Rugby
> Calendrier AMLIN Challenge CUP - TOP 14
Rugby ... every match of the following teams (chaque match retransmis des équipes suivantes)
IRELAND, FRANCE, Wales, Scotland, England, UBB, ASM Clermont, Toulouse, ULSTER, MUNSTER, LEINSTER, CONNACHT, London Irish, Biarritz, Bayonne,
+ many others + bien d'autres (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Top 14, Sevens, Rugby League XIII ...) Just ask for it .... il suffit de demander !
Visiting Fans
London Irish Masters Rugby
Wasn't sure whether to cal this trip the 'Veterans' Tour but we've decided that's too pegiorative - sounds like a bunch of Old Boys ! So from now on, any visiting team with players over thirty - and still up for it - should be either interned in a lunatic asylum, put out of their misery humanely or, in this case, placed on a pedestal and revered as Masters of Rugby! ... Forget about the Heineken Cup teams, Six Nations stars, even the World Cup : this is what rugby is really all about. Thirty or forty great guys, from lawyers to builders, and every one a character. Stories to tell, camaraderie, party animals and gentlemen according to circumstances : savoir vivre !
My brother Terry once explained to me the importance of meeting up with former players and reliving the exploits of heroic matches which are indelibly engraved in your memory... Doesn't really matter if the plot changes or is embellished as the incidents are relived in the mists of porter and potcheen, his classic quote remains as pertinent as ever : 'The older I get the better I was'.
Thanks again to London Irish, a model for any team on tour ... if you have a project let us know and we will help you with logistics, accommodation, beverages etc... A wine tour is a must !
Three mad referees !
Heard about the Scotsman, the Irishman and the Welshman at the rugby game in Bordeaux ... sounds like the start of a classic joke, but in reality the backdrop for for a classic European Cup Final ! Since the English club Bath were playing the French team Brive, the choice of judges was exemplarary (and we couldn't have wished for three better lads to celebrate the troisième mi-temps back at The Connemara !). Not to mention Julius Caesar, a cohort of Centurions and Legionaires and a good sprinkling of Gauls before and after the game.
This was the first of many epic European Cup matches where the supporters set up base at The Connemara, and changed the police attitude towards sport for every game in the future.
After a nail-biting finish where Bath snatched victory from Brive la Gaillarde, the fans had even more reason to celebrate and, in fairness, the French visitors cast aside their initial disappointment to celebrate with the exuberant Brits. But then this is rugby and no-one ever envisaged it any other way. Clive Thomas nearly got barred at the end of the night (morning?) but the slate was wiped clean in the morning on the plea of mitigating circumstances (possibibly something to do with the beverages consumed ... ) Dave MacHugh even came back on different occasions and presented me with a World Cup referee's shirt and tie which I wear on special occasions like the Ambassadors' dinner the day before the classical France -Ireland encounters. Fond, fond memories !
André Joubert ...
Who called in with the South African team who were training in nearby fitness club Moving (now O-zone) before the epic test match in Bordeaux. It's not our policy to take photos of celebrities with their arm round the boss, or to pester them for autographs etc... They need to chill out and have a drink just like any other punter. We could plaster the walls with stars who have been in the pub but then that's not our idea of an Irish Pub. Enjoy your drinks lads (and for once I was tempted to convey the simple snap of André chilling out with friends) and I know you appreciate just being one of the lads in the pub. Cheers !
