Nah, I don't really believe the election outcome will be influenced by the rugby result. To think it does, you have to believe that tens of thousands of us watched Thierry Dusautoir pushing his formidable pack…

The six-week, 48-game tournament cost taxpayers and the New Zealand Rugby Union $39 million, a loss that was anticipated and has not been downgraded despite organisers surpassing the ticket sales target.

However, this does…

(The fact that 1.4billion people don't have electricity and quite a few others will be at work doesn't seem to…

Others have pondered the same. No one seems to have any actual figures to offer, either way Doesn't seem that complicated to resolve, so maybe the real story is…

In terms of things that I suspect are bigger than the RWC, I would imagine that most if not all of the Tour, the Superbowl, the Champions League final…

Fortune magazine was claiming the other day that the RWC was the third-biggest sporting event in the world after the Olympics and the football world cup (on an exponential scale, obviously.) It didn't really sound…

Sydney 2000 only just managed to break even. Montreal 1976 took 30 years to do so. Athens 2004 is believed to be a big factor…

I'm fairly sure that the "latest" economic impact report is the same one they've been touting for the last five weeks.

I think butchers are going to do well. The rush started yesterday up at Westmere, apparently. The whole city is going to smelled…

Rugby World Cup finals weekend celebrations in Auckland are set to pump up to $67.6 million into the nation's economy.

The latest MasterCard…

I know one volunteer who worked 7 days in Wellington, wasn't well positioned, felt it was a bit of waste of time, and got one pool ticket to not a…

But they'll not, their performance in some shitty local albeit European league depends upon imported players. Thank God, I mean Jock Hobbes, this is not the rugby reality we face. It's his personal intervention that saw off the Murdoch-backed…

They're required to release the players, but I hand't realised that in this tournament some clubs have tried to either buy or bully players into not playing at the RWC.

That's disgusting. The British rugby press should be flaying…

I thought their refusal to so so was a live issue?

So why did they have students doing sports massage because they couldn't afford their own staff Still I stand corrected. And what about all the sympathy for the $10000.00 fine…

Auckland Council determined not to be caught short this time:

They're probably having a panic because the weather forecast for Sunday is pretty damn good. I hope the folks organising that Fonterra Kiwi Day Out for Monday have got some good systems in place they could get some big numbers…

The Auckland Council will today make an urgent application to the Government's Rugby World Cup Authority for permission to use Aotea Square and Marsden Wharf as fan zones on Sunday night.

Big television screens to show the game live would be…

Samoa? Tonga? Doubt it.

Yes, but if any of them wanted to stay, they're all well paid professionals and could afford hotel rooms, camper vans and the like out of their own money.

Is there a tradition that if you're in…

One can but hope. I'd also like to see that wealthy industry pay for its own shore facilities, wherever they are. Then we'll see how grand they need to be.

The government and the then Auckland Regional Council contributed $20 million each to buy Queen’s Wharf in 2009,…

Also few years back I worked for a lady who billeted the Tennis pros in to NZ for…

Maybe Owen Glenn got them into it?

Well, I would rather some of our hospo ($10 mil +) go on actually being hospitable to the guests in the tournament rather that Prince Albert and his wife who frankly could afford to pay for…

Wait, in 2003 NZ lost co-hosting rights to Australia because we couldn't…

The ABs will have to move “it” up more than a notch or two to win and one can't underestimate the…

Surely they got three to six month visas like everyone else who visits NZ? The [European tournament sponsored by redacted multinational] cup doesn't start till November.

That'd be kinda funny looking.

mind that woodchipper..

Well that would have been cheaper right there eh? (trying to sound like I am from Fargo )
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind our infrastructure being maintained, enhanced etc. But from the start, it seemed it was…

But they existed already luv . Minus cloud,minus Tupawaka, minus John key.... then I would pay with a great big smile on my face ,like this :)))))

Seemed rude to me too. Wonder who made that decision?

No, the region's other fanzones were always part of the plan. Deciding not to open them for the first night was silly.

Not so. We only got them because of the RWC.

We already had plenty of businesses hoping to get punters, and that means we already had booze and food.

True. I feel for the local businesses.

I know Ponsonby has been busy but it mostly always is and peeps are friendly and helpful for sure.As is the other affluent Easty burbs you mention. My point was a lot less money could have been spent and we still would…

See, I don't think it's all been like that at all.

I was walking down Ponsonby Rd last week, looking for a friend who had yet to arrive. A couple came up to me…

Te Puni Kokiri's inability to explain how it spent $2.8 million was fairly pathetic.

