Fans sing praises of Welsh

By MATTHEW TORBIT

For 60 minutes the Welsh dragon breathed fire, then it petered out and puffed smoke.

As New Zealanders collectively breathed a sigh of relief, the Welsh around the world were left to contemplate what could have been the upset of the tournament.

Mel Fox, 49, of New Plymouth, says he likes to see the "y ddraig goch" (red dragon) flying high even though he has lived in New Zealand for more than 20 years.

He said New Zealand and Wales had a lot in common, such as hills and sheep.

On Sunday, Wales take on England in a quarter-final clash that will surely be an emotional encounter.

Mr Fox said every Welshman would be willing the team on in that encounter. Despite the hype surrounding England's bid for the Webb Ellis Trophy, Mr Fox is optimistic about his team's prospects.

"Wales have always got a chance these days because they're a little bit unpredictable."

Statistics New Zealand figures from the last Census, in 2001, list 3414 people describing themselves as Welsh. But Welsh ties to New Zealand go back to the 19th century, when many immigrants came here at the same time as the Scots, Irish and English.

Mike and Jo Howard, who run Scorpios Welsh Restaurant in Wellington, say the match was one of the best Welsh performances in many years.

Mr Howard said the Welsh national anthem created the atmosphere for a "fantastic" game of rugby, won by the All Blacks 53-37.

But he lamented refereeing calls that could have affected the outcome. "There were a couple of bad decisions. Howlett's try was definitely a forward pass. "He scored at an important time, we were on a roll and it upset things."

Mr Howard credits the crowd support for the near-upset. "A couple of players had something to prove and the crowd were really behind the boys. The support in Australia has been incredible, half our staff are over there so that all helps to get the boys proud."

Jo Howard said that she briefly thought the impossible was going to happen. "We've just put up with so much stick for so long about the Welsh being rubbish. It just gave us a boost - a couple more points would have done it."

Ms Howard, who went to Rugby College of Wales in Cardiff, said the match brought back memories of Wales' glory days in the 1970s.