Review: Sol3 Mio's rugby song is brilliant cheese

The Sol3 Mio front row.

Well in the battle of the Rugby World Cup songs, clearly we've already won. Our semi-official RWC anthem is Sol3 Mio singing Ed Sheeran's Hobbit movie song I See Fire.

It's also the first single off the pop-opera trio's forthcoming second album.

Rendered with rampaging strings and haka stomps and delivered by the world's only band who look like a front row, it's a brilliant bit of button-pushing.

Whoever conceived of this deserves a highly paid job at Fonterra in the cheese section. They've filled an annual export quota in one three minute song.

The video has Sol3 Mio boys emoting to an empty, wintry West Coast beach while giant All Blacks go about their routines in the those long white clouds above like the gods among men they are.

You can't say the lyrics aren't motivational in this new context.

"Oh, should my people fall/Then surely I'll do the same," quite clearly forecasts the national depression that is threatened should the All Blacks stumble.

Though "And if we should die tonight/Then we should all die together/Raise a glass of wine for the last time" might be overstating things a bit. Especially as we know the pubs will be open all night.

Yes it's maybe a pity that it's a cover of a tune by the biggest, most ginger-ish English pop star of the era.

But he's here every second week and it was Sir Peter Jackson's daughter Katie that suggested he write a song for the second Hobbit movie The Desolation of Smaug in the first place. So that's all right then.

The original song was of course about a big dragon. Now it's booming stadium pop-opera. Take that Wales with your singing and your fire-breathing mythical national symbol.

And watch out the rest of you.

Er, is any other country releasing their own RWC song?

* What do you think of the song? Post your comments below.