Auckland – The New Zealand public may be forgiven to believe that Auckland City council are pre-empting an All Blacks victory as the New Zealand Herald reported that they are quietly planning a victory parade for next week.
According to the report, the New Zealand Rugby Union have been in talks to hold a ticker-tape parade in the city centre next Wednesday or Thursday.
However, their forward thinking and planning has not gone down all to well with some.
Commentator Keith Quinn said, "Let me quote a line from William Shakespeare: 'We must not run before our horse to the market.'
"That is the feeling I have when thinking about New Zealand and the Rugby World Cup. Those of us who are self-appointed historians ... remember the 1999 and 2007 games against France.
"It was almost as if the fans couldn't believe they would lose. Overconfidence could affect everyone in New Zealand. Being overconfident could seep into the bones, into the psyche, of the nation and even the All Blacks,” commentator Keith Quinn told the New Zealand Herald.
New Zealand have been instilled as the bookmaker’s favourite to conquer their European rivals in Sunday’s final and a collective sigh of relief was felt across the nation after the All Blacks beat a team they have previously never managed to beat at the World Cup, Australia.
According to NZRU spokesperson Julie Clausen, talking about any victory celebrations would be premature.
Furthermore, a post-World Cup party is planned to take place in Auckland on Monday.
Organisers of the celebratory New Zealand Labour Day festival, Kiwi Day Out say it will happen regardless of whether the All Blacks win the Webb Ellis Cup.
"It's not a premature celebration [plan]. Obviously, we're hoping that is how it happens but it doesn't have any bearing on how it works out,” said one of the organizers of the event, Dave Mee .
Comedian Ben Hurley said New Zealanders had started to relax their superstitions about the cup.
"A lot of people have had their fingers in their ears going 'La, la, La' anytime anyone has mentioned us winning so as not to jinx it, but that might have finished now."
"In saying that, it's going to be really embarrassing if you bake a cake saying, 'We won', and take it to a pre-final winning party and then we lose. That's probably going too far."
* RWC final odds on BET.CO.ZA: New Zealand vs France
According to the report, the New Zealand Rugby Union have been in talks to hold a ticker-tape parade in the city centre next Wednesday or Thursday.
However, their forward thinking and planning has not gone down all to well with some.
Commentator Keith Quinn said, "Let me quote a line from William Shakespeare: 'We must not run before our horse to the market.'
"That is the feeling I have when thinking about New Zealand and the Rugby World Cup. Those of us who are self-appointed historians ... remember the 1999 and 2007 games against France.
"It was almost as if the fans couldn't believe they would lose. Overconfidence could affect everyone in New Zealand. Being overconfident could seep into the bones, into the psyche, of the nation and even the All Blacks,” commentator Keith Quinn told the New Zealand Herald.
New Zealand have been instilled as the bookmaker’s favourite to conquer their European rivals in Sunday’s final and a collective sigh of relief was felt across the nation after the All Blacks beat a team they have previously never managed to beat at the World Cup, Australia.
According to NZRU spokesperson Julie Clausen, talking about any victory celebrations would be premature.
Furthermore, a post-World Cup party is planned to take place in Auckland on Monday.
Organisers of the celebratory New Zealand Labour Day festival, Kiwi Day Out say it will happen regardless of whether the All Blacks win the Webb Ellis Cup.
"It's not a premature celebration [plan]. Obviously, we're hoping that is how it happens but it doesn't have any bearing on how it works out,” said one of the organizers of the event, Dave Mee .
Comedian Ben Hurley said New Zealanders had started to relax their superstitions about the cup.
"A lot of people have had their fingers in their ears going 'La, la, La' anytime anyone has mentioned us winning so as not to jinx it, but that might have finished now."
"In saying that, it's going to be really embarrassing if you bake a cake saying, 'We won', and take it to a pre-final winning party and then we lose. That's probably going too far."
* RWC final odds on BET.CO.ZA: New Zealand vs France