Ah the famous French welcome! Well, fortunately, Ian Foster does not hold grudges and will return to France with pleasure, perhaps even next summer to support his daughter who can play in the Paris Olympics with the New Zealand football team. But the now ex-All Blacks coach did not really appreciate the reception conditions for his team before the opening match of the Rugby World Cup at the Stade de France in early September.
The Pacific selection had been sent to a hotel in Créteil (Val-de-Marne), far, very far, very, very far from the Dyonisian enclosure (around twenty kilometers). “It was a strange place to put us,” Foster confided in an interview with The Team. The Paris region has no shortage of more favorable places, closer to the stadium. » But, beyond the distance, it was above all the little glitches in the hotel that annoyed the technician.
No reason to explain the defeat
“We had problems with the air conditioning not working. It was 36°C, and it felt like there were ten more people inside. We were running out of air. Every time a toaster was turned on, people went off in the establishment. It was not the ideal place to prepare for a World Cup opening match. »
But, for Ian Foster, these housing conditions do not explain his team’s defeat against the XV of France (27-13). And he even wanted to thank the hotel staff, “who were great. We felt they were doing their best to help us. »