Winning the World Cup would provide a rare chance to party for a nation trying to regroup after a tough year, writes Robert Kitson in The Guardian.
"Back in 1987, when the Rugby World Cup took its first faltering steps, few people were particularly interested. The former All Black great Don Clarke was invited to kick the match ball through the posts before the opening game and promptly tore a hamstring. The Italian anthem was played on crackling vinyl only to cut out halfway through. After New Zealand had beaten France in the final, several players were back at their day jobs by Monday morning.
"To contrast such a village-fete atmosphere with the 2011 edition is to be reminded how far the sport has advanced. New Zealanders are resigned to never hosting the tournament again; a population of 4.3 million means they simply do not have the economic clout. Estimates of how many overseas visitors will assemble in New Zealand continue to fluctuate, but the latest official figure is 95,000, almost a quarter of whom are making the trek from the UK. The organisers have even sold 55,000 tickets for a pool match between Fiji and Samoa, no mean feat even in Oceania.
"For a nation still trying to regroup from the deadly earthquake that hit Christchurch in February, it is a bittersweet sensation. Kiwis are not naturally demonstrative but, on the streets of Dunedin, Hamilton and Auckland, there is an overwhelming sense of now or never. If the All Blacks could just do the decent thing and win the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time since the Special K era of David Kirk and John Kirwan, they could rest easy."
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