I have chosen this track for today for two reasons:
Firstly because I remember sending it to the lads before their game against England at fortress Twickenham in 2023, We had not won there since 2005, an evening spent with “the gang”, all eleven of them English supporters, as I jumped around the room every time Dimitri Yashvili kicked a penalty; he was outstanding that night, with 6 successful kicks ensuring we won 17-18.
Some iconic names from the past such as our Sale favourites Seabass and Robinson …
Fast forward 18 years and as the lads got on the Euro train, I could just sense something big was going to happen. Add that a friend happened to be at Kings Cross when they arrived and managed to send me some photos, things were lining up to be quite a weekend.
As usual, I had send them a pre match track and as my daughter couldn’t think of anything, I pulled this one from the recesses of my mind: England has always been our boogie man! It was funny to hear the comments back from one of them, clearly not even born when this song hit the charts – “what is this monstrosity?!” was the message back.
It turned out to be a classic, not unlike that great night at the SdF in November 2021, when, contrary to all expectations, we beat the All Blacks with class and those impromptu moments of French flair that give me goosebumps. We inflicted the largest defeat England has suffered to date at home, winning by 10-53; the champagne flowed that night for sure !
So as today dawns and rugby fans wake up to the anticipation of the 2024 EPCR Champions Cup this afternoon, it seems appropriate to share this track for the second time.
Leinster have been our boogie man in the past, as they themselves have fallen at the final hurdle against La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023. Whoever wins today will add another star to their 2025 match shirts; we already have five, time will tell whether we can add our sixth…
Allez Le Stade !
