Sport in our own time (it's a truism) has become the opium of the people, particularly in this little island nation. Where else in the world would a country contemplate putting a sporting logo on their flag? Only in New Zealand. Forget Christian and Islamic fundamentalism and all the other devout, pious and dutiful credal varieties of belief: Sport, the new religion, the methamphetamine of the masses, is the controlling factor in the life of this land.