|
Post by machpants on Sept 10, 2011 17:28:36 GMT 12
That entire opening sequence from the start to the end was absolutely fantastic. Well done to every single person involved. they have done New Zealand proud, that's for sure!! Yeah I take my scorn back, the actual opening ceremony and fireworks display rocked, was awesome (not sure about the synchronised crane dancing tho!)
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 10, 2011 21:56:54 GMT 12
Just watching the England versus Argentina game. England are playing like a bag of shit. They are getting run rings around. And even better to see, their silly black jumpers are all falling apart. Hilarious. Go Argentina!!
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 10, 2011 21:58:27 GMT 12
And interesting to see Johnny Wilkinson playng so rubbish too.
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 10, 2011 22:19:44 GMT 12
Bugger, it all went wrong and the Poms snuck back in. they defiantely did not deserve to win.
|
|
|
Post by jonesy on Sept 11, 2011 6:51:47 GMT 12
Bugger, it all went wrong and the Poms snuck back in. they defiantely did not deserve to win. I think you'll find total agreement there. What a shocker of a game, shame for the Argies really.
|
|
|
Post by obiwan27 on Sept 11, 2011 9:00:02 GMT 12
Los Pumas should have won that one. Can't really afford to miss 4 penalties when you are playing in an indoor stadium, so can't blame the conditions. It's been a weekend (largely) of matches where the favourite teams haven't had it all their own way. That makes the tournament all the more interesting imho.
|
|
|
Post by baz62 on Sept 11, 2011 10:27:28 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by machpants on Sept 11, 2011 11:09:52 GMT 12
I quite like English commentator Stuart Barnes' summary "trying to find something positive about that effort is like trying to land a fish in a toxic river"
|
|
|
Post by Chris F on Sept 12, 2011 10:08:47 GMT 12
Well we are up and running....Fantastic opening and a big well done to all involved.....transport issues aside!. As for the games the big teams all looked rusty and only game time will fix this. But gotta feel for Argentina and Wales and Japan....they played outstanding and the teams they played England,South Africa and France well they looked very average at best. Keep a close eye on Australia they started slow but the second half was very polished and they are dangerous. As for the All Blacks.....Mr Henry you need to stick with the same starting 15 for every game and let the team jell....you have had plenty of time to test your combinations and now is not the time to chop and change....the chop and change policy could be your downfall.
|
|
|
Post by pjw4118 on Sept 12, 2011 11:56:29 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by pjw4118 on Sept 12, 2011 11:58:15 GMT 12
![](http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx288/PJW4118/Rugby%20World%20Cup/WorldCupViaduct003.jpg) One more, Sorry a photo from Motat slipped in!
|
|
|
Post by Peter Lewis on Sept 12, 2011 12:10:22 GMT 12
oh dear the waterfront and transport was amateur and embarrassing. So much for Mayor Brown and his fellow super city idiots. Heads may roll but the councils brain power will still remain at Zero. Braver man than me there Peter. I scuttled home and watched it on the box. Memories of the transport debacle of the 1990 Commonwealth Games at Mt Smart stadium came back. Nothing learnt (or a lot forgotten) over 21 years. Blame will be shuffled around among the entities involved, and will eventually be pinned on an individual who left their post a year or two ago thus conveniently getting all of the incumbents off the hook. Compensation? Why should ratepayers who were not involved have to pay the cost of compensation within their Council rates? Any compensation should be deducted from the fat salaries of those who masterminded this debacle, and no-one else.
|
|
|
Post by Tony on Sept 12, 2011 16:56:45 GMT 12
Hard to totally blame Brown. The idiots who turned down the chance for a purpose built stadium on the waterfront aka Wellington are the most culpable.
Eden park, while it was okay in historical times (just like Athletic Park) is and will always be totally inadequate as a major venue by virtue of its lack of transport hub capability.
Some great games of rugger though and the Japs and Yanks can certainly hold their heads high.
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 12, 2011 23:32:24 GMT 12
I disagree entirely. Even if the hugely extravagant waste of money stadium had been built on the waterfront there would still have been major traffic chaos, Auckland is traffic chaos on a good day and any small event makes it a bloody nightmare. Something like this would have snarled up the traffic no matter where it was because wherever you put it people still have to travel there by road or rail. Not everyone lives right nextdoor. And on the wharf, practically no-one lives nextdoor!
I think they made a huge error by telling everyone the train was the best option. I have always thought, if one train breaks down the whole system is f*cked. I have experienced it in London rush hour and it's exactly what happened here. The muppets running this should have imported a few hundred double decker buses for the event and put in bus only lanes for them for the day. They can travel from all directions around the city and if one breaks down the rest go around and a spare can be sent to rescue the stranded. Unlike trains. Plus if some drunken lout pulls the cord in a bus it's much easier for the driver to know if they actually have to stop or just tell the git to sit down or be dropped off on the motorway.
