Compiled by GERRY THORNLEY
Roots manoeuvre: Feek happy to visit his old haunts
GREG FEEK has returned to his native land again and next week will be in especially familiar territory in Christchurch, where the ex-All Black loosehead played with the Crusaders and worked with the All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen and their scrummaging coach Mike Kron.
“They were great days and when I finished playing I worked with Mike too,” he recalls.
“It’s good to get back. I’ve been with these guys and Leinster for the past few years and have gotten to know the boys quite well and feel part of it. The connection is probably more so with these guys. I’ll be catching up with familiar faces soon and different guys around the country and family.”
Although he loves being back he does reckon that cafe and restaurant prices are about “25 per cent more expensive compared to the tour here two years ago” – a legacy perhaps of the World Cup.
This was particularly so on Monday, Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. As with all bank holidays, there was an additional 15 per cent surcharge in restaurants, as staff have to be paid two days’ pay and receive a day off in lieu.
Sky Sports’ rugby programme Re-Union on Tuesday night asked viewers how many Tests will Ireland win in the forthcoming series, offering them a choice of one, two, three, none or ‘they might snatch a draw’. Unsurprisingly, such is the fear Ireland have struck into the Kiwi psyche over the last 107 years that over 74 per cent of respondents said ‘none’, over 14 per cent suggested ‘they might snatch a draw’ and less than 2 per cent opted for a solitary win.
Big draw: Ireland Tests attracting decent crowds
AS WITH the World Cup, and given the Irish diaspora here and elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, a sizeable contingent of green, if not quite on the scale of the Blarney Army, is expected on Saturday night, although 5-6,000 tickets of the reduced 46,000-capacity tickets remain to be sold.
Apart from their win over the Wallabies at Eden Park in the World Cup, Ireland’s last visit there in 2006 drew 44,000 people and in a drive to fill the ground the NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said yesterday: “New Zealanders love our rivalry and camaraderie with the Irish, and in Auckland, All Blacks v Ireland Test matches have traditionally drawn large crowds.
“The Irish bring passion and colour every time they play here, and on the back of an all-Irish European Cup final, they are not to be underestimated. We are looking forward to welcoming the Irish back to New Zealand and back to Eden Park.”
For the second Test of the Steinlager Series, and the first Test in Christchurch since the devastating earthquake there, an extra 3,300 seats with a new enlarged stand at the new AMI Stadium went on sale yesterday.
That would make for a 25,500 sell-out, while Waikato Stadium (capacity 25,000) has just 3,000 tickets remaining for the third Test on June 23rd.
