So the Rugby World Cup 2023 website has produced a selection of best of moments; tries, tackles, top plays and top players, so I thought it might be fun to put my own best of list together:

Best Ladies Loo – Bordeaux by a country mile. No queues at the Ladies, such an unusual occurrence, that a slightly drunk, stout Welshman wandered in by mistake, his second mistake was to remain. On discovering the error of his ways, instead of turning on his heels and beating a retreat, he decided he’d use the facilities, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, he also thought he’d queue jump! Not on my watch mate! He was told in slightly sharp, and possibly unfriendly, tones to leave the area. When he decided to protest I felt obliged to escort him out and then complained to a nearby official. Result! At half-time there was a security guard preventing any further incursions into the Ladies by uninvited gentlemen callers.

Best pre-match drinks – Marseille, which was awash with rosé and Guinness, so much so that we were sticking to the ground outside the bars. It may have been because it was our first England match and we were also seeing everyone for the first time, but it felt like a full blown carnival.

Let the party begin

Best pre-match snacks – Toulouse wins hands down with a great selection of quality food; crispy battered seafood, amazing fries and juicy chicken goujons. Genuinely the best food I’ve had at a rugby stadium that didn’t involve cutlery.

Lead me to the snacks

Best post-match party – I couldn’t split these 2: Marseilles or Toulouse. Toulouse is a rugby stadium and is used to entertaining a rugby crowd after a match. There was a great band playing at one corner of the ground and they even have a nightclub on site. I was surprised that the post-match party in Marseille simply rolled on into the night. It was 2am before I knew it, and the reality of a) finding a taxi and b) remembering where we were staying was beginning to dawn. There was also the small matter of the entertainment

I don’t know, maybe Marseille just edges it

Best fans for singing – I thought this would be a shoo-in for the Welsh, but I have to say it was the Irish with their rendition of The Fields of Athenry that won hands down.

Best fans for travelling – a close run thing again. The Irish turned up in numbers, but given that they’d travelled halfway round the world, I think the Argentinians deserve this one. They too arrived in their thousands, and their boisterous support had the stadiums literally rocking. Not a very tuneful bunch, but they certainly know how to make a noise.

A sea of blue and white wherever Argentina were playing

Best fans for dressing up – our favourite tourists, the Japanese. Traditional costumes mixed with deelie-boppers, flags of many shapes & sizes and the most charming attitude.

I think the final award must go to the French people who were hospitable, tolerant and joined in with vengeance but the real winner is rugby; the games, the players and the fans were all fantastic. So, thank you for the memories Rugby World Cup France 2023,