in Marseille, heatwave, beer and despair before the England-Argentina match – Libération

Rugby World Cup 2023 in FrancedossierPeregrination among the bars of the Borély stopover, which has been welcoming rugby supporters from all walks of life since this weekend. Among them, a large proportion of British and Irish, enthusiastic but not always optimistic.

According to the English, the Borély stopover looks like Brighton. Like the seaside resort in the British South, the place is teeming with crowded bars ready to spill into the sea. With one nuance: it is hot, very hot. To the point that the place, chosen by the organization of the 2023 Rugby World Cup to welcome supporters from all over, is in places deserted by tourists, who prefer the shaded fan zone under the big carousel.

This opening weekend of the World Cup, the area takes on the appearance of a huge bodega, except that wine is not really required. The smallest corner of the table is ideal for hosting a good glass, as long as it is overflowing with beer. Bare backs ooze, foreheads too. On the beach, we first sprinkle ourselves with hops, then we bathe in salt water, then we sprinkle ourselves with hops again. Three lads even engage in a real pint fight with their feet in the sand, perhaps this is a popular game in the United Kingdom.

“Unlimited budget” for drinks

Tim, James, Joe and Ant are waiting for theirs at the bar overlooking the beach. The four thirty-somethings from London admit it without batting an eyelid: it’s far from being their first, and they’ve been working on their “hydration” mission since “9 sharp” for Joe, “11 am” for Ant. “Unlimited budget.” Joe is roasted, in every sense of the word. Between two attempts to articulate “Allez les Bleus”, he affirms that the heat is working for him – the sunburn which repaints the upper part of his torso tends to indicate the opposite. He also claims to have regained his senses since the day before, when he swore that the XV of the Rose had a good chance of winning this 2023 rugby vintage. This Saturday afternoon, the tipsy guy is banking instead on a France-Africa final. South, provided that the two selections do not scrap in the quarter-finals.

Ant, his sidekick dressed in a curious kaftan-swim briefs combo, doesn’t say anything else. He will perhaps support Argentina this Saturday evening at the stadium, as the English are “zero, horrible”. The Irish rival is mentioned half-heartedly by Tim, who quickly dismisses the subject to return to the French, their “impressive team” and their “fucking sausage”, of course.

“We hope the players have a plan”

They are obviously not the only ones to have crossed the Channel. On the esplanade in front of the screens broadcasting Ireland-Romania (won 82 to 8 by Ireland), lots of white t-shirts with the rose. Sky and Argentinian white, a little, South African green too, dark Scottish blue and Irish green. Steven MacArtney would have worn the Irish jersey, but the septuagenarian is too hot. On the Côte d’Azur since Wednesday with his wife and two Scottish friends, he opted for a half-open Hawaiian shirt and a salmon red bucket hat. No less either: he reveals his shoulders reddened by the dodger. “It’s a bit like hell, it’s at least three times hotter than where we are.” Their home is Ullapool, Scotland, where the water in Loch Broom is 7°C. He therefore takes advantage of the opportunity to go for a series of swims and trips to the fountain. For the rest, he confesses to having “slept very little”, due to lack of air conditioning or other ventilation system in the Airbnb they rented. “As long as I’m awake enough to see Johnny Sexton,” he rejoices as he watches his team enter the field. His voice becomes inaudible when the trumpets of the Garlabanda orchestra, dispatched from RC Toulon for the occasion, begin the Peña Baiona, an anthem played at the top of their lungs for a good part of the afternoon.

The man is not at the end of his troubles if we are to believe Aileen, his wife: “Then we would like to visit Montpellier, then Toulouse, Bordeaux, perhaps go back to Nantes…” With a few other matches on the program? “Oh, we’re already going to try to see South Africa-Scotland [dimanche 10 septembre, au Vélodrome, ndlr] but we don’t have any places. We will try to find some.”

Clark and Charlie have theirs. And for a while: they have been planning their trip since February. They are staying in Cassis, as in 2007 when they took the same route, already for the World Cup. Half-seated, half-lying on the terrace, with ruddy faces, white wine and mist at hand, they say that, ultimately, little has changed in fifteen years. Oh yes, all the same: England’s level of play. “We hope the players have a plan…” slips Charlie, who would have preferred to see Clive Woodward or Jonny Wilkinson on the bench this Saturday at the Vélodrome. And global warming, perhaps? “Oh the heat… We did Greece two weeks ago, we can do everything afterwards… And then…” She opens the weather app on her phone: “Look, it’s 31°C in London, exactly like here . We’re starting to get used to it!”