It shouldn’t be a surprise. Canterbury fans are widely considered to be the most passionate sporting supporters in the country, and the “Up the Wahs” movement is unparalleled. Mixing the two at New Zealand’s best footy venue was always going to be explosive.
Christchurch’s iconic trams were adorned with Warriors flags. Photo / Mike Thorpe
Even an hour before kick-off, the crowd was in good voice – and that was on Oxford Terrace where a pre-hikoi group (pre-koi?) had gathered outside Fat Eddies.
“Ooh Aah, Up the Wahs. Ooh Aah, Up the Wahs!”
Then they marched. Down Cashel Mall and on to the stadium. Loud, proud and in a crowd. This was different to the Crusaders walk on the stadium’s opening night. The numbers were similar, but the energy was on another level entirely. They chanted, they sang, they peaked with Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi.
The Warriors hikoi, making its way down Cashel Mall towards One NZ Stadium. Photo / Mike Thorpe
The central city was awash with thousands of Warriors jerseys – from every era. From the current Kotahitanga collection to the ‘95 originals and everything in between. A sea of blue, blacks, red, white and every other colour that the franchise has worn over the past 30 years. Even the rare black Eden Park jersey of 2011 was spotted on a young woman, nonchalantly modelling it near Gate E. There was a bloke in a Wahs towel worn like he’d come straight from the shower, another in a Warriors Oodie. There were the expensive stadium jackets and the more modestly priced Postie range. All Wahs, all ways, all directions. They’d seemingly come from every corner of the city, even Fendalton.
Wahs fans in Christchurch before the match against the North Queensland Cowboys. Photo / Mike Thorpe
A block from the stadium was a Warriors pop-up store selling official merchandise – everything you could imagine. Even closer were the unofficial sellers with beanies, scarves and flags being sold from a repurposed Pak’nSave shopping trolley. The prices seemed steep for a business with such obviously low overheads. The swathe of blue flags that swayed across the eastern stand suggested plenty of fans disagreed.
They swayed in support of a Warriors chant that almost powered Jacob Laban over the line. He was denied by the bunker, bringing about a 25,365-strong chorus of boos.
Three minutes later, Nicoll-Klokstad was in for his third and the roar was deafening.
The East Stand at One NZ Stadium, partially bathed in afternoon sunshine. Photo / Photosport
When the halftime siren sounded, it was evident that the majority of the crowd was still in their seats. Nobody wanted to miss a minute of the contest – even to get a jump start at the food vendors on the concourse. This was an occasion, but it was a high-quality match first.
Then came the halftime show. Jordan Luck unleashed a solo rendition of his Exponents hit Why Does Love Do This to Me before joining Mark Williams for Dragon’s Rain. The pair then supported Peter Urlich for Th’ Dudes’ anthem, Bliss. It was an entertainment masterstroke – and you couldn’t help but wonder why it hadn’t been done before in big rugby games. This was just a regular season match, after all.
It felt like our own small-scale Kiwi version of the Super Bowl with no frills and fewer trills. Just three Kiwi legends belting out some bangers.
NZ Warriors fan The Mount Smart Joker made the trip south. Photo / Photosport
The second half saw a Mexican wave break out after just 4 minutes but that was more about crowd excitement rather than boredom. After successfully riding it all the way around One NZ Stadium, the focus went straight back to the field, just in time to demand a sin bin for Jason Taumalolo’s tip tackle on Watene-Zelezniak.
From there, they had regular opportunities to exercise their voices as the Wahs powered home to a 38-20 win.
The crowd counted down the final 10 seconds and soon launched into an enthusiastic performance of the team song – but not before four clowns made their way onto the pitch, running towards the players. First an adult and then two kids. The second youngster was taken down in one of the biggest tackles of the afternoon. The two-man tackle on the boy incensed one man enough to make his way towards them. He didn’t get that far and was promptly removed with the three before him.
Wayde Egan of the Warriors, says One NZ Stadium is the loudest he’s ever played at. Photo / Photosport
This was not the biggest test the stadium has faced in its short history – but it was its best performance. The usually tough-to-impress Australian rugby league crowd seems to have fallen in love with it and the drums that have been beating for a second NRL team in New Zealand will sound a little louder on Monday morning.
“That scene in Christchurch was astonishing,” Fox commentator Dan Ginnane said.
“At a time when the game is looking at expansion, gee, didn’t Christchurch look good today?” NRL on Fox pundit Michael Ennis said.
“The star of the show was the new stadium in Christchurch,” Matty Johns said on his Sunday Night show.
Despite scoring 4 tries, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad of the Warriors was pipped by One NZ Stadium as the star of the show – according to Australian media. Photo / Photosport
The players themselves were also taken with it.
NZ Warriors hooker Wade Egan told Sky Sport that it was the loudest stadium he had ever played at, and outgoing NRL CEO Andrew Abdo was there to hear it for himself.
NZ Warriors head coach Andrew Webster didn’t hold back in his praise for the venue, either.
“I just think that the stadium is a credit to the country. The crowd, the atmosphere, the support we’ve had the last couple of days, and the boys are so excited to play here. I know it’s been a long time coming for the city, but they should be really proud.”
The biggest day at One NZ Stadium couldn’t have gone much better.
Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.