Ben Dirs (archive)
- 大象传媒 Sport Rugby
- 23 Oct 07, 09:01 AM
Hang out the bunting, strike up the band, Tom and Ben are home.
Not quite in a jet draped with flags, awaiting a press corps and tumult of fans, more in a campervan, on a ferry, still wearing those flip-flops. And that vest. Probably.
So here's a best of Fordyce & Dirs, in photos and links to remind you of the past seven weeks' adventure.
You can check out all of .
Continue reading "Now That's What I Call Tom and Ben (in photos)"
- Ben Dirs
- 22 Oct 07, 01:08 PM
Paris, Sunday - My mother phoned me this morning and asked me what I want for dinner on Monday night.
Mrs Dirs is a quality cook, but that鈥檚 not what I wanted to hear the morning after England played in a . This trip is over. Make mine a roast or I think I鈥檒l start crying.
My initial reaction to England鈥檚 defeat was pretty childish: 鈥渂othered鈥. Like most of the England fans still partying at 6am on Sunday morning, I was just happy to be there.
Continue reading "Best job in the world"
- Ben Dirs
- 20 Oct 07, 11:09 PM
Paris - Hello all. I watched the final alongside my colleague Mark Orlovac at the Stade de France and rated the South African players. "Orlo" was in charge of England. Here's how we scored them.
Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts.
Continue reading "England v South Africa ratings"
- Ben Dirs
- 19 Oct 07, 04:50 PM
Paris 鈥 Friday - Different players find different ways of preparing for a big match.
Some smash their heads repeatedly against the changing room wall, some insist on grabbing team-mates by the collars and bawling in their faces. Some, usually the backs, prefer to sit quietly in the corner or go for a wander.
In my playing days, I was what you might call a 'Thinker', spending hours sat on the toilet, in the same pose as , feeling sick and wondering how I managed to find myself so out of my depth.
Continue reading "Better a Thinker than a Blessed..."
- Ben Dirs
- 18 Oct 07, 10:44 AM
Thursday morning, Paris - Former Middlesex and Durham seamer Simon Hughes tells a great story about an ageing bowling to the touring Australians at Chester-le-Street.
Botham, Hughes maintains, wasn鈥檛 doing anything with the ball at all, simply padding up to the crease and sending it down at a gentle military medium.
But to the Australian players, who were huddled in the pavilion, glued to the action and talking in reverential tones, every delivery was a potential hand-grenade.
It鈥檚 what sports people often refer to as 鈥減resence鈥, a word that has been used repeatedly in connection with Jonny Wilkinson ahead of Saturday鈥檚 World Cup final...
Continue reading "Why Wilkinson is the main man"
- Ben Dirs
- 17 Oct 07, 11:17 AM
Paris - 鈥淐apture the atmosphere in Paris,鈥 cry the emails from the bosses back in Blighty.
Well, on the Wednesday before play in the World Cup final, is as Paris always is.
Lots of pretty women smoking and nibbling on croissants, lots of big-haired men looking magnificent in expensive sports jackets and shades. And not a Zulu-era Red Coat in sight.
Continue reading "France, je t'aime"
- Ben Dirs
- 14 Oct 07, 11:55 PM
Paris - Big sporting occasions can mess with people's minds. On Saturday night, as my brains were being blown out by the , I found myself making the sign of the cross and I very nearly cried.
When I tell you that I鈥檓 not sure I believe in God and that I blub about once every 10 years, usually when watching , you get some idea of the mind-bending atmosphere that was swirling round the Stade de France as England beat the World Cup hosts.
The scenes after the final whistle will live long in the memory: French fans disappearing from the ground as quickly as bath water being sucked down a plughole; England fans roaring along to Wonderwall; the tears of Sebastien Chabal.
Continue reading "Ugly win a thing of beauty"
- Mark Orlovac
- 14 Oct 07, 10:40 PM
Paris - It worked so well on Saturday we're continuing the Orlo/Dirsy blog partnership for the SA v Argentina ratings, but this time with added Fordyce!
Here are our player ratings for the Boks' semi-final win over the Pumas. I have rated South Africa and Ben and Tom are now so inseparable they have jointly rated Argentina.
Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts!
