Open letter about NZ rugby – sent to the NZRU

I sent this letter to the NZ Rugby Union Board 24^th April 2019. The topic line said to the Rugby Union “Please forward to the Board Chair (Brent) and Crusaders (Grant) and all board members”

To Brent Impey, Grant Jarrold and your boards,

This is an open letter to you and other rugby fans.

I am 73-year-old All Blacks, Canterbury and Crusaders fan. I’ve been a one-eyed Cantabrian since I began, as a child, listening to the games on the radio and/or standing on the embankment at Lancaster Park with my Dad. I also expected my younger son to play for Canterbury – he played for Shirley, and once, in a junior team, played for Canterbury. Sadly, his coach-father died when he was 12 and then, at 15, a motorbike accident saw his leg being ripped off at the groin – killing his dreams and expectations of a rugby future.

The reason I’m writing is that I want to have my say as I’ve not signed any petition or been included in any poll. I also believe a letter is of more value than a signature.

I want the name ‘Crusaders’ to change. I’m glad the extras have been stopped and I hope the horse and knights will never return – in any form. I was disturbed, no – actually I was horrified – when the team was named in the mid-90s but put it down to ignorance of history and assumed most people/fans would be ignorant too.

That passive acceptance on my part changed in an instant when the white supremacist terrorist killed Muslims in my home city. (I live in Wellington now but you can take the girl out of the city but not the city out of the girl).

You don’t need a history lesson from me, others more qualified will have advised you. I also don’t believe a nation-wide poll should drive your decision either. Just do the right thing for all of us – a decision you will be able to capitalise on, as proof of a team of honourable, inclusive, diverse, people.

Please do not consult the local mosques unless the first question is – do you want to have a say about a name change? You would just be setting them up for more vitriol when you change the name – people not wanting a name change will blame them entirely.

Without a name change, this topic will come up every year. Will fans like me be able to wear our jerseys with pride? Not really. We will still love our team no matter its name or rankings but keeping the name and branding will cause issues for us fans too. If we can’t wear our red and black with pride, I suspect many will lose interest.

Please consider these points when you vote about the name change . . .  long before the new season starts, so we, and you, can buy the new red and black kit!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Heather Hapeta

Here’s their bounced back reply: 24^th April – I’ve received nothing more.

Kia ora,

Thanks for contacting New Zealand Rugby.

We greatly appreciate you taking the time to email us, we’ll do our best to respond to you as soon as possible, however we are currently experiencing a high volume of emails and may require an extra few days.

If your email is about All Blacks schedule, public appearances, tickets or for signed memorabilia for charity, please go to http://www.allblacks.com/Contact

For all other questions and queries, we’ll come back to you as soon  as possible.

Nga Mihi

	Info
	NZ Rugby Info

 

The Princess, the crew and, Amelia Earhart

Fiji Princess

The Fiji Princess, which I sailed on last month, is about to be part of one of the greatest mysteries of all time. With sixty guests on board, plus the crew, the catamaran becomes part of the “Voyage in Search of Amelia Earhart“.

Earhart,(1897-1937) was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and was an early supporter of the USA  Equal Rights Amendment.

During her attempt to circumnavigate the world in 1937 she disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean and fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.

Talking with some of the crew about their upcoming voyage to Tahiti it was obvious they had not realised the historic significance of being involved in the possible finding of her plane.

The Captain told me he would be on board for the thousand-mile journey but would not be in charge as the open, international waters require higher qualifications than he has.

Capt on the bridge

One day, deciding not to go snorkeling on one trip out from the boat, especially as manta-ray had not appeared  I sat in the little boat and chatted with two of the crew as they followed the snorkelers while they explored a reef.

Imagine being part of history I enthused, fancy being able to tell your grandchildren “I was there when they found Amelia Earhart’s plane.”

We also talked rugby and dreams of the future. Jona tells me he comes from the last island in the Fiji chain of islands and its nickname is ‘little New Zealand’ as it’s the closest to NZ. He also tells me he supports the NSW Waratahs as he has a cousin in the team.

Both men were thrilled with the Fiji Sevens having beaten NZ a few days earlier, the Chiefs and Highlanders were their favourite NZ teams and both admire Richie McCaw. 

 

He other young man, Colin, had been a carpenter before joining the Princess some three years earlier, and was studying to further his career: dreams of being the Captain of an even bigger vessel than the Princes is in his future.

