Thi is the seventh edition of the rugby world cup.
The country has done well to welcome other countries to New Zealand. As an example, Blenheim adopted the Russians. They had Russian language lessons for the community so that the Russian team and supporters would feel at home..
OPENING CEREMONY
New Zealand showed its face to the world in a Rugby World Cup opening ceremony that featured music, haka, dance and, of course, football.
The half-hour ceremony on Friday night, staged before the tournament's first match between the All Blacks and Tonga at Eden Park in Auckland, welcomed the world to the country.
It began with the Maori myth of separation of the earth and sky, after which large stylised sails portrayed the arrival of travellers from the four corners of the globe.
National kapa haka champions Te Matarae i Orehu of Rotorua performed a spirited challenge before schoolboy Ethan Bai brought a huge cheer from the capacity 60,000 crowd.
Bai, wearing red and black as reminder of earthquake-hit Canterbury, ran out with a white almost glowing ball, and started a choreographed fantasy of a rugby game.
After a giant world cup was wheeled out, the tournament's anthem, World in Union, rang out in a vibrant finale.
Prime Minister John Key continued the message of welcome in a short speech, before International Rugby Board chairman Bernard Lapasset declared the tournament open.
The ceremony, featuring about 1000 performers and elaborate special effects, was a big contrast with the one that raised the curtain when New Zealand hosted the inaugural World Cup in 1987.
Then, a hastily-prepared event with a small budget featured marching girls, local schoolchildren and former All Black Waka Nathan, who ran a lap in front of sparse stands
The first game this year was the All Blacks vs Tonga.
It was a pretty hard game. Both teams played well and Tonga deserved their try and we played a running and tackling game. One scrum went for seven minutes
New Zealand V Tonga EDEN PARK, 9 SEPTEMBER 2011 - Weather: Fine | ||
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | Full Time | Tonga |
| 41 | FINAL SCORE | 10 |
| 29 | HALF TIME SCORE | 3 |
| 6 | TRIES | 1 |
| 4 | CONVERSIONS | 1 |
| 6 | CONVERSION ATTEMPTS | 1 |
| 1 | PENALTY GOALS | 1 |
| 1 | PENALTY GOAL ATTEMPTS | 2 |
| 0 | DROP GOALS | 0 |
| 0 | DROP GOAL ATTEMPTS | 0 |
| 0 | SIN BINNED | 0 |
| 0 | SENT OFF | 0 |
| REFEREE: GEORGE CLANCY | ||
| TOUCH JUDGES: CRAIG JOUBERT, STUART TERHEEGE | ||
| THIRD MATCH OFFICIAL: GIULIO DE SANTIS |
