Eric Janssen at the Rugby World Cup: Proud to prove the doom mongers wrong

Fans didn't let the weather rain on their parade. Photo / NZ Herald

Opinion

Monday just gone was a stinker of a day in Auckland. And not, as you may think, because the heavens opened monsoon-like in apparent despair at seeing Dan Carter hobble on to the team bus.

No, Monday was grim because the legion of supporters had washed off the face paint and shuffled back home, because sensible clothing and business attire replaced rugby jerseys and outrageous outfits and because flat whites and long blacks ousted cold pints as the drink of choice. Auckland felt flat as the rest of New Zealand would have.

And that's the way it will be on weekdays, until Saturdays and Sundays arrive and New Zealand, with all its locals and visitors, can indulge in this great spectacle on Kiwi soil.

I had taken note of all the naysayers who said the Rugby World Cup should never have been awarded to New Zealand in the first place, that we were too small to host a global event, that the majority of Kiwis would care only about the All Blacks instead of embracing the slogan "the world's here to play", that a pie and beer would set you back a gob-smacking $20.

And, yes, coming from London, after living and loving in Wellington for five years at the turn of the millennium, my anticipation was clouded by trepidation. Maybe this was a bridge too far for an undoubtedly passionate but isolated and occasionally insular New Zealand?

Two weeks after arriving in Auckland, I'm delighted to say the doom-mongers have spouted nothing but poppycock. I found beers for $6, a good pie for $2, the cabbies and Customs people were as friendly as ever, Wellington was bathed in sunshine for four consecutive days and, most importantly, the locals have bought into the fanfare.

As for the rugby, that's been amazing, too, but we never doubted that. There were always going to be close encounters, upsets and breathtaking tries. But that alone does not guarantee an awesome experience.

Hosting a tournament of this scale is far more than scintillating scores and bone-shuddering tackles. It's ultimately about the fans, who, whether in victory or defeat, live up to the Kiwi beer anthem of "forget about the last one, get yourself another".

Even if many supporters from overseas have chosen to stay at home, the beauty of New Zealand is that it is in large parts a country of immigrants. Samoa versus Fiji at Eden Park was a home game for most of South Auckland.

Thousands of South Africans managed to stroll from their homes to North Harbour Stadium to support the Springboks. England and Scotland would have felt right at home in the Deep South. All of which has added so much more colour and voice to proceedings than critics had predicted.

All that said, it was not perfect, of course. But then again, when is it? Huge transport issues clouded the first night in Auckland, but that was fixed with gusto.

Compare it to the 2007 Cup final in Paris, when thousands of ticket-holders were stranded because taxi, bus and train drivers were on strike.

Ticket prices here were often steep. They were in 2007, will be in 2015. But this is the World Cup, not a pre-season warm-up, and we all get at least four years' notice to scrimp and save our way to join in the next tournament.

The weather often rained on the parade. Like so many others, I got drenched before the Fiji-Samoa match in Auckland. Even holding my sopping shoes in Kiwi can-do style for 30 minutes under a hand-dryer in the bowels of Eden Park failed to save them from being kicked into touch.

And, yes, some establishments took the piss by pitching their prices as high as the Sky Tower. But that is what God gave us legs for. Mine may be too old to fill the boots of Carter, but they're still in good enough nick to find a non-profiteering watering hole.

To use that and other minor complaints to slate New Zealand as a worthy host is churlish at best, pathetically small-minded at worst.

It would be a nice touch if Richie McCaw lifted the Webb Ellis Cup on October 23. Not only for the world's No1-ranked team, but as a reward for the whole country for hosting an awesome tournament.

Rugby, of course, does not indulge sentiment and the All Blacks could still stumble along the way. But in that very fact lies the biggest compliment I can pay New Zealanders. They've been magnificent until now and, I deeply suspect, they will continue to be, even if the Cup was theirs just to host and not to hold.

Eric Janssen is a South African who lived in New Zealand for five years and is now a writer for the Daily Telegraph in England. He was in New Zealand for pool play.