Not everything in that story is of the same order, though. As I noted above, if tens of thousands of us are going…

I'd say that we — and to give due credit, our media — are far less inclined to ignore the kind of crap that went down with the Viaduct redevelopment.

Probably look a bit better once they get the wings and the engines bolted on. I can't wait to see it do some flight testing over the harbour!

Not any more than you'd expect for the scale of the event and budgets and the number of organisations involved. Unless you have some evidence we haven't seen yet.

Well I remember. My rates are big and now they want to charge me to take the rubbish away on top of them, never mind that we already pay for it.Oh I remember. :)

There…

The Cloud was part of the Queen's Wharf compromise between central and local government — I…

Our government could have got together with the Aussies, Brits and South Africans and agreed not to be kicked around by Big Sport. Then the IRB would have had a choice of either pulling their (substantial) necks in, or…

And my word have they been sensitive about criticism of it.

Maybe it's awesome inside, but it does not look like it will last long before the exterior deteriorates. It looks a bit crappy, frankly.

But my main problem was the government spending $1.8 million outside…

To be fair, it's a taxpayer-funded venue that will still be a feature of our expanding waterfront long after the RWC ends.

The original proposal, remember, was for both sheds…

It would have gone nowhere covering the costs and would have generated massive, and understandable, public resentment.

Free ticketing for Queen’s Wharf, which they finally got round to doing, should have been in place from the beginning.…

I reckon Heineken could've chipped in.

Eight bucks for a plastic cup of tankered fake Heineken in a tax-payer-funded venue?? They must've made out like bandits.

The only person of any note who could be identified attending was Prince Albert of Monaco. I guess we have trade with the Monégasque, but it mostly consists of Key’s wealthy mates stuffing their cash their out of reach of the NZ taxman.

says it all really :)

Fuck! Why isn't the bloody Brewery coughing up the catering. Who got this money? Why do I have to pay for throwing parties for a bunch of people I will never meet (or care to)? This is just mean. Who should I email? hmmmm...grrrr....:(

Could it have been done for much, much less – undoubtedly?

(Charging for fan-zone tickets would have deferred the cost and contained the numbers. We could have had every game in existing stadia – just with slightly smaller crowds – who could in turn have…

It's a good rule of thumb, but it's not universally applicable, just like all the "don't be a dick" rules. Sometimes, being a dick…

There must have been business cases. You'd expect we will see some review of those now.

I think I explained my point well enough, but feel free to disagree.

Oh I will some other time tho' hope thats OK

I've written about the practical-creative thing before, at some length.

Damn I must have missed those.

Planned to be about $10m apparently. On top of $4.9m to host the Pacific Islands Forum.

That's via John Hartevelt's story asking whether the tournament has been good value.

But, and I say…

Culture is about many connections

Hah, I remember when I used to just change the subject when asked what I thought of THE HOLY TRILOGY – because even I have my limits when it comes to lung-busting rows over shit that doesn’t really matter.…

Yes. I recall distinctly: I made bacon and eggs for my grandfather as the doom came upon us.

I also didn't think it was likely that I'd be watching the 2011 games with Grandad too, considering he turns 93 in a few weeks. He's a…

A memorable photo.

Well, 8am on a Sunday. In a flat full of uni students that qualifies as "getting up for". It's practically dawn. (For similar reasons, the University of Canterbury Fencing Club's annual "Duel at Dawn" usually…

Quite. That story was utterly risible. The Herald's sports team seems to…

Jesus that is properly frightening. It's bad enough seeing the Herald publishing wilfully misleading photographs of balls flying between uprights simply to reinforce the 'Wayne Barnes is Incompetent'…

SOHO Channel turning up end of this month on Sky is going to have a bunch of good shows on it – many of which have been talked up on PAS before.

Now if only the actual content was just as good...

No-one wants to make you read Laws – that would be too cruel

That might even be the most useful and widespread enduring benefit.

I wish they’d itemised them better:

Public expenses Mr Key did not cite include advertising, promotional events, match-day entertainment, volunteer co-ordination, signage, extra staff, improvements to urban facilities, VIP hosting and fan zones.

What, for example, are the “improvements to urban facilities”? How…

Budget blowouts have pushed public spending on the Rugby World Cup well above $200 million – without counting $555 million in stadium upgrades and $39 million in direct losses from hosting the tournament.
...

This week Prime Minister John Key defended the country's investment…

It was argued here that a spike in reported levels of such violence was *more associated with* activities involving alcohol consumption *than with* sport as such. I'm not aware of research about…

A few beers doesn't turn me or most people I know into a thug.

