What was shaping as a perfect Labour Weekend, the traditional start to summer, crashed for many New Zealanders on Saturday night as England bundled the All Blacks out of the Rugby World Cup 19-7.
To make matters worse, both the men’s and women’s rugby league teams were well-beaten by Australia the night before, and the Silver Ferns lost their Constellation Cup decider against the world No.1 Australians on Sunday.Things looked unusual from the start of the world cup knockout game as England faced the haka with a V shaped formation not seen before, which set the whole tone of the match. Their captain Owen Farrell was smiling defiantly.Was it another brilliant stroke from their master coach Eddie Jones, who for now at least has replaced Michael Chieka as the All Blacks bete noire? The big difference between the two is that Jones has been successful.In any case, things got progressively worse as England grew in confidence at the lineout and breakdown in a performance based on stunning defence. It means All Black fans have to suck up the barbs of the UK press, probably the worst part of any such defeat.It probably also left some patrons at the wine and food festival drowning their sorrows the next day rather than just enjoying the summery day and excellent fare.The build-up to the rugby semi-final was overshadowed to a degree by some big news last week.There was the disastrous Sky City convention fire which left central Queen Street looking like a horror movie set.There were two major political developments — the government decision to allow farmers more time to price their methane emissions separate from the country’s Emissions Trading Scheme, and the End Of Life Choice bill on course to pass its third reading then be put to a public vote, after a binding referendum was attached to it.The long overdue apology for the invasion of Parihaka nearly 140 years ago was formalised, while the Donald Trump impeachment and Brexit sagas rolled on. But surely the saddest news of the week was the deaths of 39 people packed into a refrigerated truck trailer in Essex, cruelly ending their dreams of a better life.And while next Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final will have lost much of its significance for New Zealanders, they should not stay sad for long. Summer is starting to really kick in and there is a lot to look forward to.