Nantes – Japan v Argentina
So we packed up the truck (not much wriggle room in the back any more) and headed north again, this time to Nantes for our last match, and as it turns out a real decider. The change in location was a case of the sublime and the ridiculous; from Mayfair-on-sea to something altogether edgier and artier.
We watched the England v Samoa match in a bar in what I thought felt like a slightly dodgy alley, a view confirmed when a street fight broke out around us between 2 gentlemen who fell out over an exchange rate offered by the local money changing kiosk. And all this before the Welsh fans had arrived back from the stadium.
The apartment was lovely, once we’d worked out how to use the lock/unlock app I had to download, and very convenient for the tram into town or out to the stadium.
Sunday saw us head for the stadium and although the tram had some Argentinian supporters, that was nothing compared to the sea of blue & white that confronted us when we arrived at the stadium. Draped in my Japanese flag I began to feel a little outnumbered.
Where are all the Japanese fans hiding, I wonder.
We had overlooked it was Sunday and because it was a 1pm kick off, we arrived at the stadium ahead of schedule but breakfastless, fuelled only by a cup of black coffee (or lemon water in my case). I thought we’d pick up a croissant en route, however it didn’t work out as planned and so breakfast comprised of a pint of lager and a packet of crisps.
Nutritionally very unsound
The match was another thriller with, from our perspective, the wrong result. We have watched some fantastic, hard fought matches, with many won by small margins. Most of these were not the top tier teams, so when discussing whether there should be a place for the second tier teams at the Rugby World Cup, my answer is a resounding YES. They need to be included and more regularly rather than less so. How else are they going to improve and progress.
We headed back into town surrounded by jubilant and very noisy Argentinian fans – who get my vote as the best travelling fans, they arrive in numbers and make themselves well and truly heard.
We had another lovely dinner – this time a crêpe (or was it a galette) and salad, and in a great example of “it’s a very small world” we sat next to 2 gentlemen, one of whom it transpired was a retired money broker, who knew many of the people Catering had worked with &/of for, once upon a time, in a former life, when he had a proper job.
We wandered round and then sat in a square drinking yet another bottle of rosé as the sun went down before heading back to the flat for Fiji v Portugal, the last of the pool matches and another cliff hanger. Here’s hoping the quarter-finals can also keep us on the edge of our seats.
