It’s always interesting waking up the morning after a huge and unexpected win in an international rugby match; everyone had been saying that Ireland would prevail at home, especially with the potential of winning 3 6Nations in a row, something that no other team has achieved to date.
Today, I found messages from rugby mates around the world congratulating the team and/or saying how they enjoyed the match (yes even from the losing team’s fans). Then there are those who only like to comment when their side has won or they think yours had played badly.
People often feel emotionally attached to their teams, and when their team loses, it can feel like a personal defeat. I guess congratulating the winning team can be difficult because it requires setting aside disappointment and acknowledging the opponent’s success. Some might also feel that the win was due to luck or unfair circumstances, making it harder to give credit, but this certainly was not the case yesterday; we outclassed Ireland in all aspects of the match and it was a delight to watch the team produce a masterclass of rugby that gave me goosebumps and a few more tears as always.
Others may simply be too competitive to offer praise, seeing it as a sign of weakness. I’ve noticed this with a couple of people-their issue, not mine.
Yesterday was emotional and yes it meant a lot to have people commiserate with me over the loss of our Captain; and let’s not forget another injury yesterday from our family: Pierre Louis did not pass a concussion test and may be doubtful for next weekend’s match against Scotland.
So onwards and upwards to our final match of the tournament: Scotland at the Stade de France.
It’s never good to assume you’re going to win against any team at international level, even with home advantage. The Thistles have a habit of doing quite well against us. I hear Baptiste Serin has been called into the team and I assume we will revert to a 6-2 bench given we have lost Toto; having said that, Jegou played well as a centre yesterday, so who knows.
In Galthie, Edwards, Wiwi and the rest of the coaching team we trust; our players won’t need much pushing to play their hearts out, for the team, but above all for Antoine.
Photo by Daniel Lincoln
