A good number of you reading this will either have made the trip to Toulouse in October or read one of the many reports on our trip then. Also most of you will have watched the game on TV or read press reports. Accordingly I’m not going to give much of travelogue or any match report. My intention being to concentrate on the support, particularly that of Toulouse, to see what lessons we at London Irish can draw from it.

The Saints brought about two thousand with them. This is impressive by the standards of British clubs, particularly so because the previous week they had been to Twickenham with all the expense and heartbreak that involved. To put this further into context we should also remember how pleased we were with ourselves that we managed five hundred or so travellers in October.

Our plan had always been to stay in the same hotel as many of the Saints, namely the Ibis Central. By doing this we got to meet a lot of those names we know from the Saints messageboard. They mostly knew in advance about our visit.

The other Saints we met were somewhat bemused that a group of London Irish supporters should be in town, even more so when they heard that we were there to support the home team. ‘You’re not seriously telling me you are going to support Toulouse’, was uttered on more than one occasion. Never, it has to be said, with malice. Indeed, without exception, those Saints supporters we met, bantered and drank with, teased and consoled, were as decent a bunch of supporters as you will find anywhere. They do their club proud.

When it came to the match however, those Saints supporters were well and truly lost in amongst thirty six thousand of the most fanatical, best organised, supporters in Europe. If you were impressed by what they put on in October when we visited them, or what they brought to the party at the Madejski in January it was as nothing compared to what we witnessed first hand on Saturday.

This reporter’s prime reason for visiting Toulouse, a pleasant weekend aside, was to experience the support close up. From the Toulouse supporters club website we learnt that we needed to be in the East stand. Subtel secured tickets in here for the princely sum of 10 euros (£6.30) each. As he purchased the tickets the cashier was a tad confused, ‘Toulousain?’ she asked. ‘Oui’ said my co-editor, no doubt with a huge grin on his face as he said it.

The game was being played at the city’s soccer stadium, South of the city centre, much bigger than Sept Deniers where we played in October. Our arrival there, flags hoisted, was greeted with some confusion. The Saints supporters wondering why we were there, the Toulousaines thinking that we were Saints but aware that we looked a bit different. I have to say at that stage it did feel a tad strange, almost like being a spectator of the occasion rather than a full participant in it. This was soon to change, once we explained to some Stade supporters the purpose of the London Irish mission the welcome gates were opened. We were promptly invited to join a very genial group who plied us with copious quantities of AG.

As with our trip in October the secret was to stand around outside the ground and eat/drink from the stalls there. There was a wide choice available, duck breast brochette cost less than £3, one with merguez sausage, onions and chips about the same, beer was £1.30 a tin. Realistically this is something we will never attain in Reading but it does bring home to you just how poor the offerings there are. Goodness only knows what the Toulouse supporters must have thought when they came to the Madejski.

Having been advised to be in the ground early, we got to our seats about an hour before the kick off. Our reserved seats were on the front row of the Toulousain section. We were quickly spotted by someone from the Toulouse supporters site who suggested that we ignore the seat allocation and move up to where the drums are. This caused some confusion amongst our party so we ended up separated, Subtel and myself with flags next to the drums, the rest of the group back in their original seats.

Lesson One: When we arrived in the ground every seat in the Stade section had two balloons, one red one black, sitting on it, together with a plain, red, A4 card for the supporters to wave. The balloons carried the logo of one of the clubs sponsors. One can only assume that they paid for these plus the cards. Bought in bulk these do not cost a lot of money, my guess is less than 10p per seat. The effect and impact they had both in appearance to the rest of the stadium and on the atmosphere within the crowd was substantial. I don’t know what our next big occasion is, perhaps even the last game of this season. It’s cheap. It works. We really should think about organising something like this.

The atmosphere was incredible, both on a large and small scale. Sitting close to the drummers I was aware that I was amongst one big family. As people arrived kisses and hugs were exchanged. People were standing and waving at friends on distant seats. Questions asked about l’etrangers in their midst. Once they had the situation explained to them these people inevitably ran over to us, shook hands, kissed cheeks then set off with smiles in their faces. In a curious way I was reminded about the two Quins who were invited deep into Eastiebeastie territory at the St. Patrick’s game.

One other thing we learnt is that there are at least two Toulouse supporters clubs. Le Huit seems to be the largest, there is also Le Rouge et Noir. Both have separate drum corps. No doubt there is some history here, there is with any club. That said they all seem to get on well with each other even to the point of the rival drum batteries stirring each other on. It occurred to me that perhaps the splits within supporters of clubs such as ourselves, Quins and Glaws over the past few years are a consequence of growth. In many ways inevitable and perhaps in the longer term even healthy.

