To reach the Aviva Stadium from the heart of Dublin this late Saturday morning, you don’t need GPS or even take a look at the directional signs in English and Gaelic. We must follow these clusters of people, from which emerge voices more or less hoarse from the previous day’s pub crawl, transported by the same pleasure to come from the privilege of attending the announced shock of this Six Nations Tournament between the Ireland and the XV of France in the afternoon.
Here, we meet a few street vendors who distribute scarves in the colors of the two formations on the railings of an old house. There, those who are still wondering about the relevance or not of ordering a taxi to swallow the half-hour walk that awaits them. And here, a splendid giant rooster, who has already undoubtedly been awarded the prize for the best costume of the weekend, strikes a pose with local supporters.
“I’m used to it, and it’s nice”, says behind his fake beak Mathieu, who came from Gironde to support Antoine Dupont and his partners against the XV of Clover. “There was no more room on the plane, I had to put on the disguise during the flight, assures the one who made this showy acquisition five years ago. Is it hot in there? Oh yes, I guarantee it. And we are also thirsty elsewhere. »
In the same group, we find Marie and Pierre, also arrived from Bordeaux. “It had been fifteen years since I had come to see a match. We chose Ireland because we thought it was going to be the final,” she explains. At his side, his companion savors: “It’s really the big poster, we did well to come! »
French and Irish looking for tickets
Around the enclosure, the few pubs are well stocked, more than 2 hours from kick-off. In one of them, Gilles, Éric, Nicolas and Jérémy, a group from Toulouse, stand out. Their “Super French” disguise, rooster on the head and blue-white-red jumpsuit with a cape, also caused a sensation. “Ireland and France are the two best nations, recalls Gilles. This game here in Dublin between first and second is the place to be! Here, there is a great atmosphere for rugby. The Irish do not take the lead, they laugh with us… It feels good”
At their side, red berets on their heads, other Haut-Garonne residents come out with beers – Guinness of course – in their hands. “We came at 18, it’s the first time, explains one of these rugby players. Everything was decided a year ago after an evening in Condom (Gers). We launched the idea, we took the tickets right away because for a large group it’s not easy… We did well, we see that a lot of people are looking for places! »
Indeed, we meet around the stadium a few people looking for tickets. From Friday in the pubs of the city, many Irish hoped, still, to have the precious sesame. A sign that this shock at the top is highly anticipated. The Aviva will be full, with 51,000 people including a contingent of 4,800 French.
“We drooled over the English”
Among them, 38 members of the La Roque d’Anthéron club, in the Bouches-du-Rhône. The day before, they played a friendly match against a team of Irish railway workers. “They brought in some heavy stuff in the second half, we will say that we lost with panache”, summarize Cédric, Alex and Sam. As magnanimous winners, the Irish invited the French to the bar where they are used to evoke the shock to come from the day before and drink to their rugby friendship.
“We had brought Ricard, so that they discovered the taste, continues the trio. It was a really nice evening. We drooled with them on the English, it’s a bit our common enemy. We leave the three men, who then spin towards the interior of the pub. There is a shock to be prepared. And not just any.
