KEY POINTS:
Time was, when the natives stood bemused at places like Twickenham when the chaps from across the other side of the world turned up with their funny little war dance.
"Twickers" as everyone knew it then, seemed like the epicentre of the Empire and the locals showed what
could only be described as polite interest at the haka.
It was enacted in respectful silence because that was how things were done back then. But Richie McCaw's All Blacks will not expect a respectful audience for the haka at Twickenham tomorrow morning. Nowadays, most of the old traditional rugger types, clad in their woolly duffel coats and politely applauding the good play of both sides, have long since gone from Twickers.
In their place has come the bore brigade. Many originate from the City of London and believe a skinful before kick-off followed by a similar session afterwards is par for the course. They fill the lunchtime trains down from London Waterloo, shouting and hooraying at every Henry and Abigail in sight. Nowadays, the mobile phone has replaced the duffel coat as the top accessory for the day out. That way, they can arrange to meet Jeremy in the Hare & Hounds or Jasper in the Wellington Arms.
They'll bore the hell out of everyone in sight and make it blindingly obvious they don't know a ruck from a scrum, a maul from a ball. But they fill Twickenham's 83,000 seats and they pay the vast salaries of the young men in sparkling white shirts, so who at RFU headquarters will complain?
Only trouble is, they've been giving the place a lousy name. The Wallaby goalkicker Matt Giteau was roundly booed every time he lined up a kick a few weeks back which led to bad publicity for the RFU. So public announcements were made before the match with South Africa a week ago, which partly quelled the louts.
All the same, it is unlikely Dan Carter will enjoy the kind of silence when he kicks for goal that was afforded Stephen Donald when the All Blacks played Munster at Thomond Park a couple of weeks back. That's the difference between Irish and English sportsmanship nowadays.
Nevertheless, you couldn't accuse the entire English crowd of being ungracious. Being an English supporter these days conditions everyone to accepting the limitations of their own team. So the opposition's achievements are acknowledged, depending on the mood of the mob.
Twickenham is unrecognisable as a stadium from the last time the All Blacks were here in 2006. The south stand is finished, those little terrace houses that used to greet the visitor when he reached the ground by foot from Twickenham station, no more than a memory. In their place stand a swank, sparkling, newly designed and vast entrances to the new hotel and the stadium itself.
New Zealand fans wouldn't be jealous of England's ordinary rugby team but they would envy the fantastic stadium that has been created in the London suburbs. If only they had something similar in Auckland or Wellington for the World Cup in 2011.
Still, would you rather have a winning team or a luxurious stadium?
