From France to Fendalton: A new set of coaching goals

By New Year’s Eve, we had disconnected the television at the house in Paris, so I had to slip next door to a pub-restaurant I knew prided itself on multi-screen sports. Montpellier-Brive was on one channel and off in the corner, with a few quiet seats underneath it was coverage of Racing 92’s trip down to Oyonnax.

The strangest bit was standing there watching the plays and all the players I was a central part of a week earlier. Marc Andreu got the decisive intercept try via something we have been working on all season. When it was done, I went back home to the packing.

Life goes on. A week earlier, Racing had opened the U Arena with a shamrock embroidered on their shorts. There was a little memento of my last game sewn into the jersey. There was a bit of planning went into recognising an Irish man’s departure on a night that should have been all about a new stadium opening.