Rugby World Cup Blog | Jonah Lomu | 2007

Traffic jams in Paris!

Sat Oct 20 12:23PM

Last night I spent two and a half hours stuck in a traffic jam in the centre of Paris. We left our hotel the Crillon at 6pm to pick up some friends in the Opera district and tried to go to the opening of the new Eden Park store before going to dinner. We sat in the car for two and a half hours not even moving more than a kilometre, Paris was gridlocked and I was really disappointed to miss the opening of Frank Mesnel's new store - sorry guys. Dinner last night was at Guy Savoy's, I first met guy in 1995 and try to get back to his restaurant each time I'm in Paris. It is always such an incredible night and last night was no exception. I took along some friends from New Zealand who had the experience of their lives.

I spent the week in Paris and attended the IRB inaugural dinner on Monday night at the Chateau of Versailles which was the most amazing place to have a dinner. It is so rich in history, this place has to be seen to believe the size of the hallways, the artwork and the décor. I spent a day working with the Eurosport Yahoo! team and spoke to more Journalists than I can count. Many of the UK journalists I had spoken to at the beginning of the tournament thought I was just being a nice guy by telling them that if the England forward pack turns up at this tournament they had a real chance. But I genuinely thought that England had the ability to get there with their forward back and some great backs. They have shown some impressive forward play and I don't believe Jonny Wilkinson has played his best game yet but I saw some signs of vintage Jonny class and determination last week. With players like Jason Robinson creating havoc for the opposition defence and the individual brilliance of winger Paul Sackey tonight will be an interesting night. Sackey's strong defensive effort and the crucial tackle he made in the game against Australia are all part of why the team is here in this final.

The rest of my week was spent doing some work with corporates, media interviews and appearances but I did get some time out with some friends. I had lunch with the legendary Francois Pienaar the 1995 World Cup victorious Captain, his lovely wife Nerine and his two sons Stefan and Jean at Café de L'homme after I had signed a sculpture in Rugby Town which will be auctioned off next year to raise money for the Transplant Foundation here in France. You can see the four sculptures in Rugby Town. I was also invited to go shooting with the Raid boys on Thursday. We headed out to a private range near Versailles and spent a few hours shooting different weapons with them. They are great guys and I want to thank them for giving us the opportunity to do this. It's been a long World Cup and I've had so much work on it was great to be able to just go out and relax with some friends and to do something like this.

The game last night was a tricky one to pick because playing for third and fourth place in the World Cup is not an easy task and really comes down the team who can get over the disappointment of making it so far but missing out on the main feature, the World Cup final. It's all about playing for the pride of themselves and their country. To be fairly honest about this game, I thought Argentina could continue their great form in this World Cup and beat the French but I didn't expect such a big margin. The French had a few chances to score in the first half but didn't succeed and they also didn't take the points when they could have. There were a few opportunities where they could have taken three points but they didn't take the option. It might have helped them to stay in the game and everyone knows in test match rugby these are the points you've got to grab. Choosing to kick for the corner or tapping and going with a penalty didn't work for them, the Argentinian defence was always there and didn't allow the French to score. It was amazing that the Argentinians scored 27 unanswered points going from 3-0 for France to 27-3, it showed the strength and the determination of the Argentineans but it was a real pity for the French fans. You have to remember that the last time France played at Parc des Princes they suffered a record defeat against the Springboks (52-10).
 
In saying that you can't take it away from Argentina and all the credit goes to them. Not only their attack but also to the defence, they tackled with purpose and contested the ball at the rucks.  They scored five tries, putting away their kicking game last night and finding more open space on the counter attack from their own 22. They really deserved this win and some of the tries were superb. The one by Federico Martin Aramburu was just great to watch with some huge passes and great breaks in the defence. Felipe Contepomi was at his best by scoring two tries and three conversions. And all this was done with two sin bins. It was an electric game but I think maybe the French still had in mind the opening game they weren't mentally ready to erase the memories of that game and take the win. They didn't show enough passion or maybe they showed too much passion for example when Ibanez received his yellow for using his boot on Alvarez Keirelis (who also received a yellow). It is shame that the great man finishes his international career like that. In the second half, Leguizamon, after a huge tackle on Chabal, received a yellow card and the French fans really thought they could come back but Roncero won a turn-over and at the end Corletto scored in the corner. Even with 14 men, Argentina was still looking to play and just looked too strong.

Now it's time for both teams to move on. The Argentinians have done great things for World Rugby, showing that nothing happens by luck and that they are a strong and competitive team who has achieved great respect in this tournament. I hope they are not left to just play friendly games for the next four years and they are given the opportunity for some top level competition. Perhaps Bernard Lapasset, the new IRB chairman, will give them that chance.

Dislikes: Being stuck in a Traffic Jam for more than 2 and a half hours in Paris and missing the new Eden Park store opening, the transport strike is a nightmare!

Likes: Seeing my old mate Guy Savoy again and enjoying another fantastic evening at his restaurant.

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