Rugby

Paris’ impressive 80,000 seater Stade de France on a dreary Friday night in late October was the scene for an entertaining game of rugby between Argentina and England for the prize that no-one ever wants: third place at the World Cup. While the BBC cleverly labelled it the bottom step of a podium that doesn’t exist, the in-ground announcers happily hotted it up as a competition for a bronze medal.

Turning up earlyish as advised by the organisers we encountered a stadium perimeter going full boof-boof despite the persistent drizzle which made a misery of our trek through the backstreets of Saint-Denis from Front Populaire on Metro line 4. It was a trek we were glad of later on when made in the reverse direction so avoiding the post-match crush at Saint-Denis RER station. Conditions did soften during the pre-match entertainment, but generally damp and cold was rusted on for the night.

And those conditions would have a role to play in the match and the result.

The crowd though were not the obvious bipartite assembly that you might expect at a test match but rather an assortment of representation from al the rugby playing nations represented at the World Cup with a liberal seasoning of French. Consequently, the team announcements indicated where the loyalty might lie: every England player was roundly and soundly booed by all but the English, with especial effort saved for England’s sharpshooter Owen Farrell.

This leached across into the eighty.

Even under the slickest of conditions, England were always expected to play a conservative game of football, hoofing the ball into Argentinian territory and then relying on the South Americans to err consequently to be punished by the boot of Farrell. So in the greasy conditions, this was England’s approach, which of course aggravated the crowd who wanted to see some expansive running rugby. So when Argentina duly obliged by putting it through the hands, they won over any neutrals in the crowd and the jeers for England’s penalty machine amplified.

But Argentina’s intent to spread the ball was not without risk, and did result in some inevitable fumbles that may have cost them in the end. In case you missed it, the match ended Argentina 23 England 26, much to the disappointment of many inside the venue. Better conditions might have seen that result reversed.

Handy resources

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