Let's get our kicks even if ABs don't

After this weekend, the Rugby World Cup changes gears, as 12 teams are eliminated and it's left to the big boys to battle it out.

Even the most cynical observer would have to concede that aside from Auckland's transport issues, the event has so far been a resounding success.

It's near impossible to escape the rugby - everywhere you look, businesses are lined with black and white balloons and rugby-themed window displays, cars have silver fern flags attached to their roofs, and schools right across the country are giving their students the chance to get involved.

It's been a long time since our nation has appeared this united, even if to some extent it's a faux nationalism.

Long may this sense of unity continue, and hopefully those who aren't rugby fans can at least enjoy the event for what it's brought to our country - not just financial benefits, but the chance to welcome people from all over the world, show those same people what we have to offer, and to host a sporting event of a scale that we're unlikely to experience again for a long time, if at all.

A quick trip up State Highway 1 also dispels any fears that New Zealanders would only get in behind the All Blacks. The number of roadside flags and banners supporting teams like Ireland and Scotland is proof otherwise.

Past World Cups have shown some New Zealanders to be sore losers - the bitter, angry reaction whenever the All Blacks have been bundled out early discredits our nation as much as it does individuals. And yet this time, there's a feeling that things may be different.

Not unusually, the All Blacks are playing well and are being talked up as competition frontrunners. But if the unthinkable happens again and the men in black fail to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy, all the early signs point to a maturity in our collective attitude towards loss.

In many ways, the experience here in Wanganui has been a microcosm of what's occurred around the rest of the country.

Rugby fans were always going to embrace the Rugby World Cup.

But Wanganui, despite not hosting any matches, made the most of having the visiting United States Eagles team in town - the huge welcome the team received when they arrived in our city is testament to that.

For the most part, New Zealanders appear to have embraced the tournament, and - all of a sudden - the oft-touted concept of a stadium of four million does not appear as far-fetched as it may have first seemed.

There's no doubt the on-field tone of the Rugby World Cup will change after this weekend - but let's hope the off-field mood surrounding it does not.

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