Almost Made It

The 2007 RWC has begun and the host country, France, is the venue for the top 22 teams in the world. As luck would have it we somehow acquired four field level super VIP tickets that truly came from the heavens for the New Zealand (hereafter the All Blacks) vs. Italy (hereafter Azzuri) opening match in Marseilles, France. The beautiful part is JT already had excellent seats for this match and had the draft plans for a killer road trip laid out. Then whammmo… better seats and the opportunity to make some fast cash magically appeared!

Marseilles is a French Riviera port city and with perfect weather and a deep rugby fan base… a nice entry point to pop all our RWC cherries. First the road trip. Sam McConnel hooked up a 9 person super van and with Jes bringing 40 liters of cold beer, we were all set. 6 hours and 5 pit shops later, we arrived in Marseilles. We booked ahead and found a large villa to rent for the crew. Now, these rentals can be an adventure as you either hit the jack pot or bust and you really never know until you arrive. This villa… jack pot! On the hills overlooking the port, private pool, large terrace, and plenty of room for 7. It was perfect home base.

Saturday’s a rugby day (Rugby song)! We arrived early, enjoyed some fresh croissants, loaded ourselves down with beer and hit the pre-game festivities. Atmosphere was great and by now, we were “Jonesing” for some rugby. All Blacks are the #1 team in the world and I am sensing the “once in a lifetime experience”. Seats, game, rugby, atmosphere… all brilliant! Azzurri were out manned and lost 76-14 but the rugby was artful and at field level, you could here the bones take a walloping. Hands down best sporting experience (as a spectator) of my life. Weekend finished with steaks on the grill, poker with friends, and late night cocktails. Thanks to Jes, JT, Sam, Jan, Big Tone, and Dario for making it possible.

Thanks JT for the write up
Check out all the great photos here!

Marseilles Stadium and Rugby World Cup Panorama


Here is a shot from our seats, as you can see we has some super ones…
To view the full size image click here.