Rugby World Cup

We were so fortunate to receive six great tickets to the Rugby World Cup match between South Africa and the USA. Montpellier was host to a good share of the matches as rugby is very popular in this region...second only to soccer.

Rugby fever has just taken over the country. There has been a truck with a huge screen TV in Place Comedie every weekend for a communal watching of the matches...giving fabulous revenues to the cafes selling the rugby fan's favorite beverages - beer, beer and...beer. We have never seen so many anglophones in our area and well lubricated at that. Before going to the match, we had a drink with our friends while watching the Argentine/Ireland match on the big screen. The plaza was full of all of the South African fans getting in their last minute preparations before heading to the stadium. Their warm up consisted of amplification of their voices as well as repetitive use of their elbow bending movement. It was quite a spectacle to behold.

Yesterday, on the news, it was rugby stories about everything from an actual church called Notre Dame de Rugby replete with rugby players surrounding the Virgin Mary in a stained glass window to memorabilia displayed like saintly relics to the selection process of the jerseys to be worn in tonight's all important (and probably final) match for the French national team contre the all powerful All Blacks from New Zealand...The French wear dark blue and the All Blacks wear...all black. Neither fan base wants their team to wear their traveling jerseys, but since one team must, the French in their ever present sense of egalite (equality) feel that both should have to wear their traveling jerseys.

Our village is hosting a community big screen party to watch the match and the village should be quite alive until the final score is digested...expected to be something along the lines of 80 to not enough. It has been diverting and educational to say the least. We know so much more about the game than we ever did. It is quite an interesting and fun game to watch.