NZ v France - Your Cardiff Stories!

Trotter

What a night.. It started with the usual verbals in the campsite between the All Blacks and the French who had painted everything they had blue white and red.
In true form, a load of Munster and Leinster supporters (wearing their colours proudly) started a game of scrums and garryowens up the middle of the main street in Cardiff, with a heap of balls getting kicked up on what looked like a very official and old building

Cut to the stadium and I have to say it was one of the best sporting experiences I've witnessed. I have to say I thought the NZ supporters around me went from smug, to subdued, to panicing, to angrrry! There was no consolations welcome.. they were rightly pssed off.

I have to say I enjoyed many conversations with the French and NZ supporters on the town afterwards, and refused the jersey swap with an All Black because the cheeky fecker had clearly worn his old and torn / manky one to swap for a nice brand new one! (He wanted to bring home the jersey of the only Irish team to beat the All Blacks.. Munster!)

The campsite was a bit subdued because the All Angries came home and 'didnt want to talk about it'. The French soon realised that the AB's werent up for any banter so they left to find some more playful all black sorts in town.

The evening finished at 5am with some French crowd of bstrds sticking a megaphone into the tent and singing La Marseillaise.. talk about a wakeup call!!

All in all... a great weekend. The Fields of Athenry was great to be part of as usual.. although I think the only song more suited to the occasion would be the one I havent quite written yet called "Of course we bought all the tickets".

I hope anyone here who made the match enjoyed it. Pity we werent on the field instead of France but sure in the words of a wise man... Take your craic where you can find it.

Any other stories from the others who made it over??

megapixel

So glad I went.
The NZ supporters were so shocked it was a little funny.
Had a brill night with some mad french supporters who had no where to stay, so where out on the town till the bus at 7am back to france.

Snickers Man

megapixel wrote:

So glad I went.
The NZ supporters were so shocked it was a little funny.
Had a brill night with some mad french supporters who had no where to stay, so where out on the town till the bus at 7am back to france.

That's Cardiff for you. Too small a city for too big a stadium.

Glad to hear there were some participants who were a bit of craic.

gjim

Delighted I went. Given the price of the tix, it felt a bit funny going to all the effort but what a sporting spectacle - worth every penny. Cardiff - the stadium and the compact nature of the town - is the best place in Europe for big rugby matches - the atmosphere was awesome. Accommodation was a problem as usual but you have to be prepared to look a few miles outside - we found a B&B in Pontypridd. Of course it means spending a lot of money on taxis or leaving town on the last train at 11:30.

daveirl

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marco_polo

gjim wrote:

Delighted I went. Given the price of the tix, it felt a bit funny going to all the effort but what a sporting spectacle - worth every penny. Cardiff - the stadium and the compact nature of the town - is the best place in Europe for big rugby matches - the atmosphere was awesome. Accommodation was a problem as usual but you have to be prepared to look a few miles outside - we found a B&B in Pontypridd. Of course it means spending a lot of money on taxis or leaving town on the last train at 11:30.

+1.

Just back from the weekend now. Ferry to Fishguard, stayed Friday night in Swansea had great fun there. Saturday and Sunday night spent in small Chalet in a camping site about 5 miles outside Cardiff. Entire weekend was brilliant, great game, great athmosphere and great company.

Kiwis were understandably a bit muted after the game so it probably would have been even more more craic if they won, still had a brilliant night and I was delighted the French won. Just about managed to stay sober for the game but the rest of the weekend is a complete blur.

Going to be making another few trips to wales for some ML games this year.

The phrase sick as a parrot will soon be replaced by sick as a kiwi.

Nukem

So glad i still went. What a match, what a day, that was some atmosphere. Some of the Kiwi's i talked to were in severe shock. Told them no hassle ye have 4 years to prepare to the next one. Lets just say, if looks could kill.

Ended up in Paris then, match was typical of Scotland. Too many mistakes, if they could just eliminate them, they'd be a very handy team. Place was jammed with Argies and Frennch, very little Scots. Atmosphere was no where near as good.

shrapnel222

just back from this last night. what a stadium!!!and what a result!!!it was great craic afterwards although the all blacks weren't mingling too much after the game. they were a little too shell shocked and gutted:D . I have to say though, that cardiff is a bit too small for the crowd, because everywhere was overpacked. we let a couple of weary fellow frenchmen sleep on our hotel room floor. all round great weekend

shapez

shrapnel222 wrote:

that cardiff is a bit too small for the crowd, because everywhere was overpacked. we let a couple of weary fellow frenchmen sleep on our hotel room floor.

Were else would you see it??

Can't imagine soccer supporters letting an opposing teams supporters sleep on the hotel floor!

shrapnel222

shapez wrote:

Were else would you see it??

Can't imagine soccer supporters letting an opposing teams supporters sleep on the hotel floor!

i'm french, but you're right, iff it were a couple of weary NZers we'd bumped into then we would have done the same:p

SameDifference

I live near to cardiff and I managed to get into to town to watch the game in a pub.

I was so confident that France would win that I even learnt the words to the Marsellaise for the celebrations afterward!

megapixel

Just back at home two hours(What a long weekend of drinking) and found my french beret and my kiwi flag which i wore all night after the game.
Had a mega weekend even if my bag was nicked and phone and money taken.
Still amazed I got home that night with the massive crater in the middle of cardiff(new john lewis superstore), thank god a taxi man took pity on me.

Come on the argies and if they don't do it then the french.

SameDifference

^^ Cardiff is changing so much I hardly no where I am any more

Villain

I got back last night, best weekend in years, 5 lads one camper van + Sport, Drink and Women = f*cking class weekend.

Oh that along with drinking with Richie McCaw Sunday night!!!!!

One of the lads in our group slapped McCaw playfully on the face and then tackled him against the wall and what did the New Zealand Captain do? Shook his hand and laughed, he was in the walkabout Sunday night very sound fella we ended up drinking with him for quite a while.

We also met the French team coming out of the Hilton Hotel Saturday morning and then saw about 10 of them playing soccer on astro pitch beside Sophia Gardens Sunday.

We caught the Cardiff City V Burnely soccer game first Saturday had to go see Fowler and Jimmy Floyd before heading to see the Rugby. Too many stories but I think the best were every Irish fan saying we would sing the Fields of Athenry after 12 minutes into the game and while it may have been 2 minutes late we got the Fields going I was standing on me seat in my Irish jersey urging every Irish fan to sing along and they did in style. Then the end of Saturday night in the walkabout there was about 40 Irish standing inside the door singing Irish songs that capped off the night in style.

Great great weekend.