Sydney bars no place for grieving Kiwis

By BRONWYN SELL IN SYDNEY AND GREG ANSLEY in Canberra

It could be worse. You could be Lukash Morgan.

"I'm a Kiwi. It's the worst night of my life," he lamented on Saturday night at Sydney's Darling Harbour.

"If Australia win the World Cup I have to become an Aussie."

The Ponsonby-born Sydney resident bet two Australian friends last year that if the Wallabies won next week he would become an Australian citizen.

Morgan left New Zealand as a child but was all decked out in black on Saturday. "Once a Kiwi, always a Kiwi," he said.

To add insult to anguish, Morgan was forced by bouncers at the Sydney Casino, where he watched the game, to wash off the moko he'd carefully painted on because it didn't meet their dress code.

Even his irritatingly happy Australian mates Nathan Kelly and Luke Spies weren't enthusiastic at the prospect of their own win next week.

"Do we really want this guy to be an Australian citizen?" said Spies.

And save at least a thimbleful of pity for Daniel Medina. The Australian was one of about six courageous, or perhaps masochistic, Wallaby supporters in the 1100-strong crowd in Darling Harbour's self-proclaimed All Black supporters' bar, Oneworld Sport.

He had it coming. He didn't even get to see his team win on Saturday - he was kicked out by bouncers in the second half.

It was probably for his own safety, judging by the black looks his lone cheers were getting.

There's a good chance Terry Maika had a hand in his friend's eviction. Before the game, the Rotorua man bet Medina that if Australia won, he would wear a Wallaby jersey for the rest of the night. Perhaps Maika decided mere misery was enough hardship to bear.

As the chances of an All Black win faded, the supporters' bar became the commiserators' bar. It was just as well the television speakers were turned up full blast or the only sound would have been five gloating Australians.

Kiwi Shane Leef was dazed. He'd spent $3000 on an All Black jersey signed by the 2003 team. "All it's good for now is a chamois," his Australian friend Heath Boa helpfully pointed out.



It took tearful Sean Pantaram a full five minutes to regain his voice after the final whistle. When he did, he squeaked: "I didn't think it was going to happen. It was our time, you know, it was our time."

Like most of the All Black supporters the Herald spoke to after the game, Pantaram didn't know who he would support next week.

These Kiwis might have adopted Sydney as home, but All Black loyalties go deeper than even the Tasman Sea.

As terrible at the atmosphere was inside the bar, it was harder still to leave. Outside, even the circling seagulls seemed to be mocking as stunned Kiwi fans faced their victors' glee.

In Canberra, the chanting began as the final whistle blew, roaring through the Brumbies Sports and Social Club as local hero George Gregan took Australia to the final: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi.

Across the bar, the dispersed handful of Kiwis who had braved the camp of the enemy exchanged resigned, pained, glances. We knew what we would be in for in the months to come.

It began almost immediately.

Next to me the woman who had been shouting at the screen "chokers, they're chokers," paused to ask: "Why is it that New Zealanders take it so hard? We can handle defeat. Why can't you?"

If you're crying into your cornflakes in Titirangi, or Dargaville, or Whakatane today, take comfort. It could be worse. You could be in Sydney.