Scotland were given a rousing reception on their arrival in New Zealand ahead of Saturday's World Cup Pool B opener with Romania in Invercargill.Head coach Andy Robinson and his 30-man squad arrived at the southern tip of New Zealand's south island from their training camp on Australia's Gold Coast.They were met by a crowd of more than 500, including senior figures of the local community, Maori warriors, school children, a piper and numerous members of the public wearing kilts, Scotland jerseys and waving the Saltire.
Three days before England should have been opening their Rugby World Cup campaign in Christchurch, Martin Johnson led a red rose delegation on a goodwill visit to the earthquake-torn city.The AMI Stadium, formerly known as Lancaster Park, had just been given a £30million facelift but the two main stands have sunk into the ground.A decision is yet to be taken on whether the stadium needs to be demolished.'When you see such a severe quake, it is not about rugby. It is tragic,' said Johnson, as he stood on the stadium's damaged field. 'When we saw what happened in February, we knew rugby wasn't top of the agenda. We just go and play somewhere else - for the people here it is home.
