Field Theory by Hadyn Green

Oh and if you were wondering, like I was, about Alby Matthewson's boots on the Blues website: they are customs he made himself at the Nike store in London.

Pretty much the same reasons I like going to games at Waikato Stadium. All the better for the excellent rugby the Chiefs are paying this season.

Can you change the spelling of dissention to dissension, please? I know some places recognise it, but for some reason, it’s bugging me :-)

The problem with the Blues is the same one they've had for the past decade - they continually try to get players at their peak instead of developing the team themselves.

for you Graeme :)

I was at the CakeTin on Saturday night for the Crusaders game and it does have much to recommend it.

I agree the music is too loud though- it's hard to have a conversation at normal levels. The ground announcer was crap to start with with but got better.

I was looking at the field and said - "Hey, that's Quentin McDonald, when did he come on?" Some time later, the announcer announced he'd come on for Corey Flynn, by which time he'd been replaced by Corey Flynn as an injury cover.

At AMI the ground announcer is awesome. There's a polite announcement when the opposition scores (tone of voice implying it's no big deal), and a more upbeat tone to thhe announcement for Crusaders scores.

When a Crusader scores, they play cool music (which I think may be chosen by the player who has just scored)

When the opposition score it's just a standard piece from memory.

By constrast, every time the Crusaders scored at the Cake Tin, they played defeatist, consolation music. The one I remember is "Always look on the bright side of life" for the bonus point fourth try.

It seemed to be aimed at the crowd - keeping them happy about watching a losing team.

The crowd itself seemed to be more of a "party on a Saturday" crowd than a serious knowledgeable rugby crowd - reminiscent of the sevens. But the "placate the crowd" strategy obviously gets people in the door.