By BrianC
December 7 2006

In France rugby is generally played in the South of the country. Stade are the only professional team in the North, the closest equivalent in England being Rugby League where London Broncos are the only professional team in the South.

Last weekend I went to Paris to take in the Heineken Cup game between Ulster and Stade Francais. A different rugby experience? Most definitely. It was also a thoroughly enjoyable weekend in the company of our extended rugby family.

On the Friday before the match I found myself drinking with a significant part of the Ulster press corps. One thing we all agreed on was that supporters were now really starting to get used to European competition and the associated tours. Particularly with the dearth of tickets for International games they provide an alternative to them. I am not alone in thinking that the club/country balance is shifting, albeit gradually, towards the clubs. The other thing I learnt is that the song that echoed around Ravenhill two weeks ago was not 'Swing low.....' rather 'Cheerio Sweet Chariot'

Stade play in the Stade Jean Bouin, this is one of a number of stadiums, the others being Park des Princes and Roland Garros, in the same complex on the West side of the city. The Paris equivalent of the M25, the peripherique, runs in a tunnel under this complex. From central Paris the metro journey to Port D’Auteil took about half an hour, from there it was a ten minute walk.

The stadium is a modern one, capacity 10k, with covered stands on either side of the pitch, an open stand at one end and a standing area at the other end. We were in the main stand, the ‘Tribune Presidentielle’. The block of seats allocated to and distributed by Ulster Rugby was, quite frankly, awful. Having paid 28 EUR, the top price for tickets, we found ourselves right at the corner of the pitch, behind the dead ball line, hardly able to see the play for most of the game due to a low sun in our face. I assume it was Stade who decided this allocation, this being the case their treatment of away supporters, particularly given the distance they had traveled, leaves something to be desired.

Before the teams ran out, over the loudspeakers, we were treated to a reworking of the David Baddiel and Frank Skinner hit, this time called ‘Rugby’s coming home’. This was in English and had some lyrics particularly associated with Stade, I assume it is the club anthem. It struck me and others that given the songs soccer origins it was a somewhat strange one to adopt for a rugby club.

One positive aspect was Stade’s merchandising. Shop aside they had a few vendors walking up and down the stands selling various items. This struck me as a good way of increasing sales. One particular item that caught the eye was their ‘Premiere Quinzaine 2004 Calendar’. Despite all the talk there has been on this and other teams sites about a nude calendar, nothing has happened. Here Stade have actually produced one. Not cheap by any means at 26 EUR but very well photographed in black and white. From those who know better than me I am told it is worth every Euro cent. Aly bought one, when she opened it later in the clubhouse she was immediately surrounded by a group of female Ulster supporters keen to take a closer look.

In general, it has to be said, I thought the Stade support was rather subdued. There was one drum, very little in the way of flags or any sort of colour and not a lot of noise. What they do have is an excellent clubhouse, just adjacent to the stadium. After the game I struck up a conversation with a couple of Paris based Toulouse supporters. ‘It’s pretty boring here, but it’s the only place we can come to watch top class rugby’, was the remark. A couple of hours after the game just about the only people still drinking in the clubhouse were the away supporters.

Ulster brought about 500 with them, quite a remarkable crowd given the distance from Belfast and the fact that there are no direct flights. Perhaps it was just because they were on tour but they do seem to be livening up to me compared to earlier experiences I have had at Ravenhill. I was particularly impressed by the ‘Stand up for the Ulstermen’ song sung to Village People’s ‘Go West’ during which the whole crowd stood up and clapped in rhythm. It really worked, we should nick it.

Despite Norn Iron’s well documented problems Ulster rugby has managed to stay remarkably free of such bigotry. A couple of eejits in the clubhouse tried to start sectarian songs with a rendition of ‘We are the Billy boys’. They were simply ignored, after a few seconds of singing by themselves they shut up.

Friendly and gregarious bunch that they are, particularly given the traveling numbers they have, they do not yet appear to be as well organized as ourselves on tour yet. They have no independent web sites, their means of communication being the official Ulster site. On this all posts are vetted before appearing. The delay in posts appearing removes the spontaneity. There could have been no ‘Virtual tour of Paris’. Perhaps the supporters need to think about organizing an independent site where they could make their own arrangements away from the glare of the club.

One final point with regards to the title of this piece. One Ulster supporter on seeing our London Irish shirts said ‘It’s good to see some plastic Paddys here.’ It was said in good humour, I didn’t bother to even try arguing that I was born and brought up in Ulster. Some of our community may not like this but the fact is that there is a section of the Irish rugby supporting public who will apply that label to those wearing a LI shirt. It’s up to us how we react to it.

A craicing weekend. Sooner or later, in whatever competition, we will play either Ulster or Stade. After this experience I, for one, am looking forward to it.