Darts players make entertaining entrance

Phil Taylor of England. Photo / Getty Images.

It sounded like a scene from Coronation Street.

Three Englishmen chatting about darts and their time in this little country called New Zealand. Two of them - Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis - are multi-time world champions, while Russ Bray is regarded as the top referee in the game.

Their whirlwind tour of New Zealand, part of the inaugural Australasian Darts King series, has brought them to Wellington after the first leg took place in Invercargill earlier this week.

The trio conducted one of the more laid-back press conferences you'd attend yesterday and it almost could have taken place over a pint at the local but therein lies one of the great misconceptions about the modern-day darts player.

While they don't hold the look of your stereotypical professional athlete, the days of the beer-guzzling, cigarette-smoking player have gone and while they probably do enjoy themselves, they have to train too.

"It's dedication," Lewis said of what separated a hacker from an elite player. "We are putting in five or six hours a day leading up to the world championship and the majors and that's what you've got to do, put the work in."

Taylor, known as 'The Power', who has been crowned champion of the world 16 times said coming to New Zealand had lived up to the hype after so many people had insisted he visit.

"This was on my bucket list to be quite honest with you, so I'm loving every minute of it, it's brilliant," he said.

The visibility of darts has grown in New Zealand in recent years due to expanded television coverage and Taylor believed the sport appealed to the everyday Joe because anybody could play.

"It is a growing sport and it's going to get bigger. I keep wondering when the bubble's going to burst but it hasn't," Taylor said.

"Not everyone in the street's an athlete are they and I think that's what the attraction is."

Taylor and Lewis are the headline names in the series, which will host two nights of darts at the Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua tonight and tomorrow before the circuit moves to Sydney for its final two nights of competition during the weekend.