fantastic marketing.
Kiwis make peace offering to Wallabies fans
Georgina Robinson
September 22, 2011 - 6:17PM
Australian fans will be offered free coffee in Wellington tomorrow in the lead up to the clash against the USA> Photo: AFP
A clever Wellington coffee company wants to mend Australian bridges and make a name for itself along the way by offering "abused" Wallabies fans a free coffee tomorrow.
The people behind Mojo, a coffee roasting company based in the New Zealand capital, say they read the coverage of hard done-by Australian rugby supporters and wanted to do something to help.
"Like [World Cup boss] Martin [Snedden] says, we reckon it's out of character and quite frankly we don't expect any of that kind of carry on in Wellington tomorrow," they said in a statement from the company.
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"Because we like you Australia. Not just because you spend an average of about $617 per minute in our city, (although we'd be lying if we said that doesn't help), but because everyone needs good neighbours and we reckon Aussies are a bit of alright."
Australians will be converging on Wellington tomorrow ahead of the Wallabies clash with the USA tomorrow night.
The company, which has four shops in town (details below), is offering one free cup of coffee per Australian before midday.
Customers claiming Australian-ness will have to submit to an "accent test": [It] will involve a highly unscientific barista analysis of your pronunciation of 'fish and chips' and/or 'six'."
Australian fans complained of being spat on and abused when the Wallabies slumped to a shock defeat against Ireland in Auckland last weekend, identifying New Zealanders, not travelling Irish fans, as the culprits.
Australia and New Zealand have always enjoyed a healthy level of sporting one-upmanship but Snedden said it would be uncharacteristic if it had crossed the line into outright hostility.
The home fans' rancour towards Australia has been partly fuelled by New Zealand-born Quade Cooper's presence in the Wallabies' team, particularly as he has a reputation for needling the All Blacks' revered skipper Richie McCaw.
The Wallabies are also seen as perhaps the main obstacle to the All Blacks' hopes of breaking a 24-year World Cup drought, explaining the unrestrained glee with which many New Zealanders greeted Australia's 15-6 loss to Ireland.
All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen admitted he was enjoying Australia's discomfort but said the historic rivalry was tempered with respect.
"I mean we've gone to war and fought shoulder to shoulder," he said yesterday.
"They're probably looked upon as the big brother and we're the little brother, we want to belt them, they want to belt us.
"So if they're suffering a bit at the moment, the little brother will be smiling and chuckling away won't he? So we'll enjoy that while we can."
However, TVNZ presenter Alison Mau, an Australian who moved across the Tasman in the 1990s, said she had never seen such vitriol against her homeland.
"For the first time, I feel there might be a bit more to it that just good fun between mates. It worries me," she told today's New Zealand Herald.
"The worst sledges (insults) are generally fuelled by alcohol and are both unprintable and not worth the ink."
She attributed the animosity to New Zealand's inferiority complex about Australia, which is both richer than its neighbour and has long enjoyed sporting ascendancy, including winning two Rugby World Cups to New Zealand's one.
"In economics and in sport, we -- and I mean kiwis -- feel like the junior version and it doesn't sit well with us," she said.
"On top of that, the Aussies are second only to the Americans for supreme self-confidence, and that can wear thin after a while."
A survey published in the lead-up to the World Cup found Australia was the team New Zealanders least wanted to win the tournament if the All Blacks were eliminated.
The Wallabies polled 33.8 per cent on the survey of 750 people, almost doubling the next least-popular nation South Africa's figure of 18.6.
Mojo outlets in Wellington:
- Wakefield (Cnr Wakefield & Taranaki Sts)
- Waterfront (33 Customhouse Quay)
- Old Bank Arcade (Old Bank Arcade, Lambton Quay)
- Mojo Origins (180 Lambton Quay)
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/r...labies-fans-20110922-1kmsp.html#ixzz1YfwVy9wu
