Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks at B talking the views of the Capitol,
the talking the issues you care about, talking with you
who lay from the Takina Convention Center. Counting down to
the Champions Lunch ahead of All Blacks b France. It's
Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills and Wellington Airport News.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Talks at B.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
And we're lucky enough to be joined by the host
of the Champions Lunch, Jason Pine, who's also the host
of Weekend Sports on News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
At B Morning. Jason, Hello, Nick, this is a big event,
isn't it.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I mean, let's talk about the Champions Lunch first, right,
this is a very big event. I know I've known
you for an awful long time and I know you
get extremely nervous, really nervous. But people won't believe before
these events.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Why.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
I think for this one in particular, it's you want
to do a good job. I think is the reason
we get nervous about anything we do is because we're
keen to do a good job of them. There's a
room just behind you there with one thousand people ready
to enter it. You know, one hundred tables of ten
in an hour or so or a couple of hours,
and then up on stage some absolutely terrific guests. So
(01:21):
I get the opportunity to chat with and you want
to make it good for the thousand people are turning
up to help life Flight, but also for the sporting
personalities have turned up, you know, to tell a few stories.
So as a facilitator of that, you just want to
get it right. I mean I think like I say,
I think anybody in the position of being on a
stage in front of that many people wanting to make
(01:41):
a great event would probably get a little bit bit
nervous but anxious.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Now I know because I've worked with you for a
number of years. How much work that you put into
an event like this.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Do you get the.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Opportunity to talk to these people before the event? Do
you get the opportunity to just have a phone call?
I mean most of them are flying from all over
in New Zealand and sometimes Australia, so you obviously won't
get a face to face. But do you get a
chance to have a chat to them and get your
own or or is it all you work yourself?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
No, it's a bit of both.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Yeah, and and what you find with the guests who
give up their time to be here, And let's make
that pointing, nobody's getting paid here today, you know, No
one's getting paid. Everyone's turning up, you know, and giving
their time voluntary. Yes, the ones from out of town
and getting getting flown in, of course, but no one.
No one's charging for their time inside that room this afternoon.
And I think everybody wants to make it a good event.
(02:28):
So yeah, if I needed to pick up the phone
and chat to one of the guests who are turning
up here this afternoon, that option is available, and I
have done it in the past. These days, I've kind
of I've kind of got to know most of them
because a lot of them are kind of repeat guests.
Repeat business, you repeat business exactly, repeat customers. They always
very keen to come back. So yeah, and I tend
(02:49):
to sort of I'll have a quick word to each
of them. They all know really what this is about.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
You know.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
People like to hear stories about their playing days, but
also and most of them are rugby guests. We have
some other guests who aren't rugby. Most people like to
hear stories about their playing days, but also their views
on the current team.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
All right, tell us who the guests are to know?
All right?
Speaker 4 (03:06):
It's an absolutely stellar lineup, you know, and quite how
we're going to get them all in. I'm not sure
that the rugby ones for starters. Here's the list of
our rugby guests here at the Champions lunch. And this
is a testament to Ian Klinak, who manages to convince
these players to come every year.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
So the list of rugby.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Players, if I can get it off the top of
my head, so Buck Shelford, Grant Fox, Josh Cronfeld, Frank Buntz,
Ian Jones, Karen Reid, Victor Veto, Conrad Smith, Petty Wapoo,
Ian Kirkpatrick, B. G. Williams and Sir Graham Henry. That's
the list of rugby guests that we have this afternoon.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Now, can I tell you as listeners that Jason Pine
did that off the top. He had no notes in
front of them, so he remembered all those names. If
you can remember five of them, you're doing well to
be here.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
I have been cramming for the last couple of couple
of hours getting ready for the charts to chat with
them as well as that though, Nick, we've got Sarah Olmer,
our first ever cycling gold medalist at an Olympic Games,
Tory Morby, or Nie Peters who's our nine time national
javelin champion soon Farmer weina, you know what a story
(04:18):
one of our great league players who had a roller
coaster of a career and a life and is now
a motivational speaker. Marcus Daniel tennis player, Olympic bronze medalist,
Noel Harris who rode two thousand, one hundred and forty
seven winners in his forty five year career. So we
dot in other sports as well and try and bring
it all together. All right, let's move on to why
(04:40):
we were all in the city. French was supposed to
be a third rate, bloody ordinary game.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
We were supposed to win by fifty.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Fabulous game of football, fabulous game of rugby which you
were there for.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
What are you expecting tomorrow?
Speaker 4 (04:54):
I think more of the same for a while from France.
I'm very confident that the All Blacks will win the
Test tomorrow and go on to win the series three nil. Yes,
they were run pretty close last week. It just felt
as though if they could have got you know, eight
to ten points ahead the All Blacks that the French
would have kind of not submitted necessarily, but would have
gone away. The All Blacks shouldn't quite swap them away.
(05:16):
They were liking it like an annoying fly for the
entire eighty minutes. And to be fair, France, had the
ball lad in the game, could have won it. I
never really felt like the All Blacks would lose the game,
but I think.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
To knock on with four minutes to go, with three minutes, yes,
that could have changed the game.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Yeah, and it shows just what a what a funny
game rugby is. As you saying, Nick, no one gave
France a chance. Look, I wonder what getting so close
last week and not getting there will do to them.