Lesson Two: Even if a rugby club grows to that of a size that rivals a soccer premiership team, it is important that it retains core values. There will be divisions of opinion, some public some private. As London Irish grows it is our responsibility as supporters, every bit as much as the clubs, to ensure that these core values are maintained. At a game, home or away, if someone needs to be called to account for boorish, abusive or racist behaviour, do it. As OxonRob discovered at Bath there are invariably more people around that will support you. We were heartily welcomed into the Toulouse fold, I have no doubt we would also have been if we were Saints supporters. They were also good at self-policing. We were quickly and politely asked to drop our flags once the game got underway so as not to obstruct anyone’s view. Our values are key to our club and sport and can be maintained no matter however large they become.

From some posts on the messageboard I am aware that our London Irish flags were spotted on TV. That said the two we had appeared puny compared to those of the locals. Sitting at the back of the stadium the number and variety of red and black flags was striking. The ones we now have will make an impact if used en masse. Indeed, used properly, they will probably leave those of other teams in the ZP in the shade. That said we must treat this as only a start.

We got to see the big Stade flag being unfurled close up. It is not that difficult a procedure. Essentially before the game it is laid out along pre-defined row of seats. The people sitting in these seats let the flag out gently and evenly. Two marshals walk down the aisles prompting supporters to take the flag from those behind them. To retrieve the flag the marshals prompt those at the front to let go whilst those in the original seats pull the material back. This was unfurled as the players came out to warm up, nobody missed any play because of this. Indeed all the flags were lowered as play started.

Lesson Three: Flags work. They are highly visual and help create a sense of community. I don’t know how much the ones we currently have cost each but we should be prepared to sell them to those who ask about buying them. In that way more flags can be bought. We should look at the flag fund as being seed capital. Our aim should be to turn our support into a sea of colour. In the long term we should aim to have a large flag for home games. One further aside, my impression is that the wording on our flags is superfluous as it can only be seen up close. It’s the colour that does the trick.

The general level of noise made, in various forms, was awesome. There were the drums of course but this was only a part of the package. Before the game started cards were passed round with a ‘Toulouse’ verse to the Marseillese. They sang a few different songs, all of them catchy. Mixed in with the songs they had a series of chants that were impressive, one or two people would lead, the rest of the crowd would join in. I have no idea how they managed to develop this but it’s something we should aim for. It may well need us to extend our repertoire beyond the Fields and Molly, even to some songs that are not necessarily Irish. As I write this I can’t help thinking that we could do something with ‘Alice’ or ‘Who let the dogs out’.

Their siren was in amongst the supporters. It was fired up only after Toulouse scored, to my mind this was very effective. No pussy footing or excuses about the war here. I’m now of the opinion that we should bring Sammy into the crowd. Frankly she’s no louder than the drums and those who are comfortable sitting close to them should have no problem with her. After all the East stand seating is unreserved, if people don’t like the noise of the drums and Sammy they can move away. Having witnessed things first hand in Toulouse I now really do think we are much too over sensitive about her use.

Perhaps the only negative point I would make is their tendency to boo the opposing kicker. As I understand it this practice is widespread in France and the Southern Hemisphere. It is probably just a cultural difference but having been raised in the London Irish tradition I still don’t like it.

In the heart of the Toulouse support there was widespread use of confetti. Not the wedding ‘hearts and bells’ type, more paper shavings. Some made it back to the Netherlands when I unpacked my laundry and will no doubt make an appearance at the Madejski the next time I unpack my wig. I’m in two minds about this. Great fun when you are there, particularly spectacular when placed on the drums from which it sprays off as they are beaten. On the other side, the clean up job after the game must be horrendous.

At the end of the game the entire Toulouse team came to the end of the ground where we were standing. They stood in a line, linked hands and took a bow in the same way as performers would do at the end of a play. They then set off on a regulation tour of the pitch. Corny though this may sound it worked well. It was greatly appreciated by the crowd at that end, not least by myself. Somehow you knew that all the effort that had gone into supporting the team was greatly appreciated by them. The Saints in the traditional manner went over to their own supporters and acknowledged them, individually raising hands and clapping. Compared to what the Toulouse team had done, what would normally be a fitting gesture seemed somewhat tame.

Support such as this does not get built overnight but it can be done. Indeed you can see the seeds of something similar happening with the Eastiebeasties. There will always be those who object to noise and passion being shown by supporters. By all accounts this was even the case at Sunbury on Saturday. I am convinced that this is a small section of the supporter base. We also know that the players at all levels appreciate it. Developing our support into something akin to that of Toulouse should be both our and London Irish’s long term aim. They have proved to us that it can be done. We just need to work out how.

Great club. Great supporters. Great weekend. We even had a reminder of this at the airport on our departure.

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