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Montepellier - From the inside (Part 2)
By LGWT@ Castlebar
December 11 2009
With next round of the group stage upon us, we're back for part two of LGWT and chums sojourn in Languedoc and “Quand Connacht a rencontré Montpellier, la Partie Sept …”
Montpellier - Match Day 16.10.2009

Fri 09.00, Hotel Kyriad: Fails to materialise. What is it with the space-time continuum on tour?

10.00, Hotel Kyriad: Ten o'clock steps into the breach to save the day, or morning at least. Idle rambles are taken through the town to get our bearings and required gift purchases for partners/bosses/credit union managers who make these trips possible. There will be other trips le cunamh De.

13.00, Place de la Comedie: Slowly we regroup in the sun. CW and the Leader being last to arrive. (Later it emerged they had been indulging in a crepery with CW ordering a Grand Marnier crepe. Half a bottle was applied and he was topped up to last nights level of warmth. Drunk on crepes, great country this.) Lunchtime sees us change from the Sept to the Dix, not to be read phonetically. The Saint and his companion Apostle arrive and are joined a little later by MoreMiles. Lunch and some refreshment and a plan is falling into place. The Alickadoos and their associates pass by with intel on complimentary tickets the CBIRFU officials may possess. A plan to meet pre-match in The Greyhound Bar is
approved by the Leader.

17.30, The Greyhound: The Noble Dix congregate where un homme qui fou tends bar, think The Oasis in the late eighties/early nineties if you possess the grey hairs - then introduce the then unknown Red Bull. More refreshment and MoreMiles explains that the nearest tram (Montpelier has
an excellent LUAS style train system) stop to the stadium leaves a 3km walk. Comp tickets are distributed, we are to be in the Eden Park Stand Upper, face value €40 though Montpelier have a buy one get one free deal for this game. All but three receive the freebie. Advance troop of GW,
Guillaume, Cavalier and CW take the first taxi available. Montpelier has a population of 250,000 but only 130 taxis. Heavy traffic delays us and the taxi comes to €20 instead of the predicted €12.

Stade Yves du Manoir

  Stade Yves du Manoir

19.00, Stade Yves du Manoir: Impressive new stadium built for the last World Cup. The Aussie team were based here we learn. Strange system of buying vouchers to exchange for beer, wine, burgers and the like. Inflation in France must be off the scale. I wonder how many depart unused in visiting fans pockets, hmm.

19.55, Eden Park Stand: This stand has a bar which curiously takes cash. Clearly more confident in Sarkozy's economic acumen than his buddies downstairs. Cavalier is fined for cutting it fine getting into place before kick off. We're underway. Others have written about the on pitch action so this article will focus on matters in the stand. ICRSC banner is clipped in place and we're making noise. Nearly all the Connacht contingent are in one spot as the stewards aren't fussy about seat numbers in a half full stadium. The PA has an English accented announcer in tandem with a local who implores the crowd to get behind
Montpelier. Petit Cul, MoreMiles and CW discuss the offence of sealing in. Leader is cautioned early on by a Blazer for an obvious language violation. Apologies are made to the match officials and thereafter better manners are observed. Second half we really get going as the lads start to pull back points. Last ten minutes are noisy and nervous as we
get behind our side as best we can. Why we aren't this vocal in the Sportsground is odd - we just aren't. Game closed out and "The Fields" is blasted out to the amusement of the home supporters. Guillaume, The Saint and The Apostle watched from another stand and later reported that
we raised the roof. The Irish Times mentioned it the following day.

22.00, Clubhouse: Back to the Twickenham Stand, I kid you not. More vouchers, more refreshment and our banner is photographed by local supporters. We receive a gracious welcome from our beaten hosts. Montpelier has a large contingent of Erasmus students and many Irish
scholars have turned out in their Ireland jerseys to cheer on their neighbouring province. Cheers for that lads and ladies.

23.00, Outside Clubhouse: Petit Cul advises that we should press on to catch the last tram. Leader is the last one out as he's busy hugging anyone he can catch up with. Then moving on to question the security guards' masculinity. MacDonald's features again as GW, Cavalier and the
Leader decide on a pit stop. Cavalier is occasioned to insist that staff order us a taxi or we're staying the night.

23.30, Fitzpatrick's: Cavalier and GW have the last couple of nightcaps. The others it turns out had missed the tram stop and to their horror found themselves back out in the Aussie late bar.

02.00, Somewhere on the outskirts of town: GW and Cavalier have somehow missed their turn and now grow tired of wandering. Spotting a white van pulled up at a junction Cavalier explains the situation to the driver and his mate. They do not know the hotel but insist we hop in and they'll find it. Ten slightly nervous minutes later they duly do just that. Bravo to the White Van Men of Montpelier - you are legends.

Montpellier - And finally victorious retreat

6.50, Hotel Kyriad: Cavalier sounds the reveille as all the crew are up and moving. We arrive at the station in good time for the 7.26 TGV to Carcassone. However a slow moving queue persuades us to opt for the 8.55
alternative. The 7.26 we then learn has been canceled this morning. The later train will get us in with forty minutes to spare before last check in. We then watch with growing anxiety as the info board indicates a ten minute delay, then fifteen, then twenty. We had earlier explored our options and knew that taxis will cost the seven of us €540 for the hour and a half trip.

08.45, Montpelier Station Taxi Rank: The 8.55 train is now expected to be thirty minutes late (and counting!). Cavalier has negotiated a cash price of €500 (these guys have never been to Ballinasloe). We unanimously decide to take the taxi option. Montpelier is left behind as we start our last French based leg. True to their promise ninety minutes later our taxies arrive at the airport. The taximen beam broadly as well they might. He gives Cavalier €10 back to round the bill off to €70 each. A tenner luck money, maybe he's been to Ballinasloe after all! Couple of quick coffees to stifle the limited opportunity for sleep. No smiling cabin crew but they do congratulate the team who are once more on the same flight. Everyone agrees that a French team based in the
south is a must each October. A fella could get used to this.
La Belle France, au revoir or a bientot j'espere,

LGWT.

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