Kiwis open eyes and mind to Irish

I ARRIVED in Wellington with the Irish team on Monday morning to be greeted by gale force winds and torrential rain.

Now I remember why touring New Zealand in the height of their winter in May and June was never that appealing. It rains a lot in this country and that can have a demoralising effect on any touring party.

The 1977 Lions tour was particularly grim, summed up perfectly by a letter home from Leicester and England hooker Peter Wheeler: “It only rained twice this week, once for four days and once for three”. Despite the fact that Ireland’s opening three pool games against the USA, Australia and Russia were played in wet and windy conditions, other than that, the weather has been pretty good. Then again they are well into their spring down here.