Nantes isn’t natural rugby territory but they’re trying! Gritty Brittany city was once France’s largest port and a centre for shipbuilding, with Ireland’s fans enjoying the sights ahead of their win over Tonga
This is not rugby country. But like our own dear island, it is an attempt.
Flags with the World Cup colors hang throughout the city. There is a fan zone, enthusiastic volunteers and an enthusiasm to connect with visitors in the city this weekend.
But Nantes is a football city, with a team well established in Ligue 1, and there isn’t much of a rugby hinterland in these parts.
None of that really matters, and it certainly didn’t bother the owners of bars, restaurants and cafes who were doing a booming trade from Friday and throughout the weekend.
Players often talk about the challenges that come with a night kick-off, involving killing all day and challenges around when and what to eat.
Nantes is not a natural rugby ground, but the Irish supporters were warmly welcomed
A crowd gathers outside the Stade de la Beaujoire ahead of Ireland’s match against Tonga
Won’t someone think about the fans in these situations?
From early Saturday morning, Irish supporters spread out across the city, sightseeing or wandering aimlessly in the persistent drizzle that had replaced the baking heat of the previous days.
The supporters’ village was still being finished, so instead Irish visitors were drawn to Les Machines de l’Ile, a strange and fascinating attraction built on the city’s shipbuilding past.
Nantes is built on the Loire River and was traditionally seen as part of Brittany.
In the 17th century it grew into France’s largest port and played a central role in the Atlantic slave trade.
After the French Revolution, the country lost its position of poisonous importance, but in the mid-nineteenth century it experienced a revival as an industrial power.
And crucial to this was the Ile de Nantes, an island in the Loire, connected to the city on either side by a series of ten bridges.
It was the heart of the city’s shipbuilding industry until the 1980s, but fell into such a state of neglect in the twenty years that followed that it became a no-go area.
The local passion is football, with Nantes being an established Ligue 1 team
But rugby took over for a day as Ireland defeated Tonga 59-16 to record their second win
From 2007 onwards a transformation began that now results in Les Machines de l’Ile, a series of fantastic mechanical constructions built from the wrecks of abandoned industry.
It is one of the city’s most striking landmarks and has attracted the interest of many Irish visitors.
The star of the show is a huge mechanical elephant that strutted around with delighted visitors, while a handful of green jerseys were part of the transport.
The project is being celebrated as a great cultural resurrection, but it is also a reminder of that rougher maritime past, and traces of it are still visible today.
This is a university town and the center is bright and busy, but some areas around the river still look worn.
But taps fill the air, indicating a more extensive renovation is taking place.
One feature of this city that is guaranteed to draw admiring glances from Irish visitors is the functioning public transport system and light rail lines that cross Nantes.
Johnny Sexton became Ireland’s record points scorer in the win against Tonga
Sexton (left) led by example after Ireland’s fourth try and claimed a bonus point
They are free to all users on weekends, a brilliantly prescient decision made in 2021, during the pandemic. Smaller French towns and cities have gone further to introduce free public transport.
The aim is to improve accessibility and at the same time reduce car use, with all the environmental benefits that entails.
It is environmental action, driven by the authorities, of a direct, practical and immediately effective nature. But it is also entirely dependent on the presence of a functioning system in the first place, and that is of course where an Irish initiative would struggle.
When these wise decisions were made, they did not take into account weekends with thousands of enthusiastic visitors.
The demand would put a strain on the best-functioning light rail system, but there was good spirits.
The Irish support was easy to spot in the city in the hours before kick-off, and not just in their green shirts. The undeniable awkwardness of a group of middle-aged men trying to fill the day until they can start drinking and go to the game is a sight to behold.
Once Tadhg Beirne got over it, the destiny of victory, and its nature, was inevitable
There were occasional family visits for the game, and many young men with questionable mustaches and haircuts, like Mack Hansen.
Their support is an expensive treat, and it’s no wonder Andy Farrell and his players are so keen to include them in this journey.
The adventure moves to Paris next week, and Ireland’s remaining matches, both in the pool and beyond, will be played there.
Plenty of time to claim it in the name of rugby country.