TOP CLASS: Outstanding Lions midfielder Ben Te'o on the charge against the Maori All Blacks. PHOTO: photosport
TOP CLASS: Outstanding Lions midfielder Ben Te'o on the charge against the Maori All Blacks. PHOTO: photosport
Locals say the spirit of Rotorua is everywhere if you look hard enough.
It is in the proud people and the city's heritage, the natural beauty of the lakes and most obviously in the crisp, sulphuric air.
There was no shortage of spirit at Rotorua International Stadium on Saturday night when the Maori All Blacks met the British and Irish Lions.
The magnificent amphitheatre was packed to the rafters with 28,177 fans. The last full-house signs were back in 2005 when Bay of Plenty hosted the Lions on the opening night of that ill-fated tour.
It just felt this was the right place for the Maori All Blacks to play. Outstanding former coach Matt Te Pou, who guided the Maori to their greatest victories over 11 years in charge including beating the 2005 Lions, says Rotorua is the spiritual home of Maori rugby.
"You just feel the whole environment, the spirit of the people coming forward with you. When we come into camp as soon as we possibly can we make our environment a Maori environment. We are not just another Saturday team - we are the Maori All Blacks," he told me.
Tauranga local Tiki Taane, alongside his father and a kapa haka group, drove the crowd into a frenzy just as the fireworks leapt into life next to the stadium. Incessant rain added a mystical touch although three quarters of the crowd without cover probably had another view on the weather.
The pre-match haka was a spine-tingling and rousing attack on the senses. What was going through the minds of the men in red facing it is anyone's guess. But the pre-game pyrotechnics left a Scottish mist across the stadium which must have felt like home to the Lions.
They were in no mood to repeat what happened in 2005. The Maori All Blacks briefly took the lead after an early error gifted a popular try to local Rotorua boy Liam Messam but, by the end of 80 minutes, the Lions were comfortable victors by 32-10.
LOCAL HERO: Rotorua's Liam Messam scores the opening try of the match. Photo: photosport
They won the second half 20-0 which is about as emphatic as you can get a week out from the first test.
Lions coach Warren Gatland's face told the tale of the emotional turmoil he goes through every match. There is no glassed-in privacy in Rotorua; wearing your heart on your sleeve among the crowd is what it is all about.
By the end of the game the former All Blacks hooker had the self-satisfied look of a man who had achieved his goal and then some. He did not take long at the post-match media conference to get stuck into All Blacks coach Steve Hansen for comments he had made about a possible split in the Lions camp.
Gatland clearly enjoyed the opportunity to tell Hansen he must be worried if he is making so many comments about the opposition. No doubt Hansen will bite back this week but the die is cast - these Lions may not play pretty rugby but they now know they can beat the All Blacks.
That may still be a challenge beyond them but never underestimate the power of self-belief.
