RUGBY - `It was like playing against your heroes'

All Doug Te Puni would admit was that the All Blacks scored 23.
What he wasn't so keen on revealing was it wasn't just 23 points, but 23 tries.
But he was hardly concerned about the score - he was still trying to comprehend how Doug Te Puni, retired Northland rugby hooker, somehow ended up playing against the All Blacks in Christchurch.
As part of a New Zealand Police rugby team Te Puni was never going to miss this game. Organised to try to give the All Blacks some meaningful opposition before they went to France for the Rugby World Cup, it proved to be the match of a lifetime for the 39-year-old Whangarei constable.
Packing down in a front row against Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu and Carl Hayman was hard yakka. It was also quite awe-inspiring. "I told Keven - we're on first-name basis now - that he wasn't pushing hard enough. That got a couple of giggles," Te Puni said.
It was quite an achievement for Te Puni though. He is one of only a handful of players in the world who has gone toe-to-toe with the All Blacks and the British Lions.
Te Puni scored a try playing for Northland against the Lions in 1994. It leaves him a little gobsmacked that he managed to get on the pitch against the All Blacks 13 years later. "And I could tell you who the harder ones were," Te Puni said. "There were moments in the game when I was wishing I was 10 years younger. But we had no show against the All Blacks. They obviously came out really focused and just ran us around the place," he said. "We had moments, a couple of turnovers, but they just played hard-out for the whole game. They were awesome."
Played in Christchurch on Wednesday, where the All Blacks are going through final preparations before leaving for France, the game was watched by more than 400 people.
That was also a surprise for Te Puni, especially after being told details of the game were on a "need to know" basis.
In the aftermath though he reckons his rugby career is over ... again.
"That's not a bad way to finish the career. It was like playing against your heroes. Last night I chucked my boots out. But now I have to work out which bin I chucked them in, just in case I need them again."