This was a pretty good weekend for New Zealanders. The All Blacks slammed England 44-12, the Black Caps beat England at cricket, and the Baby Blacks under 20 rugby side beat England in the final of the World Championship 38-3. It was particularly uplifting, given the amount of stick I had taken the week before by many of my English friends when I was in London for a couple of weeks before the first test match. The wishful thinking and arrogance prevalent in England, perennial underachievers in sport, is formidable, particularly when fueled by the idiotic media over there. Everyone was telling us how New Zealand was in crisis, how they hadn’t got over the World Cup loss to France, and even more comically, how this was the best England side tour for years. Well, New Zealand beat them 38-20 and 44-12. Happy as these two games were, it was even more uplifting when the under 20’s romped home 38-3 because this is a great predicator for the future. Once again, the British media were certain that this was England’s year and once again, they fell short when faced with New Zealand passion, commitment, skill and athleticism. All in all, not the worst weekend I’ve had in my life.
