The Rugby World Cup is in full swing in New Zealand and All Blacks supporters could not be happier.
The home side has won all its matches so far but even better in Kiwi eyes, Australia was defeated by Ireland in one of the tournament upsets.
Eden Park in Auckland is never a comfortable place for an Australian. Whether you are on the ground or in the stands, it is war.
The Wallabies have not won there for a quarter of a century. The All Blacks rarely lose, and the fans are always in full voice.
There was no doubting which side the crowd was backing last weekend for the Wallabies clash against Ireland.
The Irish captain said later he felt like he was playing to a home crowd, but with Kiwi accents.
Australia was booed, jeered and abused at every turn. And not just Quade Cooper, the New Zealand-born Wallabies fly-half who has been dubbed public enemy number one for his run-ins with All Black captain Richie McCaw.
New Zealanders make no bones about the fact that they support the All Blacks first, then any team playing against Australia.
Fair enough. It is a reciprocal arrangement. But some Wallabies fans say one-eyed Kiwis have taken their anti-Australian sentiment too far, spitting on and threatening their antipodean cousins.
Shock, bewilderment, outrage and embarrassment are the words being used by concerned Australian fans and also New Zealanders who are worried Kiwis will get a reputation for being poor sports, or worse.
"I will never be travelling across the pond again," said Australian Alice O'Hara in a letter to Auckland's daily newspaper.
"I have been abused in the street, screamed at by hotel cleaning staff, my friends have been kicked out of pubs and one of my travelling companions has been threatened with a knife.
"New Zealanders need to grow up. The racism is unbecoming and you do not deserve the honour of hosting such an event."
But then this, from Jennifer Young: "Having recently attended the Bledisloe Cup match as a proud New Zealander I found the anti-NZ sentiment bordered on obscene," she said.
"One of the women in the group of New Zealanders in our row encountered sexually explicit and derogatory comments from the yobbo, loud-mouthed Australian behind us.
"The rampant booing of Daniel Carter when kicking was not matched when the Wallabies kickers had a go."
So perhaps it just depends on who has the numbers on the day.
Spiro Zavos is a rugby writer who was born in New Zealand but has lived and worked in Australia for the past three decades.
He believes the passionate distaste shown for the Wallabies and their supporters should be welcomed by Australians.
"For me that is a mark of respect. I mean you've got to see the history of New Zealand rugby. In the first 50 years the only sides that the All Blacks struggled to defeat were Wales and South Africa, but the side which gives the All Blacks most trouble now is the Wallabies," he said.
"So the whole nation basically turns itself onto the Wallabies.
"So the booing and all this sort of stuff is actually New Zealand rugby nation saying, 'this is a team which we really fear, so let's turn the concentrated fury of the nation on them, make them feel unwelcome and perhaps upset them inside'.
"So it isn't pleasant but then again rugby is not a pleasant game, it's a game of collisions and it's a tough game."
Australian fans may be feeling the heat now, but that is nothing compared to what the All Blacks may encounter should they fail to live up to their followers' expectations.
Tags: rugby-union-world-cup, new-zealand, australia First posted September 25, 2011 12:02:46
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