Today was the first and the last time in my life that I’ll ever get up so early on a Sunday to watch a match of a sport that doesn’t really interest me and where England aren’t playing. But when you’re in France, and France are playing in the Rugby World Cup final, you really don’t have much option but to go and watch it; it’d be crazy not to, right? So there I was, 10 o’ clock in the morning, cheering away and shouting at the screen like any other mad-crazed rugby fan. It really is impossible to not start chanting “Allez les bleus” along with everyone else when you’re completely surrounded by French people who are acting like this match is a life or death situation. The guy next to me kept hopping up and down and clapping, so he was clearly having a whale of a time. From the start, the crowd were booing and jeering at the All Blacks, so shouting “Allez Nouvelle Zélande” would probably have got me a punch in the face. Supporting France was the only feasible option.
Without even realising I was doing it, I got into the match more than I thought I would and was cheering/booing along with everyone else, in support of France. I have to admit, 5 minutes before the end I realised that I actually wanted New Zealand to win, and can safely say I wasn’t too disappointed with the result…
Watching the final was an experience in itself, it has to be said. First off, it took ages to find a place to sit, not just because there were so many people wanting to watch it, but also because surprisingly few bars were actually showing it. Now, if this had been England, every single pub would have some form of screen, people would take the day off work, and essentially the world would stop functioning for the entirety of the match. People here were casually drinking a beer while the match was on, but if this was England, everyone would be pissed before kick-off, no matter what the time of day. The biggest surprise of all (and something that, having only ever watched sport matches in England, I’ve never witnessed before) was that at the end of the match, the French people, despite having lost, started clapping the New Zealanders for their efforts. You wouldn’t get that at home…
Overall, it was worth getting up early for, but I won’t be doing it again in a hurry!
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