By Hugh Petersen, Greg Ford & Josh Snee

WELLINGTON football fans climbed cars, walls and even rubbish trucks to get a good vantage point to see their hero players from the All Whites in today’s lunchtime parade.

Thousands of people followed the procession from Parliament to Civic Square where most of the team from the 2010 World Cup signed autographs and mingled with the crowd.

Four floats preceded the All Whites, celebrating Argentine football and the Wellington Phoenix.

Argentine visitors the Boca Juniors, who play the Wellington Phoenix on Friday, drove slowly past to polite applause from the crowd.

Finally the All Whites float arrived and the crowd erupted into cheers for the only unbeaten team at the 2010 World Cup.

Upon their arrival at the Civic Square, cannons shot white confetti into the air, spraying players and fans alike.

Crowds that had managed to cram into the Square were then welcomed by Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast, who spoke of how she and the whole region could not have been prouder of the World Cup side.

Prime Minister John Key, patron of New Zealand Football, made it clear how proud he was of the side.

“They fought with guts and courage: This is their day.”

Phoenix and All Whites coach Ricki Herbert got the loudest cheer of the day and was humble about his team’s success.

Herbert thanked the crowd for their continued support, then turned to his players and thanked them, describing the All Whites as “dedicated, loyal to the cause and great football ambassadors for the nation”.

GROUNDED: Catarina Strom and Razz.

EIGHT young Kapiti equestrians can’t go to the world games later this year because their national body says they’re not good enough

After training hard for years, the Kapiti Vaulting Club thought they were ready to compete in the world Equestrian Games in Kentucky later this year.

But now the club has received a letter from the New Zealand Equestrian Federation telling them they are too inexperienced to represent New Zealand at the games.

Club head coach Catarina Strom says it is “a stab to the chest” for the eight young vaulters, aged ten to 25.

The club has paid for a top German vaulting instructor to travel here to assist with the team’s training for the big event, she says.

“He was extremely impressed and even rang the CEO of the Equestrian Federation and said New Zealand is going to impress the world when they go to Kentucky.

“He even wrote a letter and sent it to the federation recommending them to support us. He thought we would be eighth.”

The club received the bad news two weeks after the letter of recommendation was sent.

“It was a shock to everybody,” she says. “The kids were crying.”

It was something that everyone had worked so hard for over the last 16 years.

MISSING OUT: Razz won't be travelling.

“The federation had been aware that we wanted to go the whole time and I think they could’ve told us a lot earlier.

“They sent us that letter only a few weeks after they told us they had reserved a place for our horse (Razz) to travel with all the other horses on the plane.”

As the club has raised a considerable sum towards the cost of going to the world event, they have decided to travel to Germany to compete and train.

The decision to travel to Germany was one made by Ms Strom and club owner Lynn Macintyre because of the recommendation made by the Equestrian Federation to attended more vaulting competitions overseas.

Ms Strom says not only will it be a great stepping stone and training experience for the vaulters. It will help them to remain hopeful and dedicated to club.

“If we did nothing, I think it would really hard for the club and for the kids to stay motivated.”

They have a lot of contacts in Germany, including the coach who came to New Zealand.

“He has offered for us to go and train at his place and use his horse to do some competitions.”

The team will be in Germany training and competing for a total of 21 days and are then stopping off at Disney World on the way home.

SOLE KIWI: Kirk Beyer was the only New Zealander to feature in an Aussie surfing movie filmed this month.

Titahi Bay longboard surfer Kirk Beyer says he felt privileged to be invited to star in a Christian surfing movie filmed by Australians entirely in New Zealand.

Kirk (21) was the only Kiwi of 10 surfers filmed on Taranaki beaches recently for the movie Flux, which it is hoped will premiere at the Noosa Festival of Surfing early next year.

ZOOMING IN: Rosie Spooner zooms in on the action.

“It is cool to surf with new people, especially when they are really good,” he says.

The highlight of the 10-day New Zealand shoot – which included Raglan and Matakana Island – was Stent Rd, south of Oakura.

The surf break off Stent Rd has good size and good power, Kirk says. “It’s uncrowded and you could see the snow-covered mountain (Mt Taranaki) which always means freezing cold water.”

The subjects of Flux, a documentary, include Rachel Pinsak (17), the under-18 girls longboard champion of Australia, and Sage Joske, a former champion and surfboard builder from New South Wales.

