Rugby Lions fans awestruck by Waitangi welcome

Glorious weather and a powerful welcome by hundreds of Ngapuhi warriors left a big impression on Lions fans visiting Northland.

An estimated 2000 people watched a formal welcome for the British and Irish Lions staged at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds on Sunday by up to 400 Maori warriors who travelled from as far away as Sydney to take part.

Swathes of red in the crowd testified to the large number of Lions fans who have come to New Zealand to follow their team around the country.

Among them was Roy Humphreys, of Shropshire in England, who described the welcome from his front-row position outside Te Whare Runanga as "very intense and impressive".

Mr Humphreys said he enjoyed travelling in a country where rugby was the No 1sport and where he didn't have to explain who the Lions were.

"Everyone's very welcoming, high-fiving you and saying 'Thanks for coming'," he said.

His six-week package tour, which includes tickets to all the matches, wasn't cheap but it was worth it, he said.

Dawn Carey, from the Brecon Beacons in Wales, is also on a six-week package tour.
She had seen Maori welcomes before but only on TV.

"It was absolutely fabulous, just awe-inspiring. You could actually feel it," she said. "Everyone was so disciplined, so in the moment."

As for the Lions' underwhelming win in Whangarei on Saturday night, she said there was "room for improvement".

Mr Humphreys was upbeat about his team's prospects - "it's one of the strongest squads we've brought out" - and put a brave face on the Whangarei display.

"I think they're a bit jet-lagged. Hopefully they'll lift their game and gel together more as a team."

Mr Humphreys was also looking forward to seeing Christchurch again, a city he had visited often to compete in wheelchair tennis championships. It would be his first visit since the earthquakes.