Sweltering 34-degree heat with high humidity seemed to do little to stop Ireland showing their might with a massive win at Stade de Bordeaux on Saturday.
But it was a different experience for many of the fans. The problems started as a sea of green took to marching by foot, e-scooters, bicycles, bus, car and taxis to fill 41,173 of the 42,115-seater stadium – Romanian fans were hugely outnumbered – with trams struggling to offer capacity for the 7km journey to the stadium on the periphery of the French city.
Maura Concannon and fiance Scott Cribben, who live in Maynooth, Co Kildare, decided to walk to the stadium grounds and, despite the heat, enjoyed the atmosphere. Adrian Herlihy from Inishbofin island in Co Galway and Pat Moore who lives in Hospital, Co Limerick, resorted to e-scooters to speed their journey.
Mr Herlihy explained that they travelled out to Bordeaux to “hopefully watch Ireland progress through the stages of the rugby. We’ll be going to the Ireland vs Scotland game next and hopefully to the semi-final if Ireland get there.”
On arrival, long queues to enter the stadium grounds awaited. For more than two hours prior to the match, people pilled into the tented food and drink area seeking shade from the blistering heat as lines formed up to an hour before kickoff.
Fans who got in found water in very short supply at many of the drinks counters.
Bob Granger from New Ross, Co Wexford, queued for 45 minutes