NZ shows more than just rugby
BELINDA MCCAMMON AND KATE NEWTON http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/5598724/NZ-shows-more-than-just-rugby
A scrappy All Blacks performance could not take the sparkle off a spine-tingling opening ceremony that lifted the curtain on the country's largest sporting event.
The All Blacks led 29-3 at half-time but were put under severe pressure by a spirited Tonga side in the second half before running out 41-10 winners at Eden Park last night. Fullback Israel Dagg scored the first try of the tournament and later added another, with Richard Kahui also chipping in with a double, and Jerome Kaino and Ma'a Nonu touching down in the second spell.
Alisona Taumalolo responded with a try for Tonga.
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was officially opened by IRB president Bernard Lapasset in spectacular fashion. The near-capacity crowd was bolstered by hundreds of thousands of others watching on giant outdoor screens around the country.
In Wellington, crowds spilled over into the town hall as the waterfront fanzone reached its capacity of 3000. At Eden Park, hundreds of performers interacted with a dazzling visual display projected onto a giant oval sheet covering the pitch. The brains behind the ceremony belonged to David Aitkins, also responsible for the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony. The audience was transfixed as dancers accompanied silver boats on to the field, gliding across digitally created rippling water.
Among the stars of the ceremony was young Ethan Bai, clad in a Canterbury jersey, who took on a team of 100 rugby gladiators before emerging floating above the stadium to catch a giant floating rugby ball. Flames erupted at the edges of the pitch while outside, an enormous fireworks display lit up downtown Auckland.
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