Donegal rolls out red carpet as All Blacks get back to their roots

A WET field at the bottom of a lane in Donegal seemed an unlikely spot to find a half-dozen All Blacks during the week. Michael Moynihan reports.

JERRY Collins, the powerful All Black forward, had the bottle poised uncertainly over the boulder. “Go on, Jerry,” said his captain, Tana Umaga, while Joe Rokocoko and Nemia Tialata grinned at their teammate.

Collins gritted his teeth and swung the bottle, and there was a light shower of glass as the cameras flashed and the crowd applauded. For the people huddled around there was a distinct, sharp scent of champagne in the unlikely setting of a muddy field in Donegal.