Click photo to enlarge
Cory Jane at All Black weight training at Stade Jean Bouin,
Marseille, France yesterday. Photo by NZPA.
In advance of Saturday's test match, New Zealand's Silver
Fern is being raised across France.
Beside the Mediterranean Sea, among Burgundy's vineyards, and
inside Parisian bars, proud and passionate Kiwis will take
advantage of the rare occasion when the silver fern does not
draw quizzical looks from the French.
Most of the action will centre on Marseille's Phoenician
harbour or Vieux Port. From early Saturday morning, Kiwis
gather to socialise, catch up on news, and to debate the
match.
They will be joined in the cafes and bistros by thousands of
French supporters, many who will have arrived by bus from the
southwest, the traditional stronghold of French rugby.
Hearty and friendly banter will occur. Shouts of "Allez Les
Bleus" and "Allez Les Blacks" will be exchanged as will
scarves, silver ferns and other souvenirs.
Then both sets of supporters will take the short underground
ride to the Stade Velodrome.
But it is not only in Marseille where New Zealand voices will
be heard.
Claire Waddington, chief organiser for the Paris-based
France-New Zealand Association has already issued a call to
arms.
The "park" will be at O'Sullivans by the Mill, located in the
heart of Paris right next door to the Moulin Rouge.
Multiple screens will be set up with the commentary in
English for those who are lingually challenged.
Again, there will be a mixture of supporters adding to the
ambiance, and informed discussion on the merits of the two
teams.
The Silver Fern will also be flown in other far-flung areas
in rural France.
In the small commune of Chaudenay, just outside Burgundy's
wine centre of Beaune, Kiwi Bruce Leonard always throws out
the challenge to his village neighbours. His large black
"drapeau" flies obtrusively from the second floor window.
"It attracts so many car horn toots, you would think there
was a village wedding in process," Mr Leonard told NZPA.
Whether those Silver Ferns will still be flying proudly come
midnight Saturday remains for now an unanswerable question.
