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World video travel guide
News • New Zealand • 2011-07-05
Rugby heritage takes a bow for RWC 2011
04 Jul 2011
Rugby World Cup 2011 will be a chance to experience and relive New Zealand’s rich rugby heritage with a series of REAL New Zealand Festival nostalgic exhibitions and events surrounding the tournament.
It is the first time a Rugby World Cup host nation has staged a nationwide festival alongside the tournament and more than 600 events - at last count - are scheduled throughout New Zealand.
As well as a wide spread of non-sporting festivals, fixtures, exhibitions and competitions, visiting fans will find many rugby-related on- and off-field attractions to grow interest and knowledge, and fuel their passion.
Revel in Rugby - NZ Rugby Museum
Thousands of RWC visitors are expected to make the pilgrimage to Palmerston North, in the central North Island, to visit the New Zealand Rugby Museum - the first national rugby museum in the world and recognised globally as one of the most important resources for rugby historians and the media.
The museum - in a brand new venue - houses some of the world's rarest rugby artefacts including the first fern, the oldest All Black jersey, a world famous whistle and coin.
There’s an interactive area for testing rugby skills against some of the sport’s greatest legends; ‘Rugby Relics’ zone documenting rugby history decade by decade; ‘Discovery Library’ with comprehensive archives and the ‘Rugby Tribes’ zone where visitors can take a closer look at the colour and diversity of New Zealand rugby.
Grassroots rugby action
Intrepid rugby fans will be able to immerse themselves in grassroots rugby action at Rotorua’s three-day Tribal Rugby Festival (11 - 13 October, 2011) featuring entertainment, food and wine, Māori culture and friendly competition.
Rugby fans will be encouraged to participate in team activities, including waka warrior canoe races on Lake Rotorua and an international fan tug 'o war. There’ll also be plenty of spectactor sport as teams compete at carrying a wild boar or attempting the best international version of the haka.
Rotorua’s village green will be transformed into a full-sized rugby field in the central city for exhibition games starring fast and furious young talent from the New Zealand Academy. Visitors will have the chance to mix with former Māori All Blacks at the Kiwiana Food and Wine Extravaganza, and party to top Kiwi musicians at Rotorua’s biggest-ever street party.
In 'boots and all'
Nationwide, overseas visitors will have a chance to get their boots dirty while lining up alongside some rugby greats as part of the nationwide Living Legends tree-planting project - an initiative that will honour the country’s great rugby legends and celebrate the New Zealand environment.
Provincial rugby unions and community groups have invited overseas visitors and locals to join in planting sessions at 17 sites, each of which is dedicated to a New Zealand rugby icon.
On the field: Rugby events
Classic All Blacks v French Classics - Queenstown
18 September, 2011
Passion, flair and the inevitable blood, sweat and tears that always comes to the fore in an All Blacks v French rugby match will be relived when former international stars take to the field in Queenstown for the ‘Classic All Blacks v French Classics’ match.
The Kiwi team will feature former All Blacks, many still playing overseas, including Jeff Wilson, Christian Cullen and Andrew Mehrtens. Other well-known players expected to take to the field include Tony Brown, Charlie Hore, Reuben Thorne, Dion Muir, Kees Meeuws, Scott Robertson and Kelvin Middleton.
The French Classics team line-up will be confirmed later, and is expected to feature a number of players responsible for the All Blacks 1999 RWC demise at Twickenham.
Historic rugby first re-enactment - Nelson
20 September, 2011
The re-enactment of New Zealand's first-ever rugby game will be held at Nelson’s Botanics Reserve - the 'birthplace of New Zealand rugby - with teams in contemporary dress playing to rules believed to have been used at the time.
The original game on 14 May, 1870 - Nelson College v Nelson Football Club - was played in front of a crowd of around 200. The new style of football was brought to New Zealand by Charles Monro, who is known as the 'father of rugby union in New Zealand'.
The re-enactment game involving today’s college and club members, will be followed by a procession through Nelson’s oldest suburb to Trafalgar Park for the Rugby World Cup 2011 match between Italy and Russia.
