VISITING NEW ZEALAND RUGBY MUSEUM

Right after Te Manawa, I went to one more museum which was located on the upper floor. This will definitely be the place for rugby fanatics. Even though I don't really know about the game much, I still went visiting and the entrance fee was NZ$12.50.

The museum told the history of rugby - how the sport was first brought into the country, its development and the involvement of the native people, Maori and people of the Pacific, in the games, and the achievement of the world famous New Zealand rugby team: All Blacks. One of the things that I learned in the museum was that rugby is played by women too.

The place was actually quite small and I am sure it will be expanded in the future. That morning, I was the one and only visitor so I had the place all to myself.

This is a portrait of one prominent rugby player and it was done using pieces of toasts. To my delight, I recognized the work of art when I was in Hong Kong last year and when I checked, the artist was the same person by the name of Maurice Bennet.

Click HERE for another masterpiece done by Bennet which I saw in Hong Kong.

In the museum, there was a mini rugby field where visitors could try out some activities and one of them would be using the scrum machine.

 

rugby jerseys worn by teams from all over NZ

the only museum staff on duty

It was an educational tour of the place and I should have known a bit more about rugby by then. I was disappointed a bit as I was expecting to learn the Haka moves which are always performed by the All Blacks players on the field.