Continue reading "South Africa v Argentina player ratings"
- Mark Orlovac
- 13 Oct 07, 10:50 PM
Paris - A brand new partnership of me, Orlo, and him, Dirsy, together in one blog.
Here are our player ratings for England's semi-final against France. I have rated England and Dirsy's rated France.
Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts!
Continue reading "England v France player ratings"
- Ben Dirs
- 13 Oct 07, 08:40 AM
I鈥檓 normally loathe to use military metaphors when writing about sport. Unless, of course, is playing at arrows, in which case, it鈥檚 entirely appropriate.
But, as I sit here tapping this out in a darkened hotel room, the glow from my laptop serving as my only light, I can鈥檛 help feeling like an army scout, sent into enemy territory to test the waters in advance of England鈥檚 invading hordes.
Continue reading "Paris primed for English invasion"
- Ben Dirs
- 10 Oct 07, 09:55 PM
Fontainebleau 鈥 Hello you. Today, Tommy and I have come over all altruistic and decided to share some of our five-and-a-half weeks鈥 worth of Rugby World Cup experience with those making their way over for the on Saturday.
Here are some of the key tips we鈥檝e picked up during the course of our grand escapade. Agree or disagree, just don鈥檛 bang on about your licence fee.
Continue reading "Your Paris checklist"
- Ben Dirs
- 9 Oct 07, 01:21 PM
Aix-en-Provence 鈥 Tommy and I set sail from Marseille on Monday afternoon like a couple of battered sailors fleeing a storm and have now weighed anchor in the calmer waters of .
Thousands of others will have done the same and will now be cowering under duvets all over the globe, still struggling to come to terms with the weekend they鈥檝e just experienced.
There will never be another two days like it. Apart from next and , that is.
Continue reading "The journey to Paris begins..."
- Ben Dirs
- 6 Oct 07, 07:26 PM
Marseille - More bad news for those who have been complaining about us wasting their licence fee for the last five weeks: 鈥nd we鈥檙e going with them!
Not even as I weaved my way through the puddles of sick and empty beer glasses that littered Marseille鈥檚 Old Port at 6am on Saturday did I think were going to beat Australia.
Continue reading "England spark Marseille party"
- 大象传媒 Sport Rugby
- 6 Oct 07, 05:38 PM
Marseille - Tom and Ben here, together in one blog. Here are our player ratings for England's quarter-final against Australia. Tom's rated England and Ben, Australia.
Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts!
Continue reading "England v Australia player ratings"
- Ben Dirs
- 4 Oct 07, 09:54 AM
Menton, Cote d'Azur - I have to be honest, I鈥檓 not really into visiting graves. As my nan used to say, you鈥檙e a long time toes-up - what鈥檚 the point in hanging about with dead people while you鈥檙e still alive?
But I made an exception for William Webb Ellis, the man often credited with inventing rugby union and without whom this magnificent trip of ours may never have happened.
The Webbler lies in the in Menton, a resort nestled between Monaco and the Italian border.
The former pupil of Rugby School spent the last six months of his life trying to recover from TB in the dry Mediterranean air, although, given some of the gradients in this town, he might have been better off in Holland.
Continue reading "A toast to William Webb Ellis"
- Ben Dirs
- 2 Oct 07, 04:25 PM
Marseille - Down at Australia HQ in 鈥檚 Old Port, could only have looked more relaxed had they been receiving facials while fielding questions from the floor.
A slight murmur went up when I asked George Smith if he agreed with Australia Rugby Union chief executive John O鈥橬eill鈥檚 comments that all of his countrymen 鈥渉ate England鈥.
Continue reading "Old Port, old rivals"
- Ben Dirs
- 1 Oct 07, 10:43 AM
To lose one Six Nations side before the quarter-finals of a World Cup is unfortunate. To lose three just goes to show how stagnant and outmoded northern hemisphere rugby has become.
Some claim this tournament has proved that rugby runs stronger and deeper than ever before, with and cited as prime examples.
I don鈥檛 go for that. After all, the All Blacks and Australia have been gubbing the minnows at this World Cup just as they always have done.
I hesitate to pick on the Scots 鈥 at least they managed to scrape through their group - but it was our misfortune to witness which was the rugby equivalent of a wet weekend in Prestatyn with only a stack of LPs for company.
