29 August 2011
Rugby - It May Be Just A Game But It Is The Game Of Our Lives
Rare footage documenting the history of rugby in New Zealand and some of the game’s greatest players will go to air on
Maori Television during the Rugby World Cup 2011.
The Game of Our Lives, premiering on Maori Television on Tuesday 27 September at 8.30pm, is part of a suite of rugby-related content
screening on the channel during the Rugby World Cup 2011.
Written by Finlay Macdonald, the four-part series presents rugby as a mirror of Zealand’s social history and identity,
from the first rugby club in 1870 to the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It also explores the game’s unique connection with Maori.
Each episode visits iconic paddocks (from schools to stadiums) and players (from amateurs Nepia, Meads, and Shelford, to
professional star Lomu and his meeting with South African president Nelson Mandela in 1995).
Observers including historian Jock Phillips, writer Ian Cross and journalist TP Mclean muse on the influence of rugby on
Kiwi culture.
Producer George Andrews says by understanding the grip rugby has on the New Zealand imagination you go a long way to
knowing what kind of people we are.
He says rugby touches the pulse of New Zealand’s communities, large and small, Maori and Pakeha, young and old.
The Game of Our Lives is a timely reminder of how the game has shaped our national character as the All Blacks take the field for this year’s
Rugby World Cup 2011.
Tune in to Maori Television at 8.30pm on Tuesday 27 September to find out more about the game that has captured the
hearts and minds of a nations.
Four part documentary series The Game of Our Lives premieres on Tuesday 27 September at 8.30 to 9.30PM and runs until Thursday 18 October.
Episodic summaries follows:
Episode One: HOME & AWAY – Tuesday 27 October at 8.30PM
The game of English gentlemen finds a new home on New Zealand. The first recorded game is played in Nelson in 1870. From
now on, the game and its adoptive home will grow up together.
Episode Two: THE TIES THAT BIND – Tuesday 4 October at 8.30PM
After the dreadful effects of World War 1, rugby catches the collective imagination and becomes New Zealand’s abiding
obsession for the next half century.
Episode Three: TRIES & PENALTIES – Tuesday 11 October at 8.30PM
New Zealand and South Africa’s shared love of rugby joined two peoples. Yet because of rugby, the struggle for racial
equality in South Africa would become a painful part of New Zealand history.
Episode Four: THE NEW BALL GAME – Tuesday 18 October at 8.30PM
Television stands in the centre of a new rugby money go round as professionalism arrives. Jonah Lomu becomes the game’s
first superstar.
ENDS