Anna Murray: House of Champions a refreshing counter-narrative to Rugby World Cup coverage

House of Champions is a documentary that follows flatmates Carla, Celeste and Jono as they prepare to compete at the New Zealand Special Olympics. Photo / Supplied

COMMENT:

We're officially six days into the 2019 Rugby World Cup and I am exhausted.

The first weekend of the tournament was an emotional rollercoaster. For starters, there was that opening ceremony with Richie McCaw appearing like magic in the middle of the rugby field. The excitement! Off the field, his former teammate Dan Carter celebrated the RWC with the launch of a limited edition Louis Vuitton rugby ball, complete with its very own carrying harness. The bewilderment!

Then there was some actual rugby. A couple of matches streamed over the Spark Sport platform and, for the most part, they were absolutely fine. Rugby fans around the country breathed a sigh of relief, daring to believe all the pre-tournament fears about the quality of Spark's live stream were unfounded.

Former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw surprised the crowd during the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup in Tokyo, Japan. Photo / Getty Images

And when that same platform experienced issues during its first big test — the All Blacks' opening game against the Springboks on Saturday night — New Zealand's rugby fans were calm. Pragmatic. Reasonable.

I am, of course, lying.

Unhappy viewers were baying for Spark Sport's blood that night. A Real Housewife of Auckland took to Twitter to politely ask "Where the f*** is my rugby I paid for???" And as Spark switched the game over to TVNZ Duke's free-to-air channel, the smug messages started rolling in via social media, too.

"Thanks to all those people who tweeted that Spark NZ had switched to free to air TVNZ Duke for the second half of the Abs v Springboks — knew there was a reason we didn't pay $90," said one not-at-all-gloating viewer.

Between Carter's very expensive rugby balls that looked like high-end grenades and the rabid online complaints about the state of the nation's RWC coverage, the whole weekend of international rugby left a bad taste in the mouth.

But, thankfully, another sports-related show has come along this week to say: "Hello, New Zealand, it's me, perspective."

That show is tonight's House of Champions, a one-off documentary that follows three flatmates training to compete in the New Zealand Special Olympics. It's a long, long way from the hoopla surrounding the Rugby World Cup — and is all the better for it.

Celeste and Carla competed in swimming at the last New Zealand Special Olympics National Summer Games. Photo / Supplied

Celeste, Carla and Jonathan (aka Jono) live together in Thames and all hope to win a medal at the Special Olympics National Summer Games. While Celeste and Carla are both former swimming champs, Jono is preparing to defend his national speed walking title.

Like any top athlete, they sometimes struggle with the sacrifices needed to reach the top of their sport. When their no-nonsense trainer Fiona convinces the flatmates to stay off the pizza and alcohol in the lead-up to the games, they promptly gather around a pile of hot chips at their kitchen table. (To be fair, Fiona didn't say anything about hot chips.)

But healthy eating isn't the only issue they're grappling with. As this documentary beautifully shows, this trio of athletes have plenty of everyday life to contend with as well.

Celeste, for example, is engaged but dealing with the fact that her fiance's family don't approve of their wedding.

Jono, meanwhile, is fixated with Parliament TV and desperately wants a regular job. His determination to find that job even sees him trying to get a straight answer out of Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters at a town meeting, a feat that's eluded journalists for decades.

House of Champions also talks to the athletes' families to give viewers a little more insight into their backgrounds, the battles they've already waged, and their undeniable talents.

Celeste's mum describes the prejudices her only daughter has faced growing up. Carla's mum talks about the ease with which her daughter learned three languages. And Jono's grandmother reiterates his incredible resolve when she says he was never expected to be able to walk at all.

Jono and Celeste with their their no-nonsense trainer Fiona. Photo / Supplied

As the trio head to Wellington to compete as part of their Thames Valley team, there are disappointments and there are genuinely inspiring triumphs. But while House of Champions does celebrate those well-earned wins, it also acknowledges all the more important stuff that sits alongside sport — the friendships, love, family and everything else in between.

Celeste, Carla and Jono tackle all of it with a charm and a determination that leaves viewers thinking anything is possible — even, just maybe, getting Winston Peters to answer a question.

House of Champions airs tonight at 8.30pm on Three.