Black Out! | Taranaki Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Taranaki

AS I entered Yarrows Stadium from the Cutfield Street entrance 10 minutes late a sea of black immediately blew me away.

Approximately 22,518 people attended the greatest game in Taranaki history its first All Black Test match on Wednesday, September 3.

With an impressive 101-14 win over Manu Samoa, locals and dedicated fans weren't disappointed. Several times during the match an enormous Mexican wave exploded around the 'Bull Ring.

The highlight of the match for myself was when a security guard told me I had access to go right up to the sideline barriers to take photographs for the paper. My husband Paul was also pretty impressed with the view from the corporate box.

The atmosphere from the crowd made the game wiz past, with try, after try, after try being scored by the AB's.

The All Blacks go back more than 120 years and while this is the first time they have played in Taranaki, the region has played a significant role in the team, with about 72 local men wearing the black shirt over the years. About 22 of those Taranaki All Blacks are living in various places around New Zealand, and a good number of those made up an honour guard at the start of the match. It was a great opportunity to acknowledge that history, by seeing Taranaki's All Blacks heritage in the flesh.

Before I could finish a loop of the stadium only seconds remained and although Taranaki was unfortunate to secure any top world cup rugby matches in 2011, I'm sure we will still get plenty of games from the preliminary rounds.