We managed a quick chat with Scott Hastings in between white-knuckle experiences!

”I have been in New Zealand for just over a week now and what a week it has been since the All Blacks opened the tournament with a classy win over Tonga. The build up and excitement in Auckland as they welcomed the world to the ‘City of Sails’, was palpable.

I am out here in a working capacity, commentating with ITV and I am also looking forward to bumping into some old friends from the UK in the latter stages of the tournament. The opening ceremony was magnificent and celebrated the culture of this wonderful country. The technical brilliance and lighting of the set was matched by a fireworks display on Auckland’s beautiful harbour front in front of three hundred thousand fans.

No sooner had I settled into Auckland I was then despatched to the South island and to Invercargill where Scotland opened their campaign with a shaky win over Romania. Over the whole weekend New Zealand came alive and witnessed the thrills and spills of RWC2011 rugby. France were given a fright by Japan; Fiji were magnificent against Namibia and England sneaked a win against Argentina. That game was played up in Dunedin in a brand new thirty thousand indoor stadium and the atmosphere rocked.

The next day Australia, many peoples’ favourites to with this RWC, took a bit of time to despatch Italy and Ireland got their campaign off to a great start with a hard fought win over USA. The game of the weekend though was the match between Wales and South Africa where the Welsh played some stunning rugby only to miss a late drop goal and penalty.

Following the weekend of action, I headed to Queenstown to sample the delights of the ‘Adventure Capital of the World’. On the road I witnessed a little bit of Scotland with stunning landscapes, clear blue sky and long trails of thin cloud set against the magnificent backdrop of rugged mountainous terrain. Okay, I know Scotland doesn’t have great weather but such is the Scottish heritage in this part of the world you could be mistaken for thinking that you were in parts of the Highlands.

Queenstown in spring was buzzing. The ski season is still going strong but I ventured out with an old sparring partner of mine, Martyn Bayfield, of England who is also out working with ITV. In the next day and a half we sampled jet boating, helicopter tours, gondola rides, luge and bungy jumping and all in the name of work! Just have a look at these websites to get a flavour of what’s on offer…

Jet Boat Ride

Helicopter Flights

Skyline Gondola

Combos

With a second weekend of games to come, keep an eye out for all the action on ITV. There are some cracking games with South Africa taking on Fiji in Wellington and Ireland against Australia at Eden Park in Auckland. The people of New Zealand will be proud of the show that they have put on - it’s fantastic out here in the land of the white long cloud!"

Scott Hastings – Rugby Consultant
Published: 15 September 2011