IN HIS EARLY days as Ireland head coach, Andy Farrell produced a quote which made the game sound strikingly simple. The way he put it was that basically, rugby boils down to making good decisions. The 42 has had that sound bite in mind this week when stepping over a bulging suitcase in our central Paris apartment.
While we’ve had to make two trips to the nearby shopping centre to stock up on extra t-shirts, the case lugged over from Dublin contains four jackets and two jumpers which have yet to see the light of French day. Bad decision making when packing for this World Cup is now being felt in the pocket.
Our wardrobe is not suitable for October temperatures which have hovered around the high 20s this week, and the weather is impacting other areas of what have been a wonderful few weeks in Paris. The 42′s accommodation lies on the top floor overlooking a busy junction, and for most of the day the main working space is more sauna than office. Having to head out to work in a Parisian café for a couple of hours can hardly be classed as an issue, but there’s only so many café au laits one man can handle in such heat.
Our trips around the endless run of cafes and restaurants have allowed us get a proper taste for the Parisian way of life, and finally rubbish any outdated stereotypes about the city.
Many of the staff serving us have taken an interest in the accent. In a small, modern bar in Le Marais, the barmaid had put U2′s Greatest Hits on the soundsystem before we had even reached our table. In Strasbourg Saint-Denis on Monday night, our waiter gave us a quick review of a past trip to Ireland, rating Galway comfortably above Dublin, Cork and Killarney. With Antoine Dupont back in the mix, he also backed France for the World Cup, but there’s a growing sense here that it just might be Ireland’s time.
On Monday, Keith Earls spoke of how the Irish can ‘be a small bit too humble at times’, but it’s a strange experience to hear other nations talking Farrell’s team up here. On a visit to the All Blacks camp on Tuesday, we quietly stepped past a New Zealand TV crew as the presenter explained why Ian Foster’s side were ‘underdogs’ against the Irish. Maybe we’re old fashioned, but that still doesn’t sound quite right.
The New Zealand camp is located a short train hop from the city centre, in a town where you’d struggle to find a postcard to send back to the family. It’s been a similar experience for most of the quarter-final teams, with players and staff finding themselves tucked away from the action on their off days.
Most of the travelling Irish media have the opposite issue, and part of the job is drowning out the craic and bustle around you as you try to get through the heavy workload. Our mission for the next couple of days is to get out and see more of the city, but it’s hard to know when that can happen given what lies ahead. On World Cup quarter-final week, there’s not much time for mooching about.
As a result, dinner sittings have stretched deeper and deeper into the evening. Nine or 10pm isn’t unusual, but the record was set post the Scotland game on Saturday night. There’s always a scramble to make the last media shuttle bus before it sets off from the Stade de France at 1.30am, and an hour later a handful of us were sitting in a chic, late night spot ensuring the waiter was being kept busy right up until closing time. We await confirmation on whether a 3am cheeseburger is classified as dinner or breakfast when filing expenses.
It’s a good job this city seemingly never sleeps. The traffic on our late night journeys back from the Stade has been startling, and at the crack of dawn the locals are immediately putting their car horns to use, ensuring we’re up bright and early to beat the queue at our local supermarché.
The mornings bring a good opportunity to get out and stretch the legs before the rest of the day takes shape. We’ve also got into the habit of opting for the pavements ahead of the metro in the evenings, and amid the heaving crowds on the lively side streets, you often catch familiar accents in passing.
By some distance, the Irish have been the most visible travelling support in Paris, with the numbers building throughout the week ahead of Saturday night games in Saint Denis which have been incredible occasions to cover. Last weekend, we took a moment to soak in the scenes post the final whistle before throwing one last eye over copy which gets published immediately after the game ends. Then the rest of the work starts, with press conferences taking place before mixed zone interviews get underway circa midnight.
Those 9pm kick-offs ensure it’s a late one for the media, but the upside is a full morning and afternoon to spend as you please. This weekend’s plan is a stroll along the Seine followed by a tour of the nearby record shops, an activity which threatens to seriously damage the t-shirt fund.
Before the Scotland match we used the pre-game window to meet some friends for lunch, and got chatting to someone who had a golden ticket for the Stade. It was going to be his first ever rugby match. He picked a decent place to start.
We spoke about our hopes for the team and plans for the upcoming weeks. He was heading back on Sunday, and hoping to potentially return later down the line. We explained that The 42 is here until Ireland’s journey ends. If all goes to plan, that’s the last weekend of October.
Surely, at some stage, we’ll need to take a jacket out of the suitcase.