Aloof Lions should stop keeping fans at arm’s length

Letter from New Zealand

The specially constructed marquees erected onto the sides of many pubs in eager anticipation of the visit of a great travelling rugby circus stand dark and unused while the tell-tale signs of upturned stools on bar counters and tables point to a desperately quiet night in what must be one of the world’s quietest capital cities.

There is no doubt the camper van convoys will pitch up in Wellington the closer it gets to kick-off at the Westpac Stadium, a circular coliseum enveloped in a steel casing that prompted its nickname of the “Cake tin.”