Hard News by Russell Brown

So your view of the game was looking at the backs of most of the ABs. In other words, pretty much the same view as the Wallabies had for most of the game.

If it's any consolation, living in Sydney but being from Christchurch, I happened to be home (for work) and extended my trip for the weekend, when the ABs played what is/was now their last test at Lancaster Park (vs Italy). My match ticket cost $60, I was about 10 rows back, 5m from half way. All up my whole weekend in Christchurch cost me ~$200 (accommodation, F&B, transport). Which is about what a similar ticket to watch the ABs play in Sydney costs.

Call me a little bit old fashioned, but fireworks, flame thowers and flailing inflatables etc. during the game seem a bit unnecessary and detract from the actual on-field drama, and for me a test match starts with the haka, which is dramatic enough without pyrotechnics.

I was in the Western Stand at Eden Park for the first Manu Samoa v.s. All Blacks test in 1993 when Manu Samoa started their manu while the All Blacks were performing the haka - totally amazing and spellbinding with no gilding of the lily needed.

...which was nice.

We heard the boom from Third Ave - by the far the loudest in the 13 years I've been there. Helped by the stillness of the night. Didn't make up for the power cut from 7.10 until 8.20pm.

I was in the Western Stand at Eden Park for the first Manu Samoa v.s. All Blacks test in 1993 when Manu Samoa started their manu while the All Blacks were performing the haka – totally amazing and spellbinding with no gilding of the lily needed.

I was there too. It was a moment all right.

Jonathan Livingston, I presume?
Internet Mana folk need to take their jackets off!
- otherwise some party called 'tern ANA' is gonna get a lot of needless exposure...

If you can find a replay of the haka and subsequent explosion, watch the left-hand upright behind the team. Something sizeable gets blown up, flies higher than the top of the post (I think, from memory), and falls back to earth. Whatever it was, I'm pretty sure that sending it skyward definitely wasn't part of the plan.

Yep, at about 1:22 here:

Yep, at about 1:22 here:

Wow.

Infernal combustion...
I can't say I'm that keen on those sideline flamethrowers either...
(and that's from the couch at home!)
Maybe it's only Crusaders games?

That thing's at the top of its arc after ~2s, so capable of going at least 40m if launched at 45 degrees ... starting probably 25m from players and crowd. Impact speed 20 m/s or 72 kph, no wind.

Depending on how high up in the stands it impacted the velocity may have been a bit lower than 20m/s, but it would have been carrying some horizontal velocity as well to add into the equation. Depending on the weight of the object there would have been a significant amount of energy for the poor bugger that copped it to absorb.

Thanks...
reading this gave me the unique feeling of
'Being Dan Carter' and what might flicker
thru his brain milliseconds before the kick...

speaking of kicks...
Have Richie, Steve & the ABs management
asked John Key to apologise for
implying that cheating by 'hacking'
or 'peering by accident' into an opponents
website is something they would do,
let alone sporting behaviour?

The outside backs’ tactical kicking was quite a revelation – they’d clearly worked out that the Wallabies were vulnerable down the tramlines.

You’re hitting your straps as a rugby reporter now Russell.

In New Zealand's safety conscious environment, I find it a little difficult to fathom why stadium events still tempt fate in this way.

This reminded me of the Warriors opening game in 1995 v the Broncos. We were up high in the main stand and when they blew that car up to the sounds of War stuff went flying. On replay later you could see that one of the car doors blew many metres into the air and came crashing down on the field where there were dozens of people running about. In an effort to make sure we were in the ground for the game dad nearly volunteered us to be amongst the pre-match entertainment. Luckily in the end we just got ordinary old tickets.

One thing which freaks me at live games now is those flame throwers that shoot up in to the air. I have visions of some schmuck wandering over to one and looking into the top of it (they're about 4 feet tall) just as some bloke on the switch turns it on.

Still haven't seen the end of the Haka.. just the Wallabies watching it.

Score the Temuka Twins.

One thing which freaks me at live games now is those flame throwers that shoot up in to the air. I have visions of some schmuck wandering over to one and looking into the top of it (they're about 4 feet tall) just as some bloke on the switch turns it on.

I was once told a story about the opening of Crown Casino in Melbourne (by someone who used to work there). Along the riverbank outside they have these big pillars which they bellow pillars of flame once an hour, on the hour. Well, the story says, the opening was the first time they were fired.

Because they're opening a casino, and they're trying to appeal to the superstitious, they had arranged for 88 white doves to be released at some point of the program. The radio-controlled cages were placed on a high point where they'd be out of the way, and look good when the doves all flew into the sky. Yes, on top of the pillars.

At some point on the evening, some middle manager decided now would be a good time to set the flames off to highlight some bigwigs speech. The technician in charge of flames protested, but had his job threatened, so he triggered the flames.

The technician in charge of the bird cages looked on in horror and immediately triggered the cage releases, leaving burning doves to launch themselves into the sky and plummet amongst the crowd. At least one was carried up to a security guard by a young girl who asked the guard "Please mister, make it better".

I'm told the middle manager didn't have a job after that...

I've no idea how accurate this story is as related to me, but I did ask someone who was a manager there at one stage who allowed uncomfortably that some misunderstanding might have happened.

Roast dove anybody?

As I cannot find the Prince video, here's Patti Smith (I was kinda hoping Weird Al had done "When Doves Fry" but...)

As I cannot find the Prince video

The ensuing "Purple Rain' can't have been fun either...

I've worked on and off as a pyrotechnician since the 1980's, and was (I let it lapse as there isn't enough work around the 'naki) licensed to rig and fire star shells up to 250mm.
My reaction when I read that a woman had been gashed by a flying bit of metal was, quite literally "what the fuck?". You don't use metal anywhere near fireworks of any sort. The product is encased in cardboard/paper. The mortars are usually heavy cardboard tubes, and occasionally suitable types of plastic (those which will not disintegrate in a brittle fashion, often fibre-reinforced). And this incident is exactly why - mortars will explode from time to time, and metal is the basis of shrapnel bombs.
It's rule two of pyrotechnics (rule one is never, ever, put your head over a mortar, loaded or not.)

before the screen
there was engraving and other methods of capturing fireworks

who needs those steenken' ABs anyway