Springbok serenity
The humidity of Provence and Nouvelle-Aquitaine has made way for a more temperate Île-de-France and its centre, Paris. It reduces laundry days and the need to rehydrate.
The Boks, though, have opted to base themselves so far outside Paris, they may well have their own micro-climate. They are on a golf resort and spa that purportedly is “between refinement and serenity, the hotel is an invitation to well-being.
“You will love contemplating the green landscape directly from your bed, listening to the birdsong on your private terrace or simply enjoying an unforgettable moment of relaxation at the spa.”
Sounds like just the place to prepare for the badlands of northern Paris for their clash against Ireland on Saturday night.
Between a dance flik and a horror
The Boks, however, have a long history of staying in locations hard to reach by public transport. The Class of ’02 started their disastrous end-of-year tour under Rudolf Straeuli in a hotel attached to a championship golf course 42km outside Marseille. The nearest town was 4km away.
Allister Coetzee’s team also went the golf resort route in 2016, well out of bounds of Christchurch’s city limits. They looked so tired by the time they got to the game they shipped 41 points.
In the 2019 World Cup the Boks prepared for their clash against Italy in Shizuoka in Omaezaki 57km away. That hillside hotel was surrounded by trees and a golf course that some in the travelling media pack likened to the Catskill resort in the 1987 box office hit Dirty Dancing, while others saw something more sinister and a closer resemblance to the Overlook Hotel in cult horror The Shining.
Haughty couture
Some Bok fans are still in a froth over their team having to wear alternative jerseys at this World Cup. Social media has been awash with many complaints about the break with tradition and how the "hyper-jade" alternative jersey used for the match against Scotland does not accurately reflect the team’s heritage. Some disparaged the design, whether the colour or the patterns.
Who knew Bok fans could be so sartorially savvy, that they can make a judgment of what’s haute and what’s not? If fans are going to complain about what their team will be wearing they might as well do it when their team is in France with some spilling their Lagerfeld, while others Chanel-ed their energy on social media in the hope the jersey would be shown the Dior.
It is perhaps worth considering the All Blacks, had they been pressed into as many jersey changes, may well have to be called something else by the time this tournament is over.
To be fair, over the last while there have been times where they’ve been unrecognisable.
Boks graze on greens
Bok Voyage last week had to dig up the dirt about what ends up on the Springboks’ plate. They’ve all stuck to the programme and have increased their vegetable intake since the team dietician came on board a few years ago.
As it turns out, they have developed other healthy habits like downing a smoothie as part of a 9.30pm snack on the eve of their games. Their often Willie-fied fullback who shares a name with a sparkling wine maker has again been as smooth with his try assists as he’s been making the team’s smoothies. He apparently is responsible for the mid-evening energy boosting concoction that helps fuel the team on match day.
Not so steady Eddie
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has been under the cosh and the pressure intensified after his team lost to Fiji last weekend. Jones’s second stint as Wallabies coach is turning into a bit of a nightmare. “I have had enough time to look at it. I woke up in the morning hoping the result was different, but it was still the same.”
Jones was jeered after his team’s defeat but took it on the chin. “After that I probably deserved more, mate. They should be throwing baguettes, croissants at me. I deserve whatever I get.”
Why Gontineac didn’t ‘Remain Here’
Romania centre Taylor Gontineac had an interesting explanation about how his parents met. “My mother is South African, my father is Romanian, and I’m born in France. They met after the match between Romania and South Africa at the World Cup in 1995, and my father went to play in France, so I was born and raised here in France,” Gontineac explained.
Keeping it briefs
“Ronaldo is my favourite player. I wear his boxers and I dress like him. And I thought why not do his celebration as well,” explained Wales winger Louis Rees-Zammit after he mimicked the chiseled footballer’s wide stance celebration against Portugal. Bok Voyage probably needs to point out Reece-Zammit isn’t in possession of the Madeira-born footballer’s actual underwear but items from his range.
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