Prime Minister John "Sporty Spice" Key will relish the RWC's photo opportunities, but there is a bigger picture.
Come on troops ... stop pulling our leg. You are a bunch of rugby heads looking after your own tribe.
Those who reap such great rewards tend to represent the same club - white, middle-class, middle-aged males (think Hollywood film makers, inveterate America's Cup yachties and the rugby honchos).
Meanwhile, rugby league - for instance - shuffles along in an outdated stadium in Penrose. There is an army of motor racing fans without the facilities to match their enthusiasm. The youth of today (and the not so youthful) aren't rugby obsessed and many prefer the waves and slopes and flying through the air for their kicks. But they are lucky to get a mound of concrete for their benefit in a local park.
Here's an idea with long-term benefits: Let's use public money to build a "boutique" stadium for league, a sport that has a major following among those who have traditionally been excluded from the exclusive club. It could double as a soccer stadium, catering to another major sport.
After years of having Government institutions and employees - namely schools and teachers - actively working for rugby and against the interests of league, the 13-a-side code deserves a make-up call from the taxpayer.
As a business, rugby is veering towards the gurgler. The national body struggles to make ends meet, some provincial unions are in major strife, and recently reported television figures suggest the fan base is dwindling outside of test matches.
Rugby is banking on the World Cup for a rebirth. In other words, ratepayers and taxpayers are propping up a flailing, perhaps failing, business.
When league struck problems, it faced an investigation before Sparc funding continued with provisos. When rugby struck problems, it was handed a nationwide billion-dollar World Cup investment with no strings attached.
League was portrayed as inept. Rugby is portrayed as a victim of outside (overseas) forces, the same ones that crushed league in this country decades earlier.
Many of us still thrill to rugby's great battles, are in awe of the remarkable players this country produces, and revel in reflecting on its place in our history. I am not a rugby naysayer - the game is still a massive part of my life.
