Off with a hiss and a roar

By Teri Fitsell

"And we were singing hymns and arias..."

Hands up everyone who woke up with that Welsh anthem still ringing in their ears after witnessing a Rugby World Cup 1999 opening ceremony (Saturday, 1 am) that was mercifully short on the arty-farty and long on fantastic - and fanatic - Welsh singing.

Usually just the words "opening ceremony" prompt cringe-inducing visions of legions of shiny, happy children prancing around for hours allegedly representing spring or harmony or the Olympic spirit (which, nowadays, is a large double whisky isn't it?).

But no, the Welsh kept the imagery to a minimum and the voices to the maximum, volume-wise, and made the most of a rare chance to put the spotlight on their culture.

It was a shame that TVNZ decided that although they could keep the matches ad-free, they couldn't do the same for the opening ceremony, which was consistently rudely interrupted, some breaks less than seven minutes apart.

Ads apart, TV One's build-up programme was good. Geoff Bryan and Bull Allen talked in-studio about previous World Cups, interspersed with highlights clips, as well as reports from TV One's team in Britain (including Keith Quinn and John McBeth); and segments from Quinn's Legends of the All Blacks series.

It was interesting to note that Sky - who famously are not showing the World Cup - couldn't resist a little one-upmanship. They pre-empted TV One's build-up by broadcasting an excellent World Cup documentary, 1987-1995 The Story So Far, one hour before TV One began theirs.

One could almost hear the sound of "nah nah na-nah nah" from the Sky camp.

But back to the ceremony, and the only-just-finished Millennium Stadium is clearly oozing atmosphere - and roof tiles, according to an alarming report from TV One's team. The crowd is seated as close to the action as it's possible to be (unlike at Stadium Australia) and they enthusiastically joined in with the thousands-strong combined choirs belting out faves such as Men of Harlech.

Early on, sound was a problem, with Catatonia's performance of the subtly titled "Everyday when I wake up I thank the Lord I'm Welsh" barely audible to TV audiences.

Clearly nationalistic fervour wasn't a problem though, and it reached fever pitch (as it were) when the Welsh warbler herself, Shirley Bassey (or Burly Chassis as she's fondly known) emerged, resplendent in a voluminous gown made up of two Welsh flags - presumably she's been taking fashion tips from Dame Edna.

Our Shirl and Wales' fabulous bass-baritone Bryn Terfel joined their considerable forces to sing the World Cup anthem World in Union.

Theirs is a stirring version of a stirring song, but at this stage the sound was so far out of synch with the vision, the cameramen resorted to filming the backs of the singers' heads.

All was restored, however, by the time Welsh comedian Max Boyce strolled up to lead a chorus of Hymns and Arias with special new lyrics to mark the occasion.

He stole an already emotionally charged show, and by ceremony end, the question was whether the opening game (between Wales and Argentina) could compete.

The answer: it couldn't. It was a lacklustre match, which despite a strong Kiwi interest - in that both coaches and several players were New Zealanders - did little to retain interest.

Never mind. The main thing is the marathon's started; the red-eye special's up and rolling.

Now, if TV One would just stop letting us know who won BEFORE showing daily match highlights, and also persuade the British broadcasters to keep the score on-screen during live coverage, all would be well. Or, in light of the ceremony ... all would be Welsh.