The Travelling Circus rolls on……………

With the Rugby World Cup 2007 hosted by France, matches have been held in some amazing locations including Bordeaux, Lens, Lyon, Paris, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes Saint-Denis, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse, allowing Aussie supporters to experience parts of France they may never have visited and this has to be good for French tourism, not least of all because the French welcome all over France to all nations everywhere has been marvelueux!.

Yes, I know matches have also been held in those new “French cities, Cardiff, Edinburgh [goodness only knows why!], but the welcome has been just the same there and in a way has helped bring Britain or at least Wales and Scotland closer to Europe.

While the Australian Wallabies have been based in the south in the heart of French rugby country in Montpellier, France and the French people have been magnificent in welcoming visitors and sharing their food, wine and culture, doing a fantastic job and the two cities that impressed many Aussies most were…………..Montpellier and Bordeaux.

Montpellier’s main square and “old town” were both dominated by the Gold of the Australia supporters and a credit to Australia, the very well behaved Wallaby fans enjoyed the opportunity to “mix it” with many locals and share rugby songs and tales………and in some cases, much more……….oh, al, la…..hopefully there won’t be any future generations of little Franco-Aussies called Bruce and Sheila or perhaps more contemporarily, George and Sterling!!

Bordeaux, the venue for last Saturday’s pool game between Australia and Canada is a really class act as only French cities can be, hugging the River Garonne, with Bordeaux’s historic Place de la Comedie is the centre of this very stylish city with radiating streets and shopping malls in all directions. 

The many cafes, restaurants and bars catered really well for the masses of fans and the feedback from the Aussies was very positive, with The Mole hearing no tales of rip-offs and every Aussie I spoke with praising the friendly staff and their excellent service. 

For Aussies, the big plus for Bordeaux has to be the opportunity to learn about wine and not that one needs an excuse to enjoy wine, but it is great to learn why wine from Bordeaux is of such quality and therefore a little more expensive than others!

The short trip to the Bordeaux’s Chaban-Delmas Stadium was by a very efficient tram [Sydney get the message – trams, not buses are the answer for Sydney’s traffic problems because they carry many more people in one and don’t cause any pollution] and provided us with the opportunity to observe some of Bordeaux’s suburban life. 

The stadium is small by today’s standards and lack of cover meant that many fans enjoyed the match in the drizzling rain, with the Wallabies securing a 37 to 6 win over Canada.

With a population of 800,000 and boasting four universities, Bordeaux offers much for the young and “not so young”, so make sure it is on your itinerary for your next trip to France.   

Look out for more reports by Le Mole en la belle France et La Coup de Monde de Rugby 2007 – how’s that for French then!!

An on location report by The Mole in France for Rugby World Cup 2007