Just made the 11 hour return drive to Toronto yesterday after watching the game with the wife and kids.

Weather was fantastic. Around 20 degrees, which was unseasonably warm. Two years ago at the AB v USA game it was around 3 degrees (but mercifully sunny at least – the day before that there had been wind, snow and rain).

We were near the front in row 7 right behind the goal posts at the Northern end. Great view of the action when the players were down near that end. But sod’s law they were up the other end for most of the game and when in the far end 22 it was easier to see happenings on the big screen, which we had a perfect end on view of. Overall I preferred the seats we had two years ago that were quite near the back but not too far off the half way line (although being that high up the first 5 metres from the sideline were obscured with the stadium being designed for the narrower American football fields).

Crowd was well behaved and seemed to be about 50/50 black v green jerseys however the green fans were way more vocal. I can’t talk here as I am the worst ABs supporter myself, quiet as a mouse giving them bugger all support. I just can’t get the noise out and spend most of the game with a glum look and my stomach in knots (this game and the game v Bokke at Twickers last year, both way too close for me).

Filing out of the stadium afterwards was strangely sombre. The Irish fans were not as jubilant as I thought they might be. I think most of them were still in shock at the enormity of the win. We didn’t stay out that late with the kids and the long drive back to do the following day but by 9pm with more beer flowing and the singing ramping up things were finally starting to get rocking down town when we called it an evening.

I found the thought of losing to Ireland was worse than the reality when it actually happened. My son though (10) was in bits. He has very little experience of the ABs losing and when they did lose it even after they (as confidently predicted) staged their come back from 8-30 to 29-33, the need to cheer him up after the loss gave me the distraction I needed from my own woes. It also somehow felt a bit better sharing the loss with thousands of others there than at home cursing away at the TV.

We were staying down town and the day before there had been (reportedly, and exaggerated probably) 5 million people watching the cubs celebration parade. It was a lot of people and impossible for us, and I’m sure the All Blacks as well, not to get caught up in. It was a real sea of humanity and we struggled just to get from point A to B even with all the roads closed. I felt this was a big reason the ABs were flat and could not get up for the game (that and Ireland showed great compassion and belief at the same time). 108 years waiting for the cubs and 111 for Ireland. There was a sense for me that the ABs, even if subconsciously, felt that a loss to Ireland given the context and history of what had just happened in the city that week might somehow be more forgivable than otherwise. The parade went right past the All Blacks’ hotel and they were out there soaking it up with the fans. In short, their game the following day was always going to be the anticlimax of the weekend whatever the result. History game them permission to lose this one. Anyway that is my wacky theory.

On a more practical level, I think they lost mainly because this is the first time since (when???) that neither BBBR nor S Whitelock took the field, and they really got out muscled badly in the tight exchanges in the first half, which was aggravated by the binning of Moody and losing Crotty, all of which they never really got over.

As for the haka: why didn’t Smith lead it? FFS hasn’t he been punished enough already? My Mrs thinks he will never be the same player again. Hope she’s wrong about that.

Ground announcement was that it was a record for a game of rugby in the United States. 62,700.

The Silver Fern

GM1