Best of RWC 2011
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Me and the wife took in all the AB's pool games as our big hurrah before we settled down and had kids. I didn't have the confidence to book any tickets for the knock out games though (if only for 20/20 hindsight).
Remember it being an incredible event, everyone was in such good spirts, so friendly, you'd just sit and chat with random people prior to kick off and buy each other drinks. The foreign fans offered so much color and joy - it was an atmosphere I'd never see and maybe never will see in NZ again.
Missus was ever so social so we'd befriend people at games then catch up with them at the other pool games across the country for drinks before the game, just total strangers ya know, just bought together by rugby and having a good time.
The most pleasing aspect of the pool games was how easy it was to get booze at the venues, mind you that may have been abetted by my wife being more than happy to go off to the concierge and make new friends with people while I sat in the stands with a constant supply of beer (and new friends to talk to) being delivered.
The final however was the most stressful event ever, was hoping that Donald would come on as Weepu couldn't hit a barn door with his kicking.
When we won I ran around outside the house spraying a bottle of champagne in the air, truly the best of times.
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Was based in London for this WC... but decided I'd hop across to France to watch the Final. Caught the train over to... can't remember - not Paris, a relatively small town... but with a train station for the Eurostar?
Went over, started to panic when I thought I might not find a place open early in the morning to watch it... but found a likely venue.
Turned up early in the morning at this bar, they had a free breakfast spread on, welcomed me in.
We all watched it together - me getting really rather drunk sitting at the bar nervously chopping beer after beer. The locals started enjoying just watching my reaction more than the game I think... and at full-time - they all congratulated me, plenty of hands shaken and pats on the back.
I wandered off in a daze, plenty of locals seeing my All Blacks jersey and congraatulating me... had some lunch, fucked up the timing for my return train - running drunkenly through an international train station - the local gendarme/border-control saw the jersey, congratulated me, asked me which train I was on - the one leaving in about 5 minutes - and ran me through the staff corridors, completely bypassing customs/border-control/etc - to get me onto the train with about 30 seconds to spare.
Pure class - on their part, if not mine. -
@Catogrande Yeah - I was looking at the map earlier. trying to figure it out... even Lille seems too big for what I remember.
It had a lovely wee plaza/town-square. -
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Watching the Final just now brought back a lot of memories. We didn't go to a single game, but what a great time we had! Second best experience of a sports event I've ever had, both watching the games in a mate's beer-filled man cave with a group of friends and the whole atmosphere in NZ during the tournament and after the Final.