WATER-PROOF: Andrew Carruthers takes his camera, protected with water-proof housing, out in the surf.

Producer and director Andrew Carruthers, a pastor from Salt Baptist Church, in Queensland, says: “I chose New Zealand because it is geographically spectacular, I know a lot of people in New Zealand, and it’s underrated as a surf location.”

Filming was on a shoe-string budget, with sponsorship from the Australian Christian channel and Shine TV. Asia-Pacific regional Christian television coverage gives the film a potential audience of 10 million, Andrew says.

The movie features male and female surfers of different ages and backgrounds, who had in common a love of surfing and following Jesus, he says.

Lee Cooper (17), a surfer from Queensland, calls New Zealand cool, saying the water is cold, the coastline rugged and the surf uncrowded.

George Watt, of New South Wales, who is still surfing at 57, says he enjoyed surfing Raglan – after seeing it years ago on the movie Endless Summer.

The All Blacks like to get amongst the fans and the support they have received this year would rank alongside some the best in his career, said All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.

“The kids love it,” he told NewsWire. “It’s the school holidays and [there are] plenty of parents around.

“I think the support this year has been the best I’ve experienced over the eight or nine years I have been involved, so it’s an easy thing to do for us.”

The under-10 juniors from rugby clubs across the region were star-struck, as their heroes climbed off the team bus at the park on Wellington’s waterfront.

The 10 or so All Blacks got involved (left) in a series of “ripper rugby” games being played between the clubs, acting as coaches joining in on the fun.

Ripper rugby is like touch rugby, but players have bands around their waists with Velcro tags that are ripped off by opposing players.

The All Blacks still bear the physical effects of their win over the Springboks on Saturday.  Some hobbled and others had bruises, while some just signed autographs or posed for pictures with the youngsters.

Richie McCaw said the electric atmosphere and the huge support they can generate when they play in Wellington make beating them a difficult task for any opposing team when Westpac Stadium is at full capacity.

“I enjoy playing here,” he said. “We get a full stadium [and] it’s always a pretty good atmosphere. So hopefully it will be sold out and it’ll be good.”

He expects another major clash to be on the cards because the Springboks are more dangerous to play when they have suffered a defeat.

“The first thing is to get your feet back on the ground. You had to enjoy the other night, but you have to realise you’re going to be in for a bigger test, because they’re hurting. They’re going to come back and bite us.”

WALKING TALL: Halfback Jimmie Cowan with some aspiring fans from Rimutaka.

UP-AND-COMING: The Wellington Marist Under 10 team.

KEEN AUDIENCE: The Rimutaka Under 10s watch their AB heroes.

WELLINGTON Marathon Clinic’s Harbour City Kids’ Magic Mile attracted 320 five to 12-year-olds – and at least one four-year-old, Charlotte Ross, who completed the race in under 12 minutes.

GET A MOVE ON: Charlotte Ross urges on her cousin, Dan Snee, during a rainy Magic Mile.

TRIUMPHANT MOMENT: Charlie achieves her goal.

Charlotte Ross, of Lower Hutt, just loves to run so when her parents tried to sign her up online, they had to put her age in as five.

The blustery weather was no deterrent: Charlie made sure she was well dressed with double layers head to toe.

“He slowed me down,” says Charlie, complaining that her running partner and big cousin Dan was the one who needed the support to complete the challenge. Charlie finished in 11mins 58sec.

Parents Darryl and Michelle are both keen runners who have completed a number of marathon, triathlon and Ironman events.

Never having run a mile before, Charlie wasn’t going into the race without the proper groundwork.  “She trained for three weeks leading up [to the event],” says Darryl.

It is not the first time Charlie has entered into a kids’ race: She has run in the Hutt News Kids’ Run and the Pelorus Cool Kids’ Kilometre.

With their main focus being Charlie, Darryl has had to put his Ironman racing on hold but he was still able to compete in the Harbour Capital half marathon, finishing in 1hr 45min.

The children’s Magic Mile (1.6km) has its start line on the concourse of the Westpac Stadium, goes across the Aotea Quay over bridge, down the ramp and around a marker at the new BNZ building to finish back at the start.

It is the 25^th anniversary of the Harbour City Marathon, with the Kids Magic Mile being an annual event since 2008 with numbers growing every year.

ALL SPRAY: Ryan De Lange makes a splash in the cyclocross at Upper Hutt.

DANYON Graham didn’t know about  the 2010 Cyclocross cycle racing series until a few days before the race.

