A glorious Rugby World Cup win in Lyon
September 18th 2007 11:05
The pre-match party
Feeling as though I'd slipped into a parallel universe, I sat on a cafe terrasse, overlooking a fountain, in a sunny Lyon square, breakfasting on croissants and cafe au lait before following the crowd iof Rugby fans into the Metro and out to Stade de Gerland for the All Blacks/ Portugal World Cup match.
Perhaps it was the jetlag hallucinations but I saw something reminiscent of the temple in Stade de Gerland that Saturday; its towering, dazzling cream walls, crowned with patterned blocks, the wide stone steps and the people, like pilgrims, waving flags and banners, sweeping upwards in a mass of black, red, green and gold through its yawning archways. Inside, the ambience was festive and the excitement electric. The pre-match party was in full swing. Portugese bands played mariachi music while the teams warmed up on the ground below. Opposing camps exchanged handshakes and good wishes. There was singing and dancing in the seats. It was a beautiful day, cloudless, sunny and hot. Somehow, it seemed all wrong for Rugby and so did the crowd in t shirts, shorts and thongs.
That familiar roar welcomed the teams back onto the ground, the anthems echoed deafeningly round the stadium, then suddenly, almost as if a switch had been thrown, a strange, surreal silence fell for the Haka - oh, te mana, te ihi, te wehi!
Despite all the sure predictions about the final outcome of this match, there were still uncertainties, as there are in any game. There were still so many questions; What shape would the play take? Who would score? Who would star? Who would crash and burn? Would the All Blacks win by a worthy margin? And most importantly, would they avoid injuries? The mutterings of the Departure Lounge "experts" had hinted at meteorically rising All Blacks points while Portugese sat at zero on the scoreboard. However Portugal managed to chalk up an admirable 13 before the Kiwis ran away with the game and with some interesting final flourishes, ran up their 108. While the outcome was pretty much what the experts had predicted, it didn't finish without a shadow of concern. The collective Kiwi heart sank as Mils Mulia'ina left the field with the hamstring problem that has had us all checking our sources for news every day since.
After the match, the entire stade, or so it seemed, descended on Ninkasi, the bar across the road, for le troisieme mi-temps (third half time) or after match celebrations. For the Portugese, those 13 points were evidently a reason for major celebration. Their bands played on on Ninkasi's terrasse and green, red, gold and black danced and drank together in the afternoon sun.
The All Blacks take a final bow
Outside Stade de Gerland
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