Another topic I bought up was my concern about bread being fed to fish at Nanuya Lailai Island, that bread is not good for the fish. I suggested that they (i.e. the company buy) have fish food for them.

Although ,as Dan, a marine biologist who came on board to talk about corals and the local reefs, said ‘I’ve bought this up often but nothing has changed – however, I’d rather them feed the fish than kill them.”

Back to Amelia and the Princess, this month (June 2015) a research vessel will investigate the area with a remotely operated vehicle, while divers will search the surrounding reef for other possible bits of wreckage and other researchers will scour the island for remains of a possible campsite.

I hope the crew of the Fiji Princess will be able to tell their grandchildren ‘I was there’.

NOTE: For more information about the research project see here and here

Girls guide to rugby

What are my qualifications for writing this blog you may ask 

Well, I can spell Rugby, and I’m a girl

• I once, briefly,  coached a rugby team of 7 or 8 year-old boys
• My husband coached a team ( Shirley Club)
• Buck Shelford is my by marriage cousie-bro (for the curious; his grandfather and my mother-in-law were twins)
• I am a  one-eyed Cantabrian and an All Blacks supporter
• My younger son played for Shirley, and Canterbury in the lowest grade (before a major motor-bike accident)
• I opposed the Springboks playing in NZ and was even arrested in 1981 for protesting
• I’m opinionated and love fun – and these are my best qualifications to write this blog

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How to pick the best team to follow

 If you don’t have a particular local team to follow during the world cup colours are a great way to choose one.

Find the team whose colours suit YOU best and become their fan. If black makes YOU look cute, follow the All Blacks.  If green and gold are your favourite colours well it’s the Australian team for you as that’s their sporting strip.  There are many stripes of red, blue and white.

When the forwards get into a huddle to fight for the ball the technical term is a scrum. Sometimes the “other team” behave badly when in this pack, (cluster or huddle) and have to be sent to the sin-bin.

Learn history: NZ Rugby started in Nelson – it originated in the mid-1800s, in the UK, when some cheeky bloke called William Web-Ellis picked up the ‘foot’ ball and ran with it: or so I believe!

For your information: touch judges never touch anyone, and hookers are not REAL hookers – they are very import in the scrum as it’s their job to ‘hook the ball’ away for the ‘other’ team. When they do that they become happy-hookers, although this is not an official rugby term.

Use Numerology Pick the player to support and follow by his number ( which as you know equates to his position on the field) For me that would be an  easy choice, as my local team, (Canterbury/Crusaders ) and the All  Blacks #7 is the world’s #1 (Richie McCaw )

Learn the rules and rugby-speak. That will amaze the boys (and other girls too I guess) then pick a team (or player) and support them totally: remember they can do no wrong! A sign at the Christchurch Central library – ‘books with balls’ – Well, rugby is a game with balls! The commentators often make (inadvertently) funny comments when talking about balls and you can too.

Crouch, touch, pause, engage. This is a rugby term used when the forwards get into a huddle to fight for the ball. It can be used as a timing strategy in many situations that need a few seconds countdown. A friend uses it daily in her to get in and out of her apartment

The three biggest men are put in the front row of the scrum, and the next two biggest get behind (they call these men ‘the tight five’ because they hang onto each other tightly) them and try to push the other team backwards. In the ‘olden days’ supporters would call out ‘weight weight’ meaning put more weight into the big shove. My mother embarrassed me by saying “No, don’t wait.’ She needed a guide like this!

The ‘backs’ have mathematical terms for some position names – for someone lousy at figures it is not strange that my teenage love played as ‘fullback’ or #15 rather than one of the five-eights. Other names such as ‘centre’ #13 and ‘wing’ (11 & 14) are self-explanatory

The ‘tight-five’ is a dangerous place to be especially for ears. Many people don’t like cauliflower, and no-one wants their ears to be called that but many front-rowers have them because of repeated hits to the ear. Once this happens, the person’s ear may look lumpy forever. Some wise players try to prevent this by wearing headgear.

Read rugby history … this link is about the 50 greatest All Blacks … knowing this will impress your rugby-head mates

 

 

Wellesley Boutique Hotel: rugby, fashion, politics and me

Isn’t it funny how things happen: in Wellington for nearly two years, I had never heard of The Wellesley Boutique Hotel when in less than ten days I find myself attending three events there – rugby, fashion, and a soiree.

