Last night's
second Bledisloe Cup test at the stadium in Wellington was my third All Black test, and the first New Zealand win I've attended. (I also went to two England matches: the
26-all draw at Twickenham in December 1997 and the
13-15 loss at the stadium in June 2003). It was a fun night out, and a full house at the stadium enjoyed the New Zealand victory. It was a pity that more Australian fans didn't make the journey over because their side put in a good performance, particularly in the first half, but there were only a few yellow jerseys in the audience to watch them. Replacement All Black kicker
Tom Taylor from Canterbury landed four penalties and a conversion, but the main star on the night was winger
Ben Smith, who scored his 6th and 7th international tries in his 16th test. And the hot chips were tasty, but then they should be for five bucks. The only downside for me was the churlish booing from the crowd when New Zealand-born
Quade Cooper came on as a replacement for the Wallabies. Such childish rudeness reflects poorly on the more one-eyed and charmless sections of New Zealand rugby crowds.
Photos from the match (taken from the northern end near Aisle 2) - click to enlarge:
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| Wallaby lineout practice |
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| Ka Mate |
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| Tom Taylor shoots his first penalty |
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| Ben Smith's 2nd try |
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| Nice Wallaby raid on the All Black line |
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| Israel Folau's intercept try |
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| Full house at the stadium |
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