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Ah, Paris in late summer. Just the wife and I, kid at home and a pair of tickets to Australia vs Georgia. What speaks love more than a Wallaby jumper and an Airbnb booking within walking distance of the Stade de France?
When BA cancelled our original flight and pushed us back 90 minutes, we had vague plans to catch the second half of the tournament opener at a fan zone. We arrived at Charles de Gaulle at 20:00 and I checked the kick off time for the match to discover that the timing I have been working off was the opening ceremony and the match itself kicked off at 21:15. First big win of the weekend.
Cabbed it to the apartment to find St Denis isn’t the worst part of Paris but you can see it if you stand on tippy toes. Got ourselves settled and I discovered that the straight-line distance to the ground and fan zone was vastly different to the actual walking distance, and we were looking at 40 minutes across unfamiliar and unfriendly territory to get there.
No problem, there is a bar/café/restaurant, Le Carrefour Pleyel, across the road with the rugby on a decent size screen, so we will go there. We sat down just as Dan Carter grabbed the Webb Ellis from the Louis Vuitton case and the wife had her first and, it turned out, only moment of loving up for the weekend. Oh, he’s handsome. Yeah, cost us a WC so we don’t like him.
Turns out we were, with a funny Catweazely bloke, the only customers in the café so got prime seating and the total attention of the five staff. As the game kicked off, Catweazel produced a whistle and either mimicked the ref’s decisions or made his own where the on-field calls didn’t suit France. Needless to say, the second Telea try was ruled a forward pass in Le Carrefour Pleyel. He was delighted to find we supported France for the evening and, late in the game, told my wife he loved her. In two languages.
My view before the match was that the bench was as underwhelming as I had ever seen put out by the ABs and so it turned out that, after failing to score the points their early game ambition indicated, NZ were well beaten by an 80-minute France with a strong set piece and lethal finishing.
After a fitful night’s sleep in a very hot room where the choice was traffic noise and a breeze of sorts or silence in a sauna, we kicked off the next day late with a traditional French petit dejeuner of coffee and croissant (oh my, the difference between a good one in Paris than the crap served up in London – buttery goodness surrounded by flavoursome flakes).
I worked out why I can speak French in restaurants but nowhere else – wait staff only say oui monsieur and move on. I am never asked a follow up question.
General view of Australia fans during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Australia and Georgia at Stade de France on September 09, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Christian Liewig – Corbis/Getty Images)
Lunch was perhaps the greatest pleasure of the weekend – catching up with an old mate, Jim, a regular here on the Roar and with Brett and Harry on their podcast. A chance to eat well, reminisce a lot, and share a bottle of wine before he took his tour group to the match and we Metro’d it to the same location.
The restaurant was just off Avenue De Villiers, my wife’s maiden name, and provided a great photo op.
We arrived about the time the gates opened and shared a few beers and stories with strangers (now short-term friends) enjoying the atmosphere and sunshine.
Whilst we never made in on the Kiss a Gram game played ahead of the kick off, we had fun chatting with the crowd around us as the SdF filled up. I foolishly left for a beer 25 minutes before kick off and had to sing the anthem in the queue and miss the first try. The French are hosting a great tournament with full crowds across their beautiful country, but they can’t deliver a beer in a meaningful amount of time and that causes them to be marked down.
One bizarre point re the crowd. They are very discerning booers – gave it to Bill Beaumont and President Macron at the opening ceremony and to Eddie Jones every time his head popped up on screen. Amused my wife. Apparently there are not many Randwick supporters in Paris. Have to like them for that.
We sat with some young blokes immediately behind who were from Sydney Uni and so who shared my distaste for the selection of a goalkicker at fullback ahead of a better rugby player. The game panned out we might have hoped though with our lineout not functioning properly when we had no locks on the field – who’d have thought it?
Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton best afield for mine – the game was won, as they so often are, by our forwards even if some TV highlights will feature backs.
PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 09: Will Skelton of Australia looks on during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Australia and Georgia at Stade de France on September 09, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Reading The Roar the next day, I caught up with the Will Skelton quote which will live with him forever – “That’s it, just do your f—ing job. Be both sides, patience in the A Zone. Use them, boom boom, f—ing kick it back. Sweet?”. Has a captain ever said anything as inspirational? Kolisi? Ha. Give me Big Will any day.
We were fading post-match and chose to return to Le Carrefour Pleyel for the Angleterre v Argentine match. After dinner, we couldn’t bear the rugby any longer and I made my wife smile for the first time in a while when I conceded it was boring me to tears and we needed to hit the sack.
Flight home at lunch time followed by joyful reunion with the kid, Scotland out-matched in Marseilles (although the ground looks great and I am licking my lips for the QF weekend), pizza on the Brent in a beautiful sunny early evening, and then the match of the weekend in Bordeaux. Fiji unlucky but Wales were brave and skilful and took the points when available whilst Fiji did not.
A furore about a sleeping TMO in Marseilles and some generous application of last rules were talking points from the weekend as well as the ongoing consistency of England for breaking laws but I am determined to put aside my views on officiating and also my thoughts on Eddie’s selections and simply enjoy the ride.
I have two weeks in Avignon and more Wallaby games with other mates from Oz still to look forward to. Having also attended the 2007 RWC in France, I can highly recommend that people visit for the next one in 16 or 20 years. I wonder what rugby might look like in 2039. Much changed I’d guess.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.