Quarter Final Weekend - Sunday - Southern Hemisphere

We got up on Sunday morning, breakfasted at the B&B and met Sue, Janet's daughter, who suggested we walk up One Tree Hill before looking for a pub.  Yesterday's experience suggested that 2 - 2:30 pm was the optimal time to get to a pub so you could get a seat. 

One Tree Hill

One Tree Hill was a good hour's round trip on foot with a fantastic view of the whole of Auckland from the top. We walked  up the road to the summit, which is crowned by a huge columnar memorial to the Maori.  There used to be a single tree up there, but it finally died and the memorial was put up in its place.  The view from the top is fantastic - you can see all of Auckland spread out before you and well worth the walk. Spurning the road, we set off cross country and took a sheep track back down to the bottom and jumped a fence.  It was a lovely day and it seemed as if half of Auckland was walking, running, or cycling up, down, or around One Tree Hill.  

Auckland CBD from the top of One Tree Hill

The Kingslander

Once we got back to ground level again, we decided to revisit Kenzie's for brunch.  This time it was chorizo hash and salmon and scallop filo pastries, but you'll have to guess who had what!  Deciding that some additional exercise was going to be needed to offset the rest of the day's drinking, we walked to Eden Park.  As we would be seated on the opposite side of the ground to last night, we looked for a pub on the far side of the ground and found the Kingslander.  We found a table, sat down and had a drink. 

Fi with the Black Sheep

Shortly thereafter, who should walk through the door but the Black Sheep Rugby Club from Port Alberni, BC, Canada whom we had met in Dunedin the previous Sunday.  Some of the guys joined us at our table and a very pleasant afternoon was spent in the company of Bob, Max, Fitness (Richard) and others.  Included in the afternoon's entertainment was the emergence of the moose and the dead ants - Mike can explain and will only do so in person.  Other than ourselves, there was one Wallaby fan, four Springbok fans and about 500 All Black supporters!  By 4:30 pm, they were queueing 40-deep at the door to get in.

Two of the three Wallaby supporters

Well, what a match.  Not pretty, but exceptional work by the Wallabies and a very hard fought victory in the end.  South Africa now join Australia as the only World Cup holders to have exited the competition in the quarter finals of the next cup.


Once again the pub emptied rapidly and we all walked down to Eden Park again.  Argentina took the fight to the All Blacks, who continued to be plagued by injuries.  Three weeks ago, Aaron Cruden was sitting watching matches on TV and now he is the first choice half back, as both Dan Carter and Colin Slade are out of the tournament.  

Eden Park again

The match continued with NZ scoring through penalties and Argentina getting the only try in the first half.  After the first half, Mils Muliana, playing his 100th test for the All Blacks, had to come off with what turned out to be a  fractured shoulder - a sad end for him, as he retires as an AB at the end of the tournament.  Finally, NZ scored a couple of tries in the second half, but the win was less than convincing.  The Argentinian performance augers well for the Four Nations next year, and I hope we see some Argentinian players in the Super 15 soon.


There was an emotional presentation after the match as Mils got his centenary cap, after which we walked back to Dominion Road.  This time, rather than jump in a taxi straight away, we stopped and had a hot chocolate in a cafe and let the traffic chaos die down a bit before catching a taxi back to the B&B at midnight.