By BrianC
August 18 2004

We crash out of the PPCC having lost badly at Narbonne. Bisach starts a virtual tour on the messageboard which turns into one of the best threads we have ever had. An Ed’s diary – 20th January 2004

Narbonne 29 – 10 London Irish. A bitterly disappointing result, one that means we lose out on the opportunity to play Connacht home and away over the next two weeks, not to mention losing the revenue that those games would have generated. We were taken apart in the first half and never really recovered. The general consensus is that it was the worst on field performance we have seen in a long time.

Again many concerns are being raised about injuries affecting what is already a reduced squad. The back row in particular seems to be the main area of concern. After such a bright start it does appear that our season may well end in disappointment. Hopefully a two week break will give the boys a chance to regroup. We shall see.

Result aside the tour appears to have been a resounding success. Lots of positive messages have been posted, everyone seems to have had a whale of a time. The Narbonne site has also had good feedback. From reports we appear to have had about a hundred and fifty travelers. This compares with fifty odd in the comparable Pau game a couple of years ago. The growth in this traveling support is most encouraging. Off field at least, the green machine goes from strength to strength.

Those of us left behind had something to cheer us up. Bisach’s ‘Virtual Tour of Narbonne’ thread really took off. As I write there are over 380 posts on it. Most certainly it is one of the most amusing threads we have ever had, if not the best ever. Fatboy has suggested that it should be preserved, I have to agree with him. My thought at the moment is that I’ll write a little story, with a bit of background explanation, entitled ‘Great Theads of our Time’, or something like that. The two other threads that spring to my mind for the story are ‘Mornington Crescent’ and ‘Worst Ever Beer’.

Recently I’ve been back in contact with a very dear friend after many years. Last Friday I finished writing a letter to her, talking about the site split. It is still I feel too sensitive to publish but I’ve sent it to my co-eds and five others who were around at the time and who I feel I know well enough. Perhaps I’ll publish it in years to come.

Two weeks with no London Irish rugby. Just as well I’m off to watch Stade vs Ulster in Paris next weekend. I have one story ready for publication, perhaps its time to write an article speculating on the St. Patricks crowd.