Dublin Airport, Saturday 14th October 2023. A sea of green rugby jerseys catching flights to France for the world cup quarter final. Optimism fills the check-in halls.
In the long queue for security checks, perhaps not wise for this lone New Zealander to brandish her kiwi mascot about, but I do it anyway.
Immediately, teasing and laughter engulfs me in goodwill. Irish enthusiasm and pride is so big-hearted, underlined by a healthy dose of humor. The Security Officer suggests she should have me detained for 24 hours, thus reducing the All Blacks support by one; anything to help.
But we all agree on one thing; this will be the match of giants, too close to call, between teams (and countries) who respect each other enormously.
The Irish know how to be supporters, with intelligence, respect, and lots of fun. Including someone from the ‘other side’ shows just how generous those Irish hearts are. Their passion almost made me a believer… but not quite!
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