CEO Column: On tour with Jonah

By Martin Snedden, RNZ 2011 CEO

I have just returned from a trip to the Pacific as part of a New Zealand delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Rugby World Cup, Murray McCully. The delegation included a strong Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011) contingent.

Avoiding the worst of the New Zealand winter by spending five days basking in the warmth of the beautiful islands of Tonga, Samoa, Rarotonga and Niue was a treat in itself. Spending those five days in the company of Jonah Lomu promoting RWC 2011 was even better.
Jonah is amazing. He is truly a world superstar. Everywhere he went on our trip he had a constant stream of people wanting to talk to him, shake his hand and have a photo. He treated all with patience, respect and humour.

The interest in RWC 2011 is steadily growing in each of the islands we visited. Both the Tongans and the Samoans are quietly confident that their respective teams will perform well. Certainly, the Samoans shock defeat of Australia on the weekend will have further raised their expectations.

I would love to see those two Pacific teams, and Fiji also, do well. If they fire they will set RWC 2011 alight. Wales, who have to overcome Samoa and Fiji to make the quarters, will no doubt be feeling a bit anxious, particularly given the history of their previous RWC encounters with Pacific teams. And I’d suggest that both the All Blacks and France will be feeling at least a little bit apprehensive about Tonga.

It was humbling being part of a series of Rugby training sessions run by Jonah and his great mate, Ofisa Tonu’u, former Manu Samoa and All Black double international. Each morning we worked with a large bunch of kids, involving them in some basic training drills whilst encouraging them to follow their Rugby dreams. The levels of enthusiasm were huge. You could see the determination of many to impress Jonah. We saw a lot of raw talent at these sessions.

Our afternoons and evenings were devoted to mingling with groups of people interested not only in hearing about our RWC 2011 preparations but also about potential business and tourism opportunities for them.

Perhaps because of their close affinity with New Zealand, the vast majority of those we encountered on our travels seemed very keen to see us deliver a great event. They readily recognize that right from the outset we have endeavoured to ensure that RWC 2011 will carry a distinctive Pacific flavour, starting with the Opening Ceremony and opening match – New Zealand v Tonga – at Eden Park on September 9. If we succeed then our Tournament will be all the better for this.