be the biggest women’s rugby event ever held, should easily keep lucky ticketholders entertained.
Still, it pays to be prepared for the endurance test of almost seven hours parked on a fold-out plastic seat, and