So he was as surprised as anyone when he won the novice race.

Pictured at right, Danyon (17), who entered with a friend, says cyclocross is good for speed building because of the short course, which helps with his other bike sports, road cycling and mountain biking.

He plans to continue cyclocross racing, entering two more races in the series, which began in Upper Hutt last weekend.

The first day of racing – the Independence Day Race – attracted 60 riders to Trentham Memorial Park.

The sport is growing in popularity in New Zealand, with many competitors using bikes roughly resembling road racing cycles.

The race, consists of several laps of a short course, requiring the riders to dismount frequently, carry their bikes over obstacles and remount quickly and smoothly, without losing speed.

Event organiser Mike Anderson says cyclocross is hugely popular in Europe and America, attracting crowds of 10,000 at the bigger races in Portland, Oregon or Belgium, Holland, France.

Many professional road cyclists use cyclocross for training.

“Cyclocross is a very effective way to boost aerobic fitness, improve power, and hone bike handling skills,” he says.

The 2010 Cyclocross Racing Series runs over four weekends, with the next two races held on July 18 and August 1 at California Park, Upper Hutt.

The final race is at on August 15.

The first 60-minute race was won by Stuart Houltham.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

By Anita De Muth and Hugh Petersen

FEW people think soccer a real threat to rugby as our national game, despite the recent success of the All Whites.

It will be big for a while, but the trend is unlikely to last, say those surveyed in a NewsWire street poll.

There’s no way football has taken over, says Victoria University student Caleb Te Weehi (left).

“Everyone watches soccer round world cup time, but as soon as it’s over everyone will just go back to watching rugby – because that is what we are actually good at.”

American Peter Somers (above right), an Oriental Bay retiree, says it is absurd to even suggest that soccer could come anywhere near taking over rugby.

“No, rugby is the national sport. It’s a more rugged game and much more physical. This is how I see kiwis, a rugged tough bunch.”

Retired Kaitaia man Bob Campbell (left): “Soccer had the same boom last time. NZ was in a state of elation, as no one expects us to go anywhere at world cups and we didn’t.

“The same thing is happening this time and will just produce the same result. People will like soccer for a while, then go back to our national sport. RUGBY!”

English retiree Peter Chaplin (above right) says migration will affect the popularity of soccer.

“As more young people migrate to NZ, and other kids continue to play, the quality of football will increase and in the next 10 to 15 years NZ football will be something to be reckoned with.”

His wife, Denise (left), says she has not been too interested in either sport, although she did have a dig about the English winning the 2003 rugby world cup: “Soccer will get much bigger in the next few years.”

With young kids watching the  cup, they will be the next generation wanting to get on the field for upcoming  tournaments, she says.

Marg Campbell (right), Kaitaia, does not think much of either sports.

“I don’t mind either way. It’s all good for NZ whatever sport is going well.”

English immigrant Jack Auburn (left) has not been in the country long, but has already noticed a big difference in the attitudes of Kiwis towards soccer.

“I wouldn’t be able to say whether soccer has taken over rugby, but coming from England it does seem to be very popular for such a small country.”

Lower Hutt student Sam (above right): “No, all sports are popular in NZ. Different people like different sports and I think it’s good that way. It’s good that all our sports here are interesting to different people.”

Johnsonville diver Steven (left) nearly swallowed his snorkel when asked if soccer was the new rugby in NZ: “No, it’ll be good for a couple of years, then people will see the light and get back to reality.”

Campbell (above right), Gisborne: “At the moment, yeah, soccer is a lot bigger and has probably taken over rugby, but it won’t be like this next year because everyone will get back into rugby for the 2011 world cup.”

Jonathan (left), Lower Hutt, feels that soccer has indeed taken the place of rugby. But though a rugby player himself, he is heartened by the shining people around the country have taken to football.

“Yeah, soccer is getting pretty big, and I have nothing against it, I watch soccer with my son, who also plays soccer himself.”

STEP UP: Brendon Ward calls for Rugby World Cup volunteers.

LOWER Hutt’s Andy Smith doesn’t care what he’s asked to do for the Rugby World Cup when it comes to Wellington next year.

The 19-year-old just hopes there’s something he can volunteer to do: “It will be cool to be involved.”

Andy was one of more than 200 people who turned up at the Lower Hutt Town Hall to see the rugby union’s touring Rugby World Cup volunteering road show, which aims to recruit people to help.

