Aisle be Back: The Super Rugby Final

Above: When the Hurricanes hosted the Chiefs earlier this year. 

• By Kevin McCarthy

I hope you’ve got your tin ears on for the sound of cowbells this weekend in Christchurch for the super rugby pacific finale.

Quick recap – if you’re from Mars – but Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge suggested that cowbells would be banned from the Crusaders stadium as they seek to win the final over the Chiefs.

Depending on your point of view, this was either entirely sensible, if you happen to have seats next to a Waikato fan, or a petty act of heavy handedness intended to drain atmosphere out of rugby’s showpiece.

Then there’s the “this was a stitch up” camp who believe Mansbridge was colluding with the Chiefs counterpart Simon Graafhuis to get some extra sizzle into the pre-match buildup. Lo and behold, suddenly an app appeared so your cell phone would play the cowbell sound.

I’d like to think it’s the third because honestly the more tribalism the rugby can develop, the better, as it tries to claw its way back into the affections of the public.

Admittedly we don’t want tribalism that lurches over into fighting in the stands, but I know that some very memorable moments personally at -or watching – games came with some of what was going on in the cheap seats.

For example:

• Against the Lions at the Stadium, 2005, the Dan Carter test. After a week of PR spin by Clive Woodward over Tana Umaga and the cleanout of the BOD, it was simmering in the stands. When Umaga scored early, our row pretty much as one turned around to politely gesticulate at the Legions of Lions fans behind us. They knew what we meant.
• Can’t remember the year but Eden Park banned Leo the Lion the mascot from the sidelines (I mean, I can’t even recall who is the Auckland mascot). But then early in the second half, a dude in the stands suddenly pulls on the Leo head – not sure if was dragged off to the gulag or not. Anyone we all broke into Born Free at the pub.
• At the stadium again, All Blacks hosting Ireland on a frigid night. Their chant was to the theme of the Milo song – da da dadada da da da da IRELAND. Small in number but loud, they were winning the atmosphere stakes. Until the stadium crowd cottoned on and yelled MILO whenever the chant started up. The Irish fans looked quite nonplussed.
• And the Andrew Mehrtens two-fingered salute to the Loftus Versfeld faithful. One of the great star-to-fan interactions of all time.

If you’ve ever been in Christchurch where your team does the unthinkable and wins – then you’ll know it’s wise to shuffle out suppressing your joy and at most shaking your head in disbelief at such a grave miscarriage of justice.

Equally it’s not wise to bait diehard Waikato fans. An ill-advised rendition of Where’s Your Shield Gone after one match clearly angered some Mooloo supporters – our group deciding that exiting down the stadium slipway route was definitely a good idea.

So, as we sit in sunny Wellington and watch the two best sides in the country play out what should be a dew-sodden cracker – we need to salute the cowbell and whatever its Canterbury equivalent is.

Which reminds me. Where’s the app that plays the famous Hurricanes sting, now rarer than many endangered bird species.

I mean, I know it annoyed the hell out of other teams’ fans. To which the only thing to add is: Mission Accomplished.