New Zealanders are brimming with confidence ahead of their Rugby World Cup semifinal against Australia on Saturday, dismissing any thought the team will choke as they did four years ago against France in the last World Cup.
Phone lines to radio talk shows were running hot in the final hours before kick-off and newspapers ran emotional editorials about how all that mattered for the sake of the nation was a win over Australia.
A week after 70% of the money gambled on the All Blacks quarterfinal against South Africa at the Tab, New Zealand’s official betting agency, was placed on the Springboks, there is no one prepared to bet on an upset Australian win.
New Zealand is paying just 1,18 New Zealand dollars for a one-dollar bet while Australia is paying a previously unheard-of 4,50 dollars.
”Since we’ve been betting for about seven years now, I can’t remember Australia ever paying this much in a match between the two,” Tab head bookmaker Pete Young told the Press newspaper in Christchurch.
According to the Dominion Post newspaper in Wellington, New Zealand’s booming economy and plunging unemployment rate were significant achievements but against the rugby they count for nothing.
”There is only one measure that matters for many Kiwis when assessing their national pride and worth, and that will be put to the test at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium this evening,” it said in an editorial.
”All Black captain Rueben Thorne, feeling the pressure, says it is sad that the New Zealand psyche relies so heavily on the team’s fortunes. It is even sadder that he thinks it is sad.
”Really, it is very simple. All he has to do is lead the team to wins tonight and next week and he will find the country in such a good mood that it won’t worry about sport at all.”
The Press, however, echoed the inner thoughts of many people who fear the All Blacks may yet be vulnerable, and noted that Australia ”has too often proved New Zealand’s pre-match favouritism misplaced”. — Sapa-AFP