IT’S OVER FOUR hours until kick-off at Stade de France on Friday evening but the bars alongside the stadium in Saint-Denis are already bouncing. The World Cup party has well and truly started.
It’s the last place you might expect to hear a song about Connemara but that’s what rings out along Avenue Jules Rimet as French fans hold their beers in the air.
You see, there’s a song called Les Lacs du Connemara that is bizarrely popular here. The chorus is catchy, but it’s always odd to hear French rugby fans singing about Maureen and Sean getting married [in Limerick, it should be noted], and the earth, lakes, and rivers of Connemara. There are rather depressing elements to this tune too.
French people themselves struggle to explain why Michel Sardou’s song from 1981 is still so popular, but this is the joy of France. Sometimes things don’t make sense in the way native English speakers want them to.
Anyway, the place is heaving and the sheer excitement among the fans to finally be kicking off their home World Cup is infectious. No one seems to care that their jerseys are soaking through with sweat in the unseasonable 34°C heat. The French fans never let up and carry the atmosphere with them into the stadium.
The opening ceremony is probably one you had to be there for. With its depiction of life in a historic French town centre, it definitely lost a few people, but it was spectacular in its own right. And it was saved by a bouncing rendition of the wonderful La Peña Baiona, the anthem of Top 14 club Bayonne.
The Irish media got a first-hand experience of La Peña Baiona in all its might down in Bayonne when Ireland played there a few weekends ago but with the whole of Stade de France belting it out, it was special. It’s set to be the unofficial anthem of this World Cup.
After the pageantry came the politician. French president Emmanuel Macron took to the lectern to address the nation but was met with deafening boos. He waited for it to subside but simply had to plough on over the top of the negative feedback. Just before, World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont’s speech was drowned out by the French fans singing their actual national anthem, La Marseillaise.
Dan Carter was next out, chosen to show off the World Cup, which was housed inside a plush Louis Vuitton box for some reason. Rugby, the game of the people.
When the real action finally got underway, there were understandable opening-night nerves for France. They suffered an awful start as the All Blacks came flying out of the traps. Les Bleus made errors and they were pragmatic with their attacking approach. The hot, humid conditions were stifling too.
A few years ago, the home fans might have sounded their disapproval. But that old trope about hoping the French fans will turn on their own team no longer applies. The real success of this version of the France team is that their fans are part of the effort. So when Fabien Galthié’s side were edgy, the French fans helped to soothe them with sustained support. They pressured referee Jaco Peyper, they hissed at the Kiwis.
And when France grabbed hold of the game in the second half, having often been dragged through the challenge by the immense Grégory Alldritt, the home supporters got the place rocking with delight. There aren’t many experiences like feeling a French crowd flooded with the joy of their team gaining momentum. It’s visceral.
They went home happy, with Allez Les Bleus reverberating on the train back into Paris city centre and the French fans heartened by what they had seen. It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means but the way in which Galthié’s men squeezed the life out of New Zealand in the closing half-hour was impressive.
This game added to the suspicion that the Kiwis are a step behind France, South Africa, and Ireland when it comes to the very top-level might. In the old days, the All Blacks’ brilliant skills meant their grit and venom were often overlooked. They’re still skillful now but you wonder whether they have that same edge against the best teams.
France will top Pool A presuming they beat Uruguay, Namibia, and Italy – who they face in that order. It’s an ideal run for the French, particularly with a weekend off before the clash with the Azzurri.
They can rotate as they please for the next two games and this schedule also gives the injured crew – Jonathan Danty, Cyrill Baille, and now Julien Marchand – time to fully recover. These three next games are in Lille, Marseille, and Lyon, so it’s a tour of the country to gather even more support.
The Italian clash should be a good tune-up before their quarter-final back at the Stade de France. The expectation is that the French will only get better from here. The stress of opening the World Cup on home soil is real and this team came through it with a convincing win over the All Blacks. Antoine Dupont wasn’t even near his best.
The connection France have with their fans is a big plus. Home advantage could be telling. And so, the reward for Ireland if they can finish top of Pool B is clear – they would avoid France in the quarter-finals.
Sure, you might have to play them anyway if you’re going to win the World Cup, but France in a quarter-final with the Stade de France rocking and the crowd baying for every decision is as tough as it gets.
Maybe it’d be better to save that for the final.