Aisle Be Back: Super Rugby Final

Damn you Hurricanes. Damn you for ending a 21-year jinx. Damn you for making us so happy.
I don’t know what you felt in the stands after the 80 minutes once the elation had worn off, but part of me didn’t know what to feel.

I mean, how can you know how to celebrate being Super Rugby champs if you’ve never experienced it before.

What am I going to do now there isn’t the annual build-up of unreasoning optimism, only to be bought crashing to earth to repeat again the next season?

I think it’s the same for the Canes haters out there. You could almost feel sorry for them. Well, a little.

So have you started contemplating what comes next?  Will this team adopt the English motto of once is good enough. Or can we hope for the D word, Dynasty. That's given that this is a young side, the coaches don’t want to go anywhere, and there’s a good pipeline of talent from within the region.

Now that would be nice. And you know, this isn’t year one. This is already year two, because you don’t top the Super rugby log two years running without something good being at work.

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I looked at the stats from Saturday’s final, and they made little sense. If you didn’t know the result, you’d expect the Lions had won.

Yet I never felt once that they were in the match, especially when those first clattering tackles started going in. And when the Canes destroyed the attacking Lions scrum in our 22 at the 34th minute mark, I really thought that barring us going walkabout, that was it.

Interesting that the Lions put down the two tries to their mistakes. Strictly true, but in both cases, especially Cory Jane’s try, that was pressure.
And I’m still marvelling at Jane’s reflexes.  Not bad for a golden oldie.

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I wonder if Rugby with a capital R has the sense to seize the moment over the case of the Chiefs and the stripper.

I’m no shrinking violet – and like a lot of males, I’ve seen the inside of a strip bar more than once.  But personally I was sickened by what I heard.

Say all you want about pre-judging but it  is episodes like this that only confirm what a lot of people outside (and no doubt some inside) the rugby bubble think – that rugby’s part of a wider New Zealand cultural problem where women can be treated appallingly.

Now it’s not rugby’s job to fix that by itself. But the sport holds a special place in our culture and is a leader in holding up a lot of admirable qualities.

So why not be a leader here?

Because, to borrow the slogan of a current campaign trying to change attitudes, it’s not okay.

Kev has followed the Hurricanes since they began. He has a season pass. Every year he has predicted that the Canes will win Super Rugby - this year he was proved right. He is no longer a long-suffering fan.