New Zealand Semester Abroad: Rugby time

As a crucial part of my New Zealand cultural experience, I have now attended a rugby game of both the Dunedin 'Nude Blacks' and the world-famous New Zealand All Blacks! A few weeks ago, the All Blacks were having a game at the stadium in Dunedin against South Africa. One of the local club teams has a tradition of playing a game completely in the nude on any day when the All Blacks are playing in town. To get in the rugby spirit for that night (and at the insistence of dad), Elizabeth and I decided it was necessary to check it out.

To be honest, nude rugby was probably one of the weirdest things I have ever witnessed. Rugby is a very contact sport, and both teams were very naked. And of course, as the ''nude blacks'', they started with the traditional haka dance. It made for quite a spectacle, and thousands of people of all ages came out to watch. Quite a cultural experience! Don't see things like this in the States.

Later that night, Ryan and I donned our black clothes and headed off to the stadium for the real game of the day. On the way into the stadium, we bought a couple of All Blacks flags to wave and show our support during the game, and of course as souvenirs. They started off with the world-famous Haka, which was amazing to see live. (If you don't know it, you should probably look it up on youtube.) I hadn't seen much rugby before, but I was amazed at how quickly it went by! Though there were some times during the game when it came close, the All Blacks eventually pulled out the win. It was so fun to claim the All Blacks as 'our team' and celebrate the win in the streets on the way home with the 20,000+ other people all there to see the game. The national spirit in the stadium and in Dunedin that night was amazing. I guess I've never really been into sports much in the states, but it was really fun to be apart of it here.