Ireland may have been knocked out of the Rugby World Cup in the quarter-final with Wales, but one well-known Irish individual managed to briefly seize the trophy last night. Before Friday’s Wales-Australia play-off for third place, the famous William Webb Ellis Cup was on display in the corporate hospitality area. Showing it off was none other
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Events
Flagging up a monumental showdown
All across New Zealand anticipation and anxiety are building in equal measure for this Sunday’s Rugby World Cup final between the in-form, fit and famous All Blacks and the maddening, mercurial and occasionally magnificent French – (‘Les Bleus’). From the top of the North Island to the tip of the South (Cape Reinga to the
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Miscellaneous
A new way to wear Cavalli
In a welcome respite from the rugby (Alain who? DON’T get me started on the injustice of that red card) this writer heads off to Tuscany today, for the official reveal of the first Roberto Cavalli fragrance from Coty Prestige. The Cavalli beauty licence was previously held by ICR-ITF. Coty’s agreement took effect last summer,
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Events
All black and blue
A nation expected. A team delivered. Under the fiercest pressure the All Blacks have shed their despised tag as ‘chokers’ and won through to the final of the Rugby World Cup, beating the tough, tenacious Aussies in a monumental semi-final. There they will play their old nemesis, France, who somehow scraped a one-point victory against
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Events
Yes we can…. can’t we?
D-Day approaches. It’s semi-finals weekend in Auckland for the Rugby World Cup and the place is buzzing. So is the ‘travel retail retreat’ at Kohimarama Road in Mission Bay, Auckland. Last night the newly arrived house guests – Colm and Breeda McLoughlin, John and Karl Sutcliffe and yours truly – welcomed Adrian Littlewood, Paul Divers
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Events
Black is the colour…
Choose your colour. Red or Blue? Black or Gold? The choices are few and simple. Who do you support this weekend as the Rugby World Cup reaches its semi-final stages? Downtown and suburban Auckland is awash with colour: plenty of black of course but mounting swathes of gold, blue and red for Australia, France and
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Events
And then there were four…
‘Poms bomb, Wales prevail’ screamed the headline in the Herald on Sunday, a dual reference to the English defeat against a rejuvenated France and Wales’ triumph in the titanic Celtic clash with Ireland. Meanwhile the Aussies reached into the very depth of their collective Antipodean soul to sneak the narrowest and bravest of wins against an
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Miscellaneous
It’s a knockout
I’ve arrived in Auckland, my base for the next two weeks as the Rugby World Cup reaches its knock-out stages. It’s quarter-finals weekend here and the waterfront area around the official fanzone and Viaduct Basin is packed each night with supporters from England, France, Argentina and, of course, New Zealand. Several well-known members of the
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Events
A day unlike any other
“At 12.51pm the fault… can no longer resist the immense pressure. It ruptures, dispatching shockwaves upwards through the oblivious city and through the Port Hills to the sea beyond. In the seconds which follow, the earth writhes and roars like a wounded animal, gripping Christchurch in a web of destruction. This will be a day
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People
Rest in Peace: Steve Jobs
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to love what you do. “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all pride,
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Miscellaneous
Host nation crashes out of ‘Virtual’ World Cup
Let’s hope it’s not a sign of things to come… Host team the All Blacks today crashed out of The Moodie Report’s ‘Virtual World Cup’, the sister competition to the real Rugby World Cup (RWC) currently being played in New Zealand. The Virtual World Cup (VWC) asked companies to sponsor one of the 20 finalists
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Miscellaneous
A place where no Blackberries grow…
The Moodie Report has opened many temporary bureaus down the years, refusing to let geographic position or isolation frustrate our publication schedule. But even in an age of almost ubiquitous internet access, some places just defy modern technology. Such is the case on the wild West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island where I took
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Events
The journeyman who would be king
‘Stay positive, says Dan’s dad.’ Only in New Zealand… The front page headline of Christchurch’s ‘The Press’ newspaper was dedicated not to international affairs, not to the aftermath of the local earthquakes, not to the soaring local employment rate. Instead it referred to an interview with the father of New Zealand’s stricken sporting hero Dan