It could do one of two things. They could say, Okay,
we're never going to do this, or hey, look what
we did last week. We'd do it again out here
and you know what are set to be some fairly
challenging conditions.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Will that make a difference.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
I think it'll in the way that France kicked the
ball a lot, and they love an aerial battle. When
you're kicking under a roof, you can be pretty assured
of your kicks. There's no wind, there's no swirling like
there is down at Sky Stadium, so they've got to
be they'll have to take that into account. I don't
think they'll change their tactics. It's whether the All Blacks
(06:14):
can combat them. Look, I don't think it's going to
be a night you know, for real running rugby. It'll
be a night for you know, getting some ascendency in
the physical battles and then seeing what sort of platform
you can create for Body Barrett to work from.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Now you're also not only are you hosting here, but
you're obviously hosting for news talks.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
There'd be tomorrow afternoon.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Which you're doing at Shed twenty two from twelve o'clock. Now,
for those listeners that like me, didn't have a clue
where Shed twenty two was, it's the old max alehouse
that's up down on the waterfront by the big crane
that everyone.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Talks about it.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
So tell me how hard is that for you to
do that with all so many people around? I mean,
I loved last week end with the Emerson's Brewery. You
did an amazing job and I love the vibe of it.
How hard a work is that for you.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Well, I guess it's similar to what you're doing here.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
You know, you're sort of out in the public eye.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
Most of what we do is in a studio where
it's just us really, But I love the I loved
Emerson's last week in Duaneeda and what a place that is.
I just loved being able to get the vibe of
a city. And I think a good place to do
that is in a hospitality outlet where people are sort
of getting you know, getting themselves reinforced for the game.
They have something to eat, have a couple of drinks
(07:26):
if they want to, and just you get a bit
of a vibe. A lot of visitors obviously come, you know,
they're looking for somewhere to have lunch and have a
drink before the game. So yeah, I think I really
like it. I like the fact that we can get
out and about and sort of, you know, sort of
get our finger on the pulse of the city if
you like it. On such a big weekend.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
And everyone talks about playing at home, you're in your
own bed, you cuddle someone you want to cuddle.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
As opposed to when you're away.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
You mean, when you're playing away, we're keeping it clean here.
So how does that make you feel? I mean, this
is well you know, you're synonymous with sport, You're Wellington's
big name and sporting at your fingertips at home.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Yeah, I mean I love the city and as I
know you do. And look, it has been through its
peaks and troughs. We all know that. And even now
with christ Hurich's new stadium being built and ready to
go next year, there'll be more competition for test matches.
As I understand it, Wellington's had a contract with New
Zealand Rugby for two test matches a year which ends
(08:33):
this year. So from New Week I could have no test
me that's one possibility. I can't see it happening. I
think Wellington's got enough about it. The capacity of the
stadium being, you know, being thirty seven and a half
compared to Christiach which is thirty Dunedin which is twenty
seven twenty eight. I think I think Wellington can still
be in attractive proposition, but it does have to pull
it socks up because it will be up against a
(08:54):
couple of stadiums with a roof and that makes a
huge difference. Nick watching a game in Dunedin last week
was like, it's literally you're inside, and so it makes
a massive difference. If they had their time again, you know,
forget their study was twenty five years old. Now, if
they had their time again, they put a roof on it.
It was never even thought off back then, it wasn't
even a thing. But if you were to start from
scratch today for a Wellington Stadium, you'd make it rectangular
(09:17):
and you'd put a roof on it.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Now a colleague of ours who might be listening right now,
was at that game in Doneda and welling TONI who
works with us, I'll say Adam Cooper. He said it
was an experience like he'd never seen before.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
It was an experience. I mean he was raving about it.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
It looked bloody good on TV, the light show, the entertainment,
the National Lands. I mean that was NBA style, wasn't it.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
It's a great place to watch a game of rugby.
And look, there's a couple of reasons why the roof
is won. Obviously, and it gets Chile in July, not
just in Donnedan but everywhere. But the fact that it's
rectangular and you're so close. You think about Sky Stadium
and Eden Park which are built as multi purpose arenas,
you know, because they've got to accommodate cricket. When you're sitting,
even in the front row at Sky Stadium, you're still
(09:58):
thirty meters away from the action. Whether you're watching rugby
football any of those rectangular field codes. In Dunedan, literally
you can you're a couple of meters away from the
touch line if you're in the front row, and the
stadium is banked in such a way that even if
you're up high, you're almost on top of the action.
There is not a bad seat in that in that stadium.
(10:20):
And yeah, I hope and see they're worried in duned
and Tunic about christ Church's arrival. Yeah, because they just think, okay, well,
if christ Church is flash new stadium arrives, clearly christ
Jach is going to get rugby tests for the next decade.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
You know, they haven't had one.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
They've had bits and pieces since the earthquake, but you
know that they haven't So christ Church will get christ
Each will get test matches. But Danita are a bit
worried that what that'll mean for them. For me, you
have a test in Duneda and a test in christ church,
both under the roof, both in July when the weather's
at its worst. And then you let Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton
(10:56):
wherever else scrap for the rest.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Jason Pine, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
I know you've got the bigger fish to fry right now,
so I'll let you go.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
No bigger fish than you, Unich, I'll let you go.
He looks lovely ladies and gentlemen. He's got a lovely
blue suit on, a nice shirt on. He's dressed up
like he's a GQ model.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks It'd be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio