Monocle

New Zealand won the right to host the current Rugby World Cup with a pitch positioning the country as a “stadium of four million people”. Given the local appetite for the game, the event – the biggest New Zealand has hosted – was never going to want for support. But few foresaw that an excess of sporting passion might prove an issue, that the one-eyed fervour of some fans might cross the line into abuse of rival supporters.

First, a little background. For New Zealanders, the tournament that should be the ultimate showcase for their rugby talent has instead – repeatedly over two decades – proved a scene of national trauma. Despite being perennial favourites, the All Blacks have only once lifted the William Webb Ellis Cup, at the inaugural championship in 1987.

 Their failures have earned them an unwelcome billing as the biggest chokers in world sport.

So intense is the pressure of expectation that some pundits believe that, when it comes to the All Blacks and the World Cup, the “home ground advantage” might actually be a hindrance. 

In this context, organisers’ pleas for New Zealanders to be good hosts have been forgotten by some of the most rabid rugby fans, leading to ugly moments in recent weeks. With Australian fans complaining of harassment at games, its media seized on a “hate vibe” from the hosts, and the tournament faced a PR crisis.

Remarkably, the uncharacteristic frostiness in the trans-Tasman sporting relationship seemed largely due to animosity towards a single Australian player: the brash, New Zealand-born playmaker Quade Cooper, who has brought a distinct edge to his adopted country’s game. Cooper’s record of “cheap shots” at the All Blacks captain, and his Twitter crowing about his “most hated man in New Zealand” status, fed the ill-will; the fact that the Wallabies are coached by a New Zealander, and recently beat the All Blacks, didn’t help matters either.

Fortunately a homespun, folksy effort to restore the squandered goodwill appears to be paying off. Leading the charge has been Aldo Miccio, mayor of Nelson and husband of an Australian, who declared a “Hug an Aussie Day” this week. “I guess every country’s got a few idiots that spoil it for everybody; embarrassingly enough New Zealand is no exception,” Mayor Miccio told Monocle as he welcomed 6,000 Wallabies supporters to his city. “But it’s just a few bad eggs. We want to remind the Aussies that we love them really.”

The gesture, in keeping with the heartland values that organisers have been eager to push, has been lapped up by the Australian press, halting the negative headlines that were emerging. It has also served as a timely reminder to local idiots about where the boundaries between fandom and loutishness lie.

“Hopefully they’ll pull their heads in now,” said Miccio, as he set off through his city’s streets looking for green-and-gold jumpers. “Even Quade Cooper will get a cuddle,” he promised.

Tim Hume is a regular Monocle contributor formerly based in Auckland