Test brings party feel to town

A razor-thin margin separated the All Blacks and England at Forsyth Barr Stadium at the weekend.

But Scott Robertson’s first test as All Blacks coach lived up to the billing, bringing a party atmosphere to Dunedin during the city’s otherwise dark July nights.

Robertson cut an animated figure in the coaching box as the clock ticked down, but the All Blacks’ two early tries stood up in the 16-15 win.

The game was at times tense and the crowd was at times quiet, but it came alive in the final minutes of the physical affair.

With the All Blacks clinging to a one-point lead, first five Damian McKenzie was ruled by the referee to have taken too long over a penalty attempt, adding to the drama.

In front of a capacity crowd of 28,483, with England hard on attack, the All Blacks held on.

It was the fourth time England and the All Blacks have played in Dunedin — the All Blacks have won all four.

It has now been 21 years since England won in New Zealand.

After the match, crowds streamed from the stadium with many heading to the city centre.

Dunedin restaurateur Andre Shi said establishments were almost at capacity by 10pm.

The city was filled with visitors from out of town and after the game a celebratory mood swept across the city.

Mr Shi, who owns Graze and Glow, Vault 21, Prohibition Smokehouse, Catacombs Nightclub and Deja Vu, said everyone was in "very good spirits".

"It was an incredible weekend," he said.

Otago Hospitality Association president Mark Scully said the beauty of a test match was it attracted "so many people from out of town".

The buzz — and the business — generated by the test typically lasted two or three days rather than just the day of the test.

"It does get some Dunedin people out and about because they have guests come and stay, but I think, a fair percentage of the tickets are sold outside of Dunedin.

"So it’s fresh money coming into town at a quiet time.

"Everyone’s got an ex-varsity friend or family or relation coming to stay.

"They tend to go out for brunch or dinner ... We tend to have good trading leading up to it and hopefully restaurants are busy today with Sunday brunch and some may even not fly out until tomorrow.

"It’s just good for the town and like I said there’s not a lot happening in July in Dunedin, so it’s just a good time for us to pick up something like that."

A police spokeswoman said a 25-year-old man was arrested for running on to the pitch towards the end of the game.

The man was given a formal warning for trespassing.

Police also assisted stadium security in removing four patrons for disorder incidents.

One person was arrested for disorderly behaviour in the Octagon about 11pm, she said.

The second match of the series takes place at Eden Park on Saturday. — Additional reporting Mark John