Forget Twickenham, Inglewood's the place to be

Will Johnston

There’s a song by The Script called Paint the Town Green but there should be a new version called Paint the Town Amber and Black.

 

Those famous Taranaki colours were prevalent along Inglewood’s main street ahead of the opening Mitre 10 Cup match against Bay of Plenty on Sunday at TET Stadium.

 

A local Inglewood initiative saw all shop windows, verandas and even the public toilet block covered in flags, bunting, Bulls logos, the two colours and posters welcoming the Bulls to its new home.

 

Many of the fans walking to the game stopped and admired the designs – rugby fever 2020 had arrived in Inglewood, if not quite further afield

 

Not coincidentally it was also the first time fans could look forward to a Taranaki match featuring a couple of the world-famous Barrett brothers – Beauden and Jordie.

It was also the first match of the 2020 National Provincial Championship - were playing, and it was at a boutique new venue – away from the negatives of Yarrow Stadium.

 

There was a great community spirit about it not seen since October 2014 – which was the week leading up to the final they won. The entire province got behind the team then and that support helped as they won the competition for the first time.

 

Taranaki did that without any Barretts, but there is no doubt the community is proud to have them back for the first time since 2012 when Taranaki played King Country in a Ranfurly Shield defence in front of 4000 fans.

 

While Sunday’s crowd wasn’t that big because of Covid-19 restrictions, the Taranaki Rugby Football Union’s innovative approach to overcoming them did a good job ensuring the province’s strong rural community and its fans had a day to remember.

 

They opened the doors to limited numbers, mainly season ticket holders and sponsors, split fans up into several bubbles of 100 and escorted the group to their seats before kick-off. With 1200 people scattered around the venue, it met health protocols. Each group had their entry and exits, toilets and plenty of space to social distance. It was the biggest crowd at any match in the opening weekend of the competition. Counties Manukau restricted numbers to 800, other provinces had no one there at all.

 

Patrons in Inglewood’s hospitality tent were also catered for, with their facilities to keep them occupied during the match. Perhaps not surprisingly they got louder and louder as the match went on.

 

It was an odd feeling not having a crowd at club finals and it would have been even odder if no one had the opportunity to watch some of the world’s best rugby players in action live.

 

While Inglewood is arguably the centre of world rugby at the moment, expect a capacity crowd when restrictions are lifted, hopefully in a couple of weeks.