76-14

A reasonable effort but still some way to go.  If Italy can score 14 points against us, how much will other teams score?

I’ve said this before, but hearing the National Anthem reminded me how much I love the Maori version of the National Anthem.  It sounds much better than the English version musically, and helps reflect better who we are, then merely the English version.

What I think should be a lesson to us all, is how the Maori version has become so popular. There has been no law passed making it official or even worse mandatory.  There has been no legion of bureaucrats promoting it.  There has been no Treaty claim insisting it be given equal status.  It has simply been picked up and adopted by more and more New Zealanders over the years.  Sure a lot of people don’t know all the words (despite John Campbell’s best efforts) but most support and enjoy its use.