Delegates in Auckland for MEETINGS this week were treated to another – newer – fan experience: the All Blacks Experience at SkyCity – an immersive attraction based on New Zealand’s legendary international rugby team, made even more real by the presence of All Blacks former players who bring the experience to life.
Even for a non-rugby follower the All Blacks Experience is hard to beat.
Charged with team spirit, from the locker room to the warm-up area a few minutes before you walk down the players’ tunnel to the noise of 50,000 Kiwis, we learn of a secret Māori tradition involving a special greenstone that accompanies the All Blacks team wherever it plays.
All Black cap number 902, Ian Jones, was there to describe the emotion of winning his place in the side, only to be immediately greeted by his father with a handshake and the opinion that his All Blacks selection was “only one bloke’s opinion”. Among the tenets of this team is humility and Jones got his lesson early.
The ultimate moment of the All Blacks experience involves lining up in front of a wrap-around video wall to get a full-frontal Eden Park haka coming at you from 22 players whose war cries are spine-tingling. Some of the guests thought the women’s version of the haka was even more intimidating than the men’s.
While there’s no words to truly convey the power and the spiritual intent put into this pre-game ritual, it was a memorable moment for the out-of-towners and probably the best experience of its kind micenet has attended to date.