At the first, I was invited by  Peter Cullen (The Employment Law Firm) to breakfast to hear the great Hugo Porta (legendary Argentinian  No.1 fly half ) speak along with the All Blacks coach Steve Hanson, and Los Pumas former player and now coach, Santiago Phelan, talking before the 2012 Rugby Championship match in Wellington, New Zealand.  I enjoyed hearing all of them talk and especially, Hugo talking of the charity he runs – he is in the New Zealand Rugby Hall of Fame.

A week later, also by invitation to breakfast from Peter Cullen, I was there to hear Dame Suzie Moncrieff talk about WOW, the World of Wearable Art, due to start only days later. I have not been to a show, yet, but have been to its Gallery in Nelson  – I have also seen the touring exhibition when it was showing in Christchurch – at the museum – recently.

Dame Suzie, the founder of the World of Wearable Art (WOW) show, has made an outstanding contribution locally, nationally and internationally in the arts scene.

Once described as “Mardi Gras meets Haute Couture at a Peter Gabriel concert directed by Salvador Dali,” WOW twists conventional perceptions of art and fashion. WOW creates a world where art and the human form combine, and where dance, music and lighting blur the lines of fashion and art.

WOW is proudly a New Zealand event, but the extravaganza attracts thousands of visitors and dozens of entries from all over the world each year. Now in its 24th year, this year has been a big year for Dame Suzie:

• She has been made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the arts in the New Years Honours;
• She was a finalist in the Kiwibank New Zealander of the year;
• She took WOW to Hong Kong for its first public show overseas where it played to sold out audiences.

She was an inspirational speaker.

The following day I was back at The Wellesley Boutique Hotel  for a celebration of their hotels in the greater Wellington region, and which is now part of the Heritage Boutique Collection, a division of Heritage Hotel Management.

As someone new to Wellington it was good to meet travel industry people from the Martinborough  and Wairarapa areas – they have convinced me I need to head over the hill for a few days to explore the region – and it’s great that summers coming!

I’m told the “Heritage Boutique Collection Hotels are designed for corporate, leisure and the conference traveller, and offer guests a certainty when selecting boutique accommodation because of our high and exacting standards” said Ronnie Ronalde, General Manager of Heritage Boutique Collection.

The Wellesley is a four-story Georgian Revival building (seems it won an architectural gold medal in 1932) that sits solidly on a quiet corner in the CBD – perfect for any guest to Wellington – handy to everything in this great walking city.

I haven’t eaten at the Wellesley’s Maginnity Restaurant – once I have I’ll let you know about it!

So there you go – never heard of a place and suddenly I’m a regular –and I’m back there later in October to hear the Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key.

Rugby world cup .. crunching the numbers over the years

My daughter loves figures and did this chart … now she hope to be in the UK for the next RWC!

New Zealand in Rugby World Cup

 

Year	Location	NZ place	Final Won	Final Lost	Teams
1987	New Zealand & Australia Eden Park, Auckland	1st	New Zealand 29	France 9	16
1991	England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France Twickenham Stadium, London	3rd (won against Scotland 13-6 after losing to Australia 6-16 in semis)	Australia 12	England 6	16
1995	South Africa Ellis Park, Johannesburg	2nd	South Africa 15	New Zealand 12	16
1999	Wales (also England, France, Scotland and Ireland) Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	4th (lost to SA 18-22 after losing to France 31-43 in semis)	Australia 35	France 12	20 – 1st professional RWC
2003	Australia Telstra Stadium, Sydney	3rd (won 40-13 against France after losing to Australia 10-22 in semis)	England 20	Australia 17	20
2007	France (+ 4 in Wales & 2 in Scotland) Stade de France, St-Denis, Paris	Quarter Finalists (lost to France 18-20)[1]	South Africa 15	England 6	20
2011	New Zealand Eden Park, Auckland	1st	New Zealand 8	France 7	20

 

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[1] Australia also lost in Quarters, against England 10-12; Fiji lost to SA; Scotland lost to Argentina – Argentina ended up 3rd beating France in the Bronze Final

Poignant photo from Christchurch & a letter to the All Blacks

This poignant photo I took in  Christchurch reminds me of the quake-ruined cathedral, the lack of Rugby World Cup events in my old city, the loss of  Lancaster Park/AMI Stadium, and now one of our Cantabrians, Dan Carter, being injured and out of the RWC (this time) too.