The whole spectrum of the community was covered, with kids still in school uniform up to retirees all keen to be a part of the cup.

The show, fronted by former All Black Michael Jones (in video), is being presented at 38 public meetings in 25 places nation-wide within 30 days.

Show host Brendon Ward talked about the rewards people get from being a volunteer, but stressed it is no place for a free lunch.

“Volunteering is not glamorous work,” he said. “Much of it is hard slog. But it is a brilliant way to have direct involvement in New Zealand’s biggest ever event.”

He said they are using the meetings to make initial contact with would-be volunteers and let them know about the task ahead.

“We’ll need a volunteer workforce of at least 5000 to help us deliver this tournament.”

Having to commit to up to eight hours of work for each day for at least seven days could put some people off.

With a large attendance in Lower Hutt and great responses from the road show around the country, Brendon Ward says they hope to find something for everyone who is keen.

Lower Hutt will host the Tongan rugby team for the cup, with the Hutt Recreational grounds being their training base.

TRAINING:Wellington College year 9 B-team training at the pool

HUNDREDS of college students will be holding their breath in the hope of higher underwater hockey goals next week.

Wellington Aquatic Centre, Kilbirnie, hosts the central region schools qualifying tournament from June 11-13 for the right to compete in the national champs.

Teams have been training and playing hard for the past couple of months, and the culmination will be the selection of five teams for the nationals.

Junior grade co-coach for the Wellington College B team, Thomas Cutler, 16, says they always work on drills and skills at each session, but for the champs they are doing a bit more.

“There will be extra fitness to get them ready for the tournament,” he says.

For year nine students this may be the first time that they have played the sport, but Thomas says they are getting better and gaining more experience.

Long-time player and national men’s squad member, Richard Maxwell (left) who coaches the Wellington College senior teams, says the top five teams will qualify for the national champs, and it’s not always the A teams.

“Quite often we have B sides qualifying in both the junior and senior teams,” he says.

National women’s representative and Rongotai College coach, Angela Whiteman (below) says it’s a good platform for schools to see how good they are, and it could be a stepping stone for higher honours.

“The central region under-18 squad is selected from the comp, and from that the national selection is made,” she says.

With around 400 school players, 14 schools and 30 teams in the Wellington area it is a popular activity and Miss Whiteman says it’s one of the biggest school bases for the sport in the world.

“It’s because of our mini and schools league that Wellington and New Zealand are so strong,” she says.

Wellington College director of sport, Dave Keat, says his college is traditionally strong and generally does well.

“If we don’t make the top four in the country in both junior and senior, we’ll be disappointed,” he says.

Other information

Visit Underwater Hockey NZ

CLUB LEGENDS: Former Eastbourne players Don Griffin, left, and Arthur Press played in some of Eastbourne's memorable games in the 1950's.

Eastbourne rugby manager Willie Davis says the day honours people who had helped shape and create the club.

“It’s a celebration of Eastbourne rugby’s past, present and supporters.”

Davis says a decision made 10 years ago to amalgamate the Eastbourne RSA, cricket and rugby clubs to help maintain their clubrooms was a success for the club, the smallest in Wellington, and this decision had put the club into a stronger position than it had been for years.

“The club is in the best shape that it has been for 10 years in all ways including financially.”

Only a small group of past players gathered at the celebration, including one of Eastbourne rugby’s life members and legends Pieter Smuts-Kennedy.

Mr Smuts-Kennedy began playing tight forward for Eastbourne in 1946, was also the club secretary, vice-chairman and president.

He says the old timer’s days have bought back only small amounts of past players and administrators associated with the club, but anniversaries bring in larger numbers.

“One of the biggest celebrations was the 75th back in 1996, a lot of old timers came back to the club for that.”

This year’s old timers day attendees will hopefully be only a small portion of the number that come, when it celebrates its 90th anniversary next year.

The club has about 200 junior players among its 12 junior teams and its only senior team plays in the 2nd division under 85 kg grade.

Eastbourne rugby has only produced one player who has got amongst the big time, Hurricanes lock Jeremy Thrush, who played up to under-13s for the club.

Mr Davis says the club finds it difficult to retain players.

“It gets hard for the club when kids leave under 13s to go play for the colleges and don’t come back until they’re 18 or 19 to play senior rugby.”

The senior team played in its first game of the season on the day against Rimitaka, putting on an outstanding performance to convincingly beat them 35-10, while the junior teams played at various times throughout the day.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.