Gisborne Herald
  • Gisborne Herald Home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport

Locations

  • Gisborne
  • Bay of Plenty
  • Hawke's Bay

Media

  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Gisborne Herald / Sport

It’s a small world at RWC

Gisborne Herald
18 Mar, 2023 08:35 AMQuick Read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

GISBORNE CONNECTION: Gisbornites (from left) Chris Hampson, Ashleigh Blair, Kevin Ford and Stu Blair take in London’s vast Olympic Stadium before the All Blacks Rugby World Cup match against Namibia. Picture supplied

GISBORNE CONNECTION: Gisbornites (from left) Chris Hampson, Ashleigh Blair, Kevin Ford and Stu Blair take in London’s vast Olympic Stadium before the All Blacks Rugby World Cup match against Namibia. Picture supplied

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

GISBORNE’S Stu Blair reports in after attending the All Blacks-versus-Namibia match at the Olympic Stadium on Friday. Stu is currently in Wales and said he composed his second Gisborne Herald Rugby World Cup (RWC) report while “my brain is mush”. The OBM coach and former Marist player has been celebrating with the Welsh after their victory over the old enemy at Twickenham. He sent this to Herald reporter Wynsley Wrigley.“HI guys, it’s a crazy week after leaving beautiful Croatia and arriving in a cold and dreary London,’’ writes Stu Blair.

But it has not taken long for his spirits to lift.

Stu found himself staying with former Marist team mate Chris Hampson and his wife Carrie in London.

When it came to game day the two Marist men met another Gisborne teammate, Kevin Ford, and the three men carried out a pre-match inspection — as you do — of the bars in the vicinity of the test venue.

“You could have been in New Zealand! “Kiwis everywhere in the huge mall next to the ground.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“You couldn’t walk five steps without bumping into an All Blacks jersey.

“I sat down to eat and was joined by a Dunedin couple and discovered he was from Gisborne.

“His brothers were Doug and “The Wiz” Walsh — what a small world.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There were other connections to Gisborne.

In a bar the three men met Blair’s niece Ashleigh, Peter Dodge and Ngatapa man Steven Thompson and his girlfriend Nicole Richards.

Blair said the bar had a great atmosphere, with “a sea of black jerseys” and everyone drinking the product of a prominent RWC sponsor.

He described London’s Olympic Stadium as a fantastic venue, easy to gain access to and with a great view from every seat.

‘‘We had a huge night and were feeling rather poorly on the train to Cardiff.”

Blair and “Fordy” are currently staying at the flat of Glyn “Tots” Heylun at Aberaeron, a “beautiful coastal village’’.

Heylun, on a trip to New Zealand, played for Gisborne Marist and stayed at Stu’s home.

Stu has also met up with Huw Rees Evans, who, on his trip down under, played for Marist and Poverty Bay.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A highlight for Stu has been a visit to Aberystwyth RFC, where he played in the 1984-1985 season.

‘‘It was very nostalgic to return and catch up with old teammates.

“We watched the Wales-versus-England game in a packed clubhouse, which went crazy at fulltime.’’

Stu and Fordy are spending the next few days meeting up with friends, playing golf, sailing the Irish Sea and “drinking a few pints’’.

Next on their itinerary its back to Cardiff on Thursday for two RWC matches — Wales versus Fiji and All Blacks up against Georgia.

Save
    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Sport

Sport

HSOG, YMP, Waikohu show their class in the Y

Premium
Sport

'Many sleepless nights': Chair reflects on Rugby Park redevelopment journey

Sport

Another Te K Cup pairs crown to Christophers, Henwood


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

HSOG, YMP, Waikohu show their class in the Y
Sport

HSOG, YMP, Waikohu show their class in the Y

Premier netball's top three consolidate as business end of competition nears

24 Jul 12:35 AM
Premium
Premium
'Many sleepless nights': Chair reflects on Rugby Park redevelopment journey
Sport

'Many sleepless nights': Chair reflects on Rugby Park redevelopment journey

23 Jul 04:00 AM
Another Te K Cup pairs crown to Christophers, Henwood
Sport

Another Te K Cup pairs crown to Christophers, Henwood

23 Jul 03:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Gisborne Herald
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Gisborne Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP