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A grand day out

7th October 2007 by Helena 5 Comments  

JonnyWhen my husband asked me if I wanted to come to Marseille to see England versus Australia I thought two things. One, I’ll see Jonny Wilkinson in the flesh and two, it will be a fun day out, although we will lose.

I first became interested in rugby at university. I had a rugby-playing boyfriend called Otley. I once went with his family to watch him play. I stood on the edge of a frozen field trying to make intelligent conversation through chattering teeth. At one stage Otley’s rather austere Yorkshire born and bred father turned to me and said: “You know absolutely nothing about this game, don’t you?”

He had a point. Then my best friend started going out with Will Carling, just as he started to play for England. He became captain and we learnt (some of) the rules as we watched him, Rob Andrew and Jeremy Guscott with increased interest.

Yesterday though was my first live World Cup game. I didn’t really know what to expect. But what amazed me was how totally passionate I became as soon as I saw our boys on the field. I cannot speak today as I am hoarse from yelling and singing Sweet Chariot. Rupert says he has never known anyone get so enthusiastic about a game of rugby. I think what happened was that there was such passion and determination on the pitch that it rubbed off on me.

I loved every minute of it. Well, apart from the minutes I was thinking we would lose, because those minutes were pure torture. I don’t think I’ve been this stressed since my finals. In fact they were a doddle in comparison. I must have lost half a stone through anxiety. There are worse ways to lose weight.

The feeling of euphoria when we won was overwhelming. And although it was only a quarter final, it was better than when Jonny (and yes, he is EVEN more gorgeous in real life, sadly he failed to notice me despite my custom-made ‘Jonny you can tackle me anytime’ T-shirt) kicked the winning kick in the last World Cup final. There is nothing like being there.

Having said that, any voice I did have left was used to cheer on the French on TV when we got home. When they scored a try Rupert and I screamed so loudly Olivia came rushing downstairs and told us to “be quiet before you wake the whole village up”.

Well done France, a brilliant effort. I’m thrilled for them. But if my voice is back by Saturday I will of course be cheering for England, even if it’s only from my local bar.

Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2007


Filed Under: Sport, blog --> Tagged With: grand

5 thoughts on A grand day out

  • Amber Lee says:
    7th October 2007 at 2:20 pm

    I absolutely adore, 100%, rugby. I was estatic to find out that one of my normal cable channels, here in the States, was carrying the World Cup. Since I lived in NZ for a while, and have only dated Kiwi lads up till recent, my heart and soul belong to the All Blacks. And Richie McCaw. If he wants me he can have me!

    But I have to wag my finger at you supporting the French team! They play so dirty!

  • Wendy says:
    7th October 2007 at 4:10 pm

    I was there too… it was fab… see photos:
    http://www.frenchhelpservices.com/blog

    .. I can’t believe we have to play France now… trying for tickets on Monday.

    Don’t you just love Chabal?

  • helena says:
    7th October 2007 at 8:14 pm

    He is a legend….nice pics, thanks.
    Hx

  • Arthur Burland says:
    8th October 2007 at 12:05 pm

    Wonderful rugby and good news for the Northern Hemisphere.
    But to be a bit unkind & for argumentative puposes: –
    1. Were not the Australians a bit unsporting generally, seems to be part of their temperament? Glad they were bested. They deserved to be.
    2. JW missed 3 penalty kicks – one cannot afford to do that. Is he practising too much?
    3. That French try I would swear was off a forward pass, which the ref and all, missed. They were lucky, but didn’t they do well.
    (Now my daughter will receive a great deal of hassle fron some of her male schoolmates here. They are about as unsporting as the Australians. I presume they get it from their parents.) Arfamo.

  • Amber Lee says:
    10th October 2007 at 7:29 pm

    Arthur, it was, infact, a foward pass! Wayne Barnes needs a good thrashing for his sorry ref skills.

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Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.

Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.

In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group. 

Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.

Bibliography

More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004

Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)

All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006

Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007

So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)

More, More France; Gibson Square 2009

To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)

The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009

Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011

The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016

The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018

The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019

 

 

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