I don't hit people when drunk (which is such an irregular event that I can count the times in recent decades on my fingers) and…

There have been a couple of comments in this thread about the relationship between alcohol and domestic violence and I wanted to clarify something...

One of the (many) myths around domestic…

I really wish they would update that series. It seems to poignantly finish just on the dawn of professionalism. It's just as fascinating as a social documentary as it is…

Examples?

And I can understand why people aren’t that fussed about Opera New Zealand staging the world premiere of a new work by a local composer at the International Arts Fest next year, or the pretty interesting line up…

Yeah, that was pretty much my point. And you can get over-reacted crabbiness from both "sides" which is down to their last half-dozen encounters rather than you. And I think it helps to understand that. I've blocked/filtered a few people and that's helped rather a lot.

Yes, that is quite shit. I have a whole bunch of vague statements to fob off persistent inquiries, and changing the subject is the best tactic. It's annoying to have to do, but that kind of thing is…

plus 1...

The problems I have with the whole thing are being told
* it will affect me

(no,, actually it wont -except for the category outlined below)

* that, as a ratepayer & taxpayer, I should be satisfied…

Being a mouthy prick doesn't help his case either.

Ah, that explains it: I hadn't seen much Super N or Tri Nations this year, so couldn't quite work out why he was singled out for such vitriol.

isn't it the only one broadcasting in SD?

Several ‘places’ for battery recycling listed on this MoE factsheet :)

If you spend $170 on an Apple TV…

Maybe. Given that recycling centres have run out of capacity to store old sets, it's quite likely the Sallies have more than they need too.

Salvation Army will come out to your house for big items if you want to donate it. They have men to lift big things. Win win really. Purge and recycle. Feels good.

I traded a dead car battery on a reconditioned one last week. Fifty bucks, compared to $180. I did have to listen to more about batteries than I really cared to know in the process,…

Without wishing to deter you from your noble path, TV does look bloody good these days.

Nah. That absolutely not it.

There's probably a little of the fact that he was born here, but…

Mmm, do-dads. I'd probably have gone ahead and bought one if it came with the cool documentary they were playing in the shop. Galapagos…

I'd throw mine out, if I could lift it.

I was talking to someone in the business recently…

You're just not trying. :)

I'm not sure that's a particularly sound analogy, and even if it was what exactly are "we" supposed to do – start drawing up lists of rugby players who can't leave…

Intriguing! Because on both Sky and Freeview it looks markedly worse than their usual picture.

No HD or even digital receiver here, and Maori TV's picture was actually better than the other free-to-air channels. More recent analogue transmission gear perhaps?

The desire to retain earned value in the NZRU (via brand revenue) rather than handing it over to the IRB is part of that manoevring we saw recently about the revenue model for the next tournament.

As the owner of a box-shaped TV, this has not been so much of a factor for me:)

Yes. That's why the NZRU has to stick to its policy of picking only domestic players for as long as possible. It will never be able to match the salaries offered…

You're not alone — insofar as the ratings system can give an answer, Maori Television actually had the biggest free-to-air audience for the ABs' quarter-final.

It was a bit different for Sunday's semi:

TV ONE 659,400
Sky…

Not all that easy (apologies for the FB link: I'm not sure if it's been posted elsewhere).

Which is more or less what I did. And…

Not only are three of the four teams to reach the semis coached by New Zealanders, there were 38 New Zealand-born players and several other coaches scattered through through the other teams.

Given…

Throw in, the towel...
Christmas has nothing to do with…

And "performative disinterest" is a great phrase. I'd add "performative ignorance" as well.

Weeks and weeks ago – like, before the games actually started – I suggested in a tweet that perhaps…

Absolutely. I've developed a strong loyalty to Maori TV's coverage during this tournament, which was only strengthened on Saturday when I heard (during TV1's buildup to the first semifinal) Tane Randall claim that he had 'a sneaking…

One thing I thought, although in this context it may seem odd, is the incredible discipline shown by both teams overall on Sunday. Apart from the SBW moment of course, which we won't mention.

Did…

Oh yes it does. It's a smashing game.

I would have been happy to see Loe cop a life ban for persistent thuggery.

Yes. When you and Craig not only watched but expressed enthusiasm about…

Think nothing of it, sir!

No you didn't and I got ridiculously preachy at you, for which I apologise.

That said, at a time when half the nation (or thereabouts) watched one game on TV you decided to mention that half didn't ... shrug.

Or celebrated the folks who got Marsden Funding (equivalent to winning the NPC) or commiserated with those who didn’t … sniff.

Rugby is special to NZ, despite many other things being much more (objectively) important.