Rugby World Cup fever has well and truly arrived, with people getting up early at weekends to follow the Home Nations in the tournament down in New Zealand. I had the great pleasure of spending the first two weeks of this month down under, at my own expense I hasten to add, with a number of MPs from Westminster and Ireland, taking part in a Parliamentary Rugby tournament, played under “Golden Oldies” rules before the start of the World Cup. In doing so I was able to meet up with Parliamentarians from New Zealand, Australia, France, Argentina and South Africa to consider issues in their respective countries, while at the same time reminding myself of the fellowship between Rugby players - along with the aches and pains which come with the game! At the same time it was great for me to be able to tell Rugby enthusiasts from across the world about our town’s special connection with the game of Rugby.
As part of the introduction to the tournament we visited New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington with it famous “beehive” building. Their system is modelled on ours, with designated seats for each MP elected by proportional representation, but without a second chamber which was abolished in the 1950s . As part of our welcome we were treated to our first Haka, of which we saw many during our visit, before receiving a traditional Hongi welcome which involves the pressing of noses. The Parliamentary Lions weren’t the most successful team, with early defeats by Argentina and a Barbarians team before drawing 17-17 in the match against South Africa. The winners were quite predictably the New Zealand team, who took every match very seriously, which is appropriate for a country where the game of Rugby is a massive part of their culture. At the farewell evening in Auckland the trophy was presented and it was then that I able to explain that I have the honour of representing the birthplace of the game. Afterwards I passed on a Gilbert ball bearing good wishes from the people here in Rugby and the Headmaster of Rugby School which had previously been passed to me on The Close here in Rugby. I, in turn, passed it to Murray McCully, New Zealand’s Minister for Sport and Recreation, who thankfully caught my pass and touched the ball down. In doing so we are claiming this as the world’s longest pass, with the distance from Rugby to Auckland being pretty much as far as any distance from one side of the world to another!
After remaining for the World Cup Opening Ceremony and the All Blacks first game against Tonga, we headed off to Christchurch for our fourth Rugby game in eight days, to play in a charity match to raise funds for victims of the earthquake which hit the city a year ago. Our original intention was to then stay for the England v Argentina game but that had been moved south to Dunedin due to damage to both the Christchurch stadium and hotels in the city. It was a real disappointment not to see England play, but our visit was especially appreciated by our hosts who have missed out massively following their tragedy. I’m glad we played the extra game, as towards the end I managed to sneak over for our team’s last try of the tour and my first for twenty years! After playing it was a shock to visit the city centre and see the devastation suffered with leaning buildings, areas cordoned off and piles of rubble still in the streets.
This was my first visit to a Parliament other than our own, my first visit to New Zealand and my first experience of a Parliamentary Rugby tournament. There will be a chance for Rugby people to see the standard of our play when we take on a team made up of veteran players from across the town on The Close at Rugby School on Sunday 9th October, kick off 2.30pm when, on this occasion, we will be helping to raise funds for the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.