NZ sport (by Joe)

So, as we all know there's only one major sport in NZ and that is ... golf. Well, it is in participation terms anyway - and the stats are pretty amazing:

According to the New Zealand Golf Association, out of a total population of less than 4 million, there are an amazing 138,000 golfers with registered handicaps. Including tourists, some 482,000 people play at least one round of golf in the country each year - and with 385 courses, the country has the highest number per capita in the world.

Other popular sports include cricket, hockey, horse-racing, sailing, squash and netball (for which there are, apparently, an incredible 100,ooo registered players in the country!)

But of course in terms of following, rugby is, by a long way, the number one sport. Its popularity is illustrated by the content of a sports supplement in today's paper. Of the 16 pages, 5 were given over to ads, 2 to horse-racing, 2 to cricket, and the rest (7) to rugby - and specifically the 'Super-14' southern hemisphere club rugby tournament.

Football remains a long long way behind, which for me, makes a refreshing change. However, we must beware: NZ has just been awarded a franchise in the expanding Australian soccer league (the A-league) ... and if there's anything that will get a Kiwi fanatically behind a particular sport, it's playing it against Australia.

Joe