Poneke Pies Masters Rugby Festival - Wellington
29 & 30 September, 2011
The Poneke Pies - a social rugby team affiliated with Wellington’s Poneke Football Club, and one of New Zealand’s oldest rugby clubs - will stage a Masters Rugby Festival offering two days of rugby, camaraderie and fun for teams of over-35s from around the world.
At the heart of the Masters festival will be a series of friendly 'golden oldies' rugby matches and after the games, visitors can relax and socialise with local rugby fans and enjoy grassroots Kiwi hospitality.
The name Poneke Pies is a tribute to New Zealand's favourite meat pie - a traditional after-match snack, usually partnered with a glass of local brew. The Pies publish a weekly newsletter Half-Baked during the winter, are governed by a group known as the Upper Crust, and support a WAGs’ netball team known as the Tarts and a juniors’ rugby team, the Pastries.
Waitaki Golden Oldies Rugby Festival
30 Sept - 2 October, 2011
Hospitable Waitaki - a small South Island town north of Dunedin - will welcome the world for a friendly tournament where more than 40 teams of former rugby internationals from New Zealand and abroad battle it out on the field.
The rugby festival will culminate with a match between a Rest of the World XV v Waitaki Invitational XV. The festival will also feature some fun social events, including a rock concert and gala dinner.
Off the field: Rugby-related events
'I, George Nēpia' - Nationwide
September & October, 2011
I, George Nēpia is a one-man play, written by leading NZ playwright Hone Kouka, about one the country’s most loved and famous rugby icons. The fearless fullback, who played a leading role in the 1924 Invincibles, is still considered one of the best-ever All Blacks and was the first global superstar of the sport.
It’s also a Māori love story and reveals Nēpia as a talented singer, whose beautiful version of ‘Beneath the Māori Moon’ was an acclaimed hit that reached New Zealand’s Top 20.
An exhibition about Nēpia's life - in the Hawke's Bay town of Wairoa that was his birthplace - shows how the Māori boy, of modest upbringing, took on the world, and won. It explores the influences, economic challenges of his upbringing, mentors and dedication to his sport, and the experiences that helped shape him.
Oranges at Halftime - Nationwide
September & October, 2011
Oranges at Halftime explores the relationship between rugby and Kiwi culture, focusing on the period since 1950. It celebrates the dads who coached kids from their first games through to First XV and Junior A’s, and the mums who selflessly served pies and Fanta soft drinks in the club rooms.
This exhibition will reflect the grassroots origins of New Zealand’s relationship with rugby, and how the sport has become an all-encompassing way of life for Kiwis.
Hard on the Heels - Nationwide
September & October, 2011
This is an iconic collection of images by leading New Zealand rugby photographer Peter Bush, including personal favourites, controversial and candid behind-the-scenes shots. Bush describes capturing an All Black game as "a total workout".
The exhibition features over 100 images of great All Black moments, games and players over a 60-year period, and was created especially to commemorate New Zealand's hosting of RWC 2011.
Black Boot Legends - Wellington & Auckland
1 September - 1 November, 2011
This collection of iconic images by renowned New Zealand rugby photographers depicts Kiwi rugby legends from the non-professional pre-1995 era, when players only wore black boots. Many of these images will be on public display for the first time.
The free outdoor exhibition will be located on Wellington's waterfront area and at Auckland’s Britomart Transport Centre, giving international visitors and Kiwis the chance to admire the grassroots culture of New Zealand rugby.
UNION: Heart of Rugby - Auckland
4 September - 29 October, 2011
Created to celebrate the true heart and soul of rugby around the world, UNION is a collection of photographs resulting from a major international search to find 150 original and evocative images from the world's best rugby photographers.
Complementing the images are original interviews with John Kirwan, Nick Farr-Jones, Joel Stransky, Martin Johnson and Philippe Sella - five of the game's greatest players from the world's leading rugby nations.
'Finding Murdoch' - Auckland
29 September - 23 October, 2011
The most notorious incident in All Black history - when Keith Murdoch became the only man to be expelled from the All Blacks - will be brought to life on stage in Auckland during RWC 2011.
In 1972, after scoring the winning try in a test match against Wales, Murdoch hit a Welsh security guard at an after-match function. He was sent home but never arrived - disappearing into outback Australia until a young Kiwi female reporter Margot McRae, now living in Auckland, tracked him down.
