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Home / Sport / Rugby / All Blacks

Rugby: Step out of the humidity and back into the 1980s

Wynne Gray
By Wynne Gray
NZ Herald·
29 Oct, 2008 03:00 PM2 mins to read

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KEY POINTS:

It is a step back to the 1980s when you wander into the offices of the Hong Kong Rugby Union, a reminder of how rugby used to operate in New Zealand.

The receptionist is casually clad in jeans and T-shirt, the office is just several rooms decorated with
potted plants and some memorabilia, the trophy cabinet is modest, the honours board shows faithful service of the five presidents who have held office since 1952.

Hong Kong Stadium holds about 40,000 spectators and the hills behind create a bowl-like atmosphere. The staff have been tending the surface for weeks. It is immaculate.

The arena is a contrast to the nearby hubbub of the congested high-rise city, where every twist and turn brings little geographical or visual relief. The sights, the smells and noise is relentless. It is humid and there are all sorts of varying predictions about the chance of thunderstorms or temperatures in the mid-20s for the late-afternoon test.

People are patient with us visitors and their own business. One woman took her dog for a stroll - in a pushchair - then, when it was time for walkees, spent ages scurrying behind the pooch holding a piece of cardboard to collect the deposit.

Restaurants are hyper-busy, staff and menus help out with translation but cannot convince some in our group about the merits of sea slugs, scorpions, bat or frog entrails.

While some of the Wallabies went sailing and investigated the city, the All Blacks trained and later met their rivals in a shared sponsors' evening at the Sha Tin Racecourse.

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