It also reminds us rugby it’s a team sport and we kiwis are part of the team so lets keep supporting black and keep painting it black.

Kia kaha ALL BLACKS – we’re behind each player.

So, enjoy the games, do your best and we WILL love you win or lose – we are proud of you all  –  you know that!

Wellington Fan Zone, RWC, and Festival

The Wellington waterfront site for the local RWC Fan Zone and  Real NZ Festival is attracting lots of visitors and locals – although Wellingtonians always use their waterfront asset well!

Made by Weta Workshop

Stand here - in front of the 'line-out' sculpture and wave to your friends. See here http://www.live.wellington.govt.nz

 

 

South African fan in Cuba Street

Argentina arrives in Wellington NZ for the RWC!

Argentina arrives in Wellington NZ for the rugby world cup (RWC) I have an enjoyable cup of tea with the supporters as I watch the tango!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Despite rumours, visitors attractions are open in Christchurch, New Zealand

Despite rumours to the contrary, many visitor attractions in Christchurch are open! The International Antarctic Centre, the Tranz-Alpine rail experience, the Air Force Museum, Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, Hassle-free Tours, Tanks for Everything, Horsepower Experience, Christchurch Casino, Ferrymead Heritage Park and Up, Up and Away ballooning adventures and Beadz Unlimited, are just some of the over 26 Christchurch’s tourism attractions in full operation – and these numbers are increasing as I write.

In September and October many more will be back in action: Canterbury Museum, a central-city  iSITE Centre, and Christchurch Bike Tours to name a few.

I went to the multi-award-winning International Antarctic Centre to see its new movie experience, ‘Ice Voyage’, a 4D movie that involves an all-round total sensory experience: with seals sneezing on me; ice about to pierce us; and a gull that … well go and see! I loved the young penguins with their fluffy highland cow-like scarves and coats! Despite real snow on the ground, outside, we, the audience, felt part of a real Antarctic storm – sort of like coals to Newcastle!  Of course, as usual here, kids of all ages love riding the real Antarctic all-terrain Hagglund vehicle, while I spend ages with the very cute, rescued, penguins in the indoor-outdoor penguin viewing area

Outdoor experiences include visiting Christchurch’s world renown, Botanic Gardens which are open, and with their Caterpillar Garden Tours operating.

Punting on the Avon at the Antigua Boatsheds is a time-old activity for locals and visitors, a leisurely way to see another side of the city – and in cold weather make sure you wrap up with the blankets they offer.

 There’s no-where to stay? Well, that’s not true either! Between Christchurch International Airport and the central city there are 11 hotels, 5 lodges and apartments, 109 motels, 15 holiday parks, 15 backpacker lodges and 68 bed & breakfasts in full operation. There should be something to suit every taste. I stayed in the central city at the 5-star Classic Villa, a handy spot to walk to the new Events Village which has sprung up in North Hagley Park  ( NZs’ largest urban open space -164.637 hectares) to host performances and events in the city for the next six months.

Set up by Christchurch City Council, with support of the Government, a large inflatable dome is the centrepiece of the village.  Two large geodesic domes are also underway for events throughout the year – of course the Rugby World Cup Fanzone will be set in this Events village too. The ever-popular World Buskers Festival will be the last event set in the Events Village, from 19-29 January 2012 and the Ellerslie International Flower Show will be back in Hagley Park in March 2012.

For more information when in Christchurch, a temporary iSITE Visitor Centre is in the foyer of The Chateau on the Park hotel, Deans Avenue, open seven days a week, 8.30am to 5pm.

The earth from above and snow below – in Christchurch

The “Earth from Above” is a free outdoor exhibition that runs down Rolleston Ave (from the Armagh St Bridge down to the  Canterbury Museum  in the Cultural Precinct of Christchurch, New Zealand. ( The museum hopes to re-open on 2nd Sept)

These large-scale images, taken over a 15-year period by photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, are commanding in their presence: the snow added to my enjoyment and thoughts about the pictures and facts (especially the NZ facts) that were presented under some.

Start one end and walk both ways for these double-sided photos

 

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Check out the Arts Festival for more information

In the Events Village, this dome,  which has been used over the past few years in Christchurch  for ice-skating in the Square a couple of years ago and some of the Buskers Festival events earlier this year, looks more like an igloo today!

Hagley Park, New Zealand’s largest city park will be home to the rugby world cup fanzone later this year too – a great setting.