For the emotion of “Flower of Scotland”
“I chose to invite my wedding witnesses this weekend because it is the Tournament match which takes place in the most beautiful city with the most beautiful anthem,” explains this young winemaker from Juliénas. Same choice for Antoine de Cahors. Because, of course, there is the sublime Land of my fathers, a Welsh anthem sung in Cardiff, which will make your hair stand on end. But the ultimate emotion for a French supporter traveling in the Tournament is when on the roof of the Murrayfield stadium, almost a hundred years old (built in 1925), the bagpipe player begins Flower of Scotland, soon taken up a cappella by the people Scottish.
Don’t shake your neighbor, he’s full of tears… And Lagavulin, this whiskey from the island of Islay. When the final note of this anti-English song – sung since 1990 in the Tournament (before a match against England and for the Grand Slam) – which brings together French and Scottish supporters, one of them, inevitably in a kilt , will offer to share his flask when the referee whistles for kick-off.
Anthony Jelonch, Grégory Alldritt and Antoine Dupont pose at Murrayfield with French supporters in 2022. (Alain Mounic/L’Équipe)
For the joy of the game
With these valiant Scots, you are guaranteed to witness a lively match, with unrestrained attacks led by this formidable player that is Finn Russell. Despite a meager reservoir, the Scots manage to maintain their national team at the highest level, thus winning in Wales last weekend (27-26), and maintaining for more than a century a certain flamboyant idea of rugby.
The French fan remembered many epic matches in the Tournament in Edinburgh. The French team has won 19 times in this competition. But be careful, in recent times, Murrayfield has often been a trap for the Blues, like the defeat suffered last August in preparation for the World Cup (25-21). In the Tournament, after three defeats (2016, 2018 and 2020), the French reversed the trend during their last trip, winning 36-17 on February 26, 2022.
Two Blues fans at Murrayfield, in 2016. (Alain Mounic/L’Équipe)
For the warmth of Saturday night and the grace of Sunday morning
But the joy of a match in Edinburgh is also and above all the post-match. You have to let yourself go with the crowds who walk back to the city center, a little over three kilometers away. There begins the visit to the pubs and the fraternization with the Scottish supporters. We have a fondness for the Royal Oak, where local artists meet for unforgettable Celtic music. Often, the fan wakes up the next day in the mists of a final glass of Talisker, this peated whiskey from the sublime Isle of Skye.
After a good cold shower, it is advisable to stroll through the streets of Edinburgh, Royal Mile, 1,854.2 meters long (the Scottish mile), visit the castle and its dog cemetery, and continue on to Calton Hill. Very often, the sun greets the French supporters on Princes Street. It’s time for one last beer. And to begin the “comeback to France”.