Continue reading "Northern exposure leaves Dirsy depressed"
- Ben Dirs
- 27 Sep 07, 12:35 PM
St Etienne - Those of you who have been complaining about us wasting your hard-earned cash for the last three weeks will be delighted to know that we awoke this morning in an industrial estate to the tune of hailstones ricocheting off the roof of The Bloggernaut.
And as we weaved our way through the breathtaking Rhone Valley on Wednesday, , comparisons with the west coast of Ireland became irresistible. Marseille this isn鈥檛.
Continue reading "The glamour of the World Cup"
- Ben Dirs
- 24 Sep 07, 10:25 AM
Montpellier - I鈥檇 heard was a bit on the grim side, so when snaked round one last mountain bend to reveal the salty old Madam in all its glory, I was more than a mite surprised.
Stick a giant statue of Chrissy Waddle, arms outstretched, on one of the hills overlooking France鈥檚 second city, and you鈥檇 have a pretty close approximation of Rio.
The local legend and shambling old step-over merchant even had a similar haircut to Jesus, although I鈥檓 sure the son of God would have baulked at the idea of luminous socks.
So cocky are they about the weather in Marseille that they鈥檝e only bothered putting a roof over one of the stands, and it was another rip-roaring evening on Saturday as we watched .
Continue reading "Salty old madam puts on a show"
- Ben Dirs
- 21 Sep 07, 01:12 PM
La Ciotat - Namibia may not be the most talented team at this World Cup but I鈥檇 wager they have one of the cosiest set-ups.
Situated in the town of , 20km from Marseille, their hotel has its toes dipped in the Med and is the sort of idyllic little place you鈥檇 plump for if you wanted to keep a mistress sweet.
Contrast this with Ireland鈥檚 HQ, a business hotel on the outskirts of and, if are to be believed, the scene of some disquiet.
Continue reading "Up close and personal with Namibia"
- Ben Dirs
- 18 Sep 07, 09:25 AM
Aix-en-Provence - 鈥淏en, France at this time of year is like a 35-year-old woman 鈥 blooming and ready for anything.鈥
An Englishman says that to you, and you laugh in his face. Manu, owner of the Web Bar in , says it to you and you want to grab him by the cheeks and plant a big kiss on his forehead.
Aaah, Saint-Emilion. Aaah, 35-year-old women. Add a couple of bottles of the local Grand Cru and an eggshell blue sky and you鈥檝e pretty much got the ingredients for the perfect afternoon.
Continue reading "French girls and heart Aix"
- Ben Dirs
- 14 Sep 07, 12:57 PM
Bordeaux - When you鈥檙e down and troubled, and you need some love and care, go out and have a few scoops with the Irish in Bordeaux. You鈥檙e likely to get absolutely rubbered and forget about all the bad things that have happened.
Not me of course. I was nursing a Guinness in The Connemara thinking up possibly the worst opening paragraph in the history of the written word.
Continue reading "From biscuits to foie gras"
- Ben Dirs
- 12 Sep 07, 12:09 PM
Condom, France - I swear on everything that is dear to me that we did not plan to end up in last night.
The idea was to stop off in on the way to Toulouse, but the lack of a campsite meant we had to push on a few extra miles and the next decent-sized town happened to be what the French might refer to as capote anglaise.
We resisted taking a hilarious picture of one of us sniggering under a Condom road sign, but it does mean we will have to put our snail eating contest on the backburner for a couple of weeks.
Continue reading "Cognac and raw pasta on the menu"
- Ben Dirs
- 9 Sep 07, 03:52 PM
Nantes
Wales recovered from a half-time deficit to record a at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
I was at the stadium to see the match, and here's how I rated each individual player's performance. Let me know what you make of my marks and add your own thoughts.
Continue reading "Wales player ratings"
- Ben Dirs
- 8 Sep 07, 01:33 PM
- As far as I鈥檓 concerned, last night鈥檚 biggest revelation wasn鈥檛 that France have got no hope of winning the World Cup, but that French youths drink and rose rather than cans of Stella.
It鈥檚 depressing to think that even France鈥檚 chavs are more sophisticated than ours, and even more depressing to think that Argentina might have naused up the whole tournament with their .
Although we had planned to be in Nantes by now, Tom and I watched the match in Angers, a pretty (are any French towns not pretty?) town in the Loire Valley.
Continue reading "Look back in Angers"
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