Why can't they work out such simple facts?
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 12, 2011 23:34:56 GMT 12
Oh and I meant to add that yes, it is hard to totally blame Brown. Most of this rail plan was put in place when John Banks was the mayor of Auckland. It's largely his fault (or at least he's the one who was taking credit back when they were planning it). The man is a complete tool and why Aucklanders keep voting him into office as MP and Mayor oer the years I will never figure out.
|
|
|
Post by jpschulze on Sept 13, 2011 8:17:01 GMT 12
Now for a different perspective... The World Cup until now has been fantastic!! The atmosphere is electric and the passion not far behind! I have never been a big Rugby guy, but I sure am now! We as a family have also had our fair share of contributing to-do. Our town, Pukekohe, just by chance happened to adopt the Namibian Team. This was quite a privilege as we are also the only Namibian family in the area. So after discussing and arranging, we set out on Thursday the 1st of September to welcome the team. That on its own was amazing. Personally meeting team members, having a chat and being part of an fantastic event. And last night, me and some friends decided to concur the City chaos and try and see as much as possible of the opening ceremony as we could. AND BOY WE DID!!! We left late morning in hope to find a good spot to spend the day. We drove out to Papakura, left the car, and got on the train in hope of convenient and fast travel. The journey there took us about an hour (usually 40 min, so not to bad), with a heavily loaded train and some drunk passengers who decided to cause trouble, we made good progress. Entering Britomart, we could immediately feel the atmosphere and joy. Lovely. Approximately 40 000 people were in the city at that time, yet we still got around quite easily. We lined up at the Queens Wharf in hope of getting in, but it was packed so we left for the viaduct. There we spent the whole afternoon, the weather was fantastic so it was a joy to be in the sun after a hard winter. The big screen broke down so we were unable to see the activity at Eden Park (about 4km away), but non the less we were able to see the waka's come into the harbour and I was first in line for the haka. All very nice (Although I find the haka quite a humorous dance). After the haka we got to see Dave Dobben live, fantastic performance with great power. We then went to the City Mall to be shocked with the amount of Asians around(not being racist). We got to a bathroom and bought some food. By 18:00 we were out at the via duct getting ready for the ceremony. We got to see Eden Parks ceremony on the screen and were then treated by the breathtaking fireworks ceremony.(We focused on those of the Sky tower, as a couple of boats' masts were in the way of the harbour display) I will not bore you with the return journey, but in a nutshell it made me contemplate if it was worth going. Nonetheless, I woke up this morning well rested and still in denial of what I saw with my own to eyes. Remarkable. We have tickets to the SA vs. Namibia match and I still do not know who to support. I am not expecting much from the Namibians, but I am very proud for the simple fact that they even qualified and having met a couple of them, so are they! I am a BOKKE supporter. I do not mind the All Blacks, but these kiwis will have a massive chip on their shoulders if they win. So I will be wearing my Springbok jersey and flying a Namibian Flag. All in good spirits Here are some photo's I took The lucky charm being given by a local "Maori" ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9681.jpg) ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9677.jpg) Our tickets have arrived ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9894.jpg) Parts of the CBD remained rather quite ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9892.jpg) View from the Queens Wharf not so good, but still nice ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9869.jpg) And then the show started ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9846.jpg) ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9857.jpg) ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9836.jpg) ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9820.jpg) Dave Dobben ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9734.jpg) ![](http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/SkySketch/IMG_9807.jpg) (If this post is annoying, mods feel free to remove)
|
|
|
Post by flyjoe180 on Sept 13, 2011 11:34:18 GMT 12
Nice photos. I watched the fireworks from One Tree Hill in Auckland. Big crowd up there too but they were more or less all sober at least and no trouble.
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 13, 2011 12:13:59 GMT 12
JP, I thought Namibia played pretty well against Fiji. I wouldn't write them off against the Springboks. They might surprise you.
" We then went to the City Mall to be shocked with the amount of Asians around(not being racist)."
You don't get into the CBD very often then?
|
|
|
Post by Chris F on Sept 13, 2011 12:27:34 GMT 12
Great photos guys and many thanks...glad you all enjoying it. It's a pitty for those who missed the opening games by the transport issue. Great watching the game at the Dunedin covered in stadium.....just WOW and great foresight in building this. Myself I think Auckland missed the boat with the Stadium on the wharf....Wellington did it and it works and works well. The Eden park upgrade was short sighted.
|
|
|
Post by Bruce on Sept 13, 2011 17:41:43 GMT 12
I would say its a great thing they didn't build a waterfront stadium - there were already several hundred thousand fans choking the area to the point that no-one could move and it was getting dangerous, (and they werent necessarily going to go to Eden Park) why would you want another 60 thousand or so in the stadium to deal with as well. The better idea would have been to make the main hospitality area at the Auckland domain, but that would be too far from the bars....
|
|