Aaron Cruden, Dan Carter, Conrad Smith - by Adrian Pratt
Congratulations, All Blacks, from all of us at RugbyUSA. Great victory and what a fantastic tournament. Thanks for all your hospitality and good spirits. The USA Eagles had a blast. Enjoy the Webb Ellis Cup.
The All Blacks team received its just rewards when at least 100,000 people turned out to see them and the Webb Ellis Cup parade through the streets of central Wellington to the steps of Parliament. This was the third parade in as many days for the 2011 Rugby World Champions, following large outings in Auckland and Christchurch.
Children were let out of school early for the mid-day parade. The players were overwhelmed by support and high-fived kids and signed autographs as best as they were able without holding up proceedings. In the end, the parade, scheduled for an hour, lasted closer to two – a result of the outpouring of affection by a crowd that was at least twice as large as expected.
Despite the awful weather – gale-force winds and horizontal rain – the faithful were in good spirits and roared their approval as the All Blacks passed. The crowd, twenty deep in places, looked like they were going to a rugby match, wearing their black, their face paints and waving the Silver Fern flags – New Zealand’s unoffical national emblem these last six weeks.
Huge crowds for the parade - by Adrian Pratt
Considering it’s been 24 years since this rugby crazy country last won the World Cup, and the huge crowds are understandable. The Rugby World Cup, held every four years, has been a huge success here in New Zealand. The country hosted 48 games, 85,000 international visitors and sold almost $270 million worth of tickets and saw the nation transformed into a stadium of four million.
Adopt-a-second-team programs were also highly successful, ensuring that smaller rugby nations like Namibia and Georgia received strong support for their games. Whole communities adopted teams, decking their towns out in the colors of their adoptees. The USA Eagles received tremendous support during their time in New Zealand, with many Kiwis dressing up in red, white and blue and waving the Stars & Stripes with gusto. When the Eagles played Australia, the Dominion Post estimated that 75 percent of the crowd was cheering for the United States.
By USA Rugby - The 12-man rugby sevens squad heading to Guadalajara, Mexico will be engrained with a mantra that will help it maintain focus in the quadrennial tournament: ‘Play in the moment.’
