Winner of the London Ball competition Rory Lay had a fantastic visit to the ball for the England vs. All Blacks game on November 29th. A once in a lifetime experience, Rory has since struggled to explain the ball to others.

"I have tried to explain what the experience was like to many family and friends following the event, however it is hard to put into words the fantastic atmosphere, awesome location, the brilliant hospitality and the breathtaking video", says Rory.

"All of this has made me want to go to the real NZ and experience the true country that the amazing film only touched on".

An arable beef and sheep farmer from Shropshire, Rory joined the Front Row Rugby Club just one week before the event, but has used the main newzealand.com website in the past to plan his travels around New Zealand.

"I have been very lucky and travelled a fair amount, NZ has always been my favourite", says Rory.

Rory's fiance Julia attended the rugby ball event with him, along with their friends David and Rich. Both David and Rich have now declared New Zealand to be top of their travel to-do lists, while Julia and Rory are planning to take their upcoming honeymoon here in New Zealand.

"Rory has always told me what an amazing country New Zealand is but I am now starting to understand", says Julia.

"We will definitely be going to New Zealand for our honeymoon next November. Just waiting for mid Jan when the flights become available."

As for the game itself Rory remained patriotic, but realistic.

"The end result of the game was as predicted", he said, "but I think England did very well untill the last 20 minutes where they ran out of steam. It is a new young team."