Irish rugby fans travelling to Paris for the match against Scotland believe Ireland are, to quote Ronan O’Gara’s Corkonian French, on the verge of something “énorme”.
O’Gara’s now famous exhortation to his La Rochelle players before this year’s Champions Cup semi-final against Bordeaux in May “l’opportunité c’est f**king énorme” has gone viral and entered the lexicon of quotable quotes in both French and English.
On Friday it could be found at Dublin Airport on an Irish Tricolour along with the image of three members of Ireland’s front row: Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong. The flag is travelling to Paris for Saturday’s night game with a group of fans attached to Naas Rugby Club.
“We just about got it done in time,” said Conor Lenihan one of the travelling party. Contrary to the stereotype sometimes associated with Irish fans, they are neither over 55 nor from south Dublin. They are from Meath and Kildare. Two of their number, Alan Mulvaney and Robert O’Brien, got tickets for the Scotland match for their 21st birthday when the draw was first made. They are now 23.
The Irish fans who have tickets for the Stade De France are travelling in anticipation of a comfortable win. Their expectations are not unreasonable. The heart-stopping win over world champions South Africa a fortnight ago and Ireland’s 22-7 victory in the Six Nations away in Murrayfield would suggest an Irish victory, yet in many ways travelling to the Rugby World Cup for an Irish fan is the triumph of hope over experience.
Eileen Walsh from Kilkenny, who is going to the match with her father John, was in Japan four years ago when Ireland were beaten by the hosts and thrashed in the quarter-final by New Zealand. Nevertheless, it was a “great atmosphere” which made up for the disappointments on the pitch. “This one is the big one. We can’t be too confident going into the Scotland game. We have to put our best game forward.”
Maelíosa Power and his wife Jackie have had to fly via Munich to get to Paris and via Zurich on the way back. Even with the transfers, it is a third of the price of direct flights. “We were lucky to get [match] tickets, put it that way,” said Jackie. “We only booked about three weeks ago.” This is the only game they have gone to to date “and hopefully the final”, added Maelíosa. He believes Ireland will win on Saturday night by 15 points. “Our game plan is fantastic, our defence is excellent and our attack is second to none. We will be way too powerful for the Scots.”
Michael O’Donovan, who is travelling from Kilkenny with a group of friends who are all members of Thurles Rugby Club, gave a very exact prediction of a 25-13 Ireland win “and we’ll take it from there. The atmosphere will be electric. We’re hoping for a good weekend and if we get the win, all the better. This one was the one we always targeted. We’re going to have a few pints and giddy-up.”
Sisters Christine Clancy and Aisling Doyle from Dublin are Leinster season ticketholders. They booked in January for the match through Cassidy Travel, which was hit by ticketing problems over the last fixture. Of Saturday’s game, Christine said: “I’m nervous, we’re quite confident that we will do the business. I’m a touch more nervous about the quarter-final against New Zealand, but I’m hoping Ireland can get past the hoodoo and get to the semi-final.”
Couples Philippa and Stephen Keogh from Clare and Emily and Ian Sheehy from Limerick are Munster fans. They are looking forward to one of the province’s stalwarts, Peter O’Mahony, getting his 100th cap on Saturday night. “We live very close to Thomond Park,” said Stephen. “It will be a big day for him. He’ll get a try and I think we’ll win by six or seven points.”
“I’m very confident,” added Philippa who is English, “but I’m living in Ireland longer than I’m living in England. It’s green over white for me.”
