Editorial: A return to the familiar ... except for Beauden's blue shirt

The Blues vs Hurricanes Super Rugby Aotearoa match marked a return to normal for New Zealand life. Photo / Dean Purcell

EDITORIAL

Rugby is not the be all and end all. We know that.

In fact, we've learned over the past few months that not much is.

Health, friends and family, and financial security are all that matter in a crisis and that's been forefront of mind during the Covid-19 response.

Having said that, anyone with a passing interest in the sold-out Blues vs Hurricanes match at Eden Park on Sunday could see it certainly meant something to many - and not just because Beauden Barrett was taking on his old side or the return of an All Black great.

A packed national stadium and many more in front of TVs watching the national sport symbolised all at once the return of the non-essential stuff we all sacrificed when we had to but which is what part of life is for when things are good; socialising, sport, entertainment, friendship, community, leisure ... no need to mention the score.

That's what that game meant.

It showed what happens when we've had a quick lesson in not taking the finer things in life for granted.

It was also a celebration of what we've earned as a country.

New Zealand has got on top of Covid-19 and can now do what very few countries in the world can do.

It's not about sport as such.

It seems much longer than a week ago that we were in the first hours of alert level 1 but since then we've had a packed Whanganui River Markets on Saturday, hospitality businesses reporting a bumper weekend, visitors in town again, groups reconvening and the dropping of almost all restrictions on our daily lives.

The Whanganui River Markets are a familiar sight in Whanganui. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Things are beginning to feel very familiar and normal again but we know some aspects of life will never be the same.

For one, Barrett is wearing blue!

But more importantly there is still a big economic recovery job ahead of us with businesses to rebuild and new jobs to create and people to support.

We need to get on with that but we celebrate wins along the way.

Finally a thank you to the readers, subscribers and advertisers who have stuck with us - and the ones who have joined us - as we adapted and changed over this unsettling time.

Your support is appreciated as we start to return to something more normal too.