A crowd of 32, 000 watched the game in brilliant sunshine at Mosson in Montpellier. It was a fairly tight tussle in the first 25 mins, however, Australia’s domination of possession took its toll to give Australia 2 tries and a comfortable lead at half time. In the second half, Aussies were the stronger team and took advantage of the tired Fijians. Features were Matt Gitteau as Man of the match, Matt Dunning’s tireless work along with his sad hairstyle and Scott Staniforth’s bad luck in getting hurt in the first 5 minutes he was on the field. Apart from that the boys enjoyed being frisked as we walked in, having Nick Farr-Jones and Daniel Herbert (ex-Wallabies) sitting near us, the streakers (make sure you watch the video) and the enjoyment of watching Aussie drinkers being affected by non-alcoholic beer. Lee decided that despite the French reputation for fine cuisine, the food at their stadiums is absolute crap.
Also at the stadium we caught up with Beau and Steph who had flown from the UK for several days, and the Smiths’s ‘extra’ daughter Bek Markham and her partner James. We appreciated the advice of the locals here about parking as the main carpark to the stadium was closed for the match and were delighted with the number of cars who tooted horns, people who greeted and the local bus driver who waved both arms as he drove by us. Montpellier has really taken to the Wallabies.
Apart from the rugby, the gang has really enjoyed experiencing life in a French village. The staff in the local store and café have become adept at interpreting our version of French and a wallaby now takes pride of place in the bar. Some of the local kids are sporting Aussie flag tattoos on their cheeks. We love the house and its position in the village so that we can watch all the comings and goings. The church clock is very comforting, and it helps to know what the time is when you wake at any point during the night!! Lee still walks early.
Ross and Bruce have photographed every small laneway, door and courtyard in daylight and night light. The village is absolutely beautiful. Similarly we have explored and photographed the neighbouring larger town of Lodève, watched players at the boulodrome, and spent a motza at the local markets. The produce at the markets is just great. We have bought fresh fruit and vegetables, sausage, bread and some bargain clothing (not wanting to let the opportunity pass, as you gals would understand). The colour and atmosphere is not to be missed.
For one of our most enjoyable days, we travelled the short distance to Cirque de Navacelles, a spectacular heritage site where the narrow road into and out of the valley made us all squeeze our butt-cheeks as other cars came our way. It was an awesome and probably underrated natural wonder. We also enjoyed our visit to the walled town of La Couvertoirade where a medieval village houses many artefacts from the Knights Templar. We particularly enjoyed the crepes in a small café where one of the decorations was the actual skull of a woman who had lived in the town!
On Tuesday night we wanted to have dinner at the local café, but were unable to get in without a booking… such it its popularity. All the diners were actually Aussies, Kiwis or Brits. So Bruce cooked another gourmet dinner at home and we invited some Kiwis back to have drinks after they finished dinner… our first visitors who are backing their own to win the RWC.
This afternoon the Salon du Nez is up and running as the girls have pedicures, manicures and excess hair removed. But Wendy, there are no Brazilians here!
