The return to school not quite digested, Toulouse, like the rest of France, will be able to forget itself in front of rugby during the next two months, as long as the Blues put their effort into it. The whole city is preparing for the Rugby World Cup which starts this Friday with the highly anticipated France-New Zealand match. The streets gradually bear the colors of the competing teams, the shops are decorated with sports and the bars take out pennants proudly bearing blue, white and red. A month in the French rugby capital where players and supporters will meet, since the Stadium will host five matches between September 8 and October 8.
Everyone already knows where they will watch this first meeting: in the largest fan-zone in France, meadow of filters, on their sofa, among friends, or in front of a good barbecue, it doesn’t matter, but above all with a pint in hand in one of the numerous pubs in Toulouse, sanctuary for sporting events.
“We are ready, we have room for everyone. “. At the Dubliners Irish pub, near the Toulouse Stadium, the whole team is preparing for the event. Finally, one more sporting competition for the oldest Irish pub in the city, which has been going on for 33 years. For the occasion, Jérémie Loison, the manager of the historic pub bet on visibility. A giant two-meter screen was installed inside as well as a TV outside, not to mention the three fixed screens all year round. “The whole pub is gridded. The goal is that customers always find a place in front of the game. No matter where they sit, they will be able to access the images”
Fifteen shooters to celebrate the match
Apart from broadcasting the meetings, the pub has also invested in local beers. “As we hope to have foreign supporters, we said to ourselves that this was an opportunity to show the good things about our region! “. As for the liters of beers which will be drawn in abundance from this Friday, the manager prefers to observe before blowing up the order book: “We do not yet know the potential craze of this World Cup, we remain in the vagueness for the moment, we are therefore on the usual back-to-school stocks,” adds Jérémie, a few hours before the big evening. Customers can still be reassured: “We have fifteen printers! The cellar is full and the suppliers have their warehouses full. We have some under our belt and we are ready.”
“Inventories are much higher than usual”
The Toulouse pubs of the Wells & Co group have also been well organized to serve rugby fans. From the Tower of London, through Londontown, The George and Dragons and The Danu, the favorite “bistros” for toasting while watching a match are on tap. “Beer stocks are much higher than usual. The cellar is full and the team is complete. We also take extras that we know well for big matches. It’s mainly to help us in terms of opening hours, as we will open much earlier on certain days,” explains the Londontown assistant manager.
In the heart of the Carmes, the staff is all excited before kick-off. A TV will be placed outside as well as a printer. Inside, five TVs and thirteen printers await customers. “We also planned to give away gifts and goodies for the occasion. To mark the occasion,” adds the Englishman.
Those who are operational are also the bartenders at Maison Good. And for good reason, if this popular restaurant-bar in the Pink City does not specialize in sporting events as it does in pubs, the establishment still belongs to Romain Ntamack. “We ordered more stock than usual, especially beer,” laughs Gaëtan Brau, one of the four managers. Maison Good will broadcast the match and will leave room for the party for more than 400 customers, even if the boss, who is absent from the World Cup, may not really want to show up.