'People are going crazy': rugby fever grips New Zealand
The Guardian|October 28, 2023
Sports bars across New Zealand are fully booked, flights to France are selling out and schools have told students they can ditch their uniforms and wear all black as rugby fever grips the country in the run-up to the World Cup final against South Africa
Eva Corlett 
'People are going crazy': rugby fever grips New Zealand

"People are going crazy," said Rebecca Christiansen, the marketing manager of Four Kings and Jack Hackett's, a sports bar in central Wellington. The bar had been fully booked since the All Blacks beat Ireland last Sunday, Christiansen said. 

It won't be quite business as usual. With the game kicking off at 8am local time tomorrow, Christiansen has decided to put on a buffet breakfast for its 300 booked punters.

Anticipation is building across New Zealand as the final looms, with hopes high that the national team can redeem itself after a lacklustre year.

Media coverage is focused on the two nations vying to become the first country to win four World Cups.

This story is from the October 28, 2023 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the October 28, 2023 edition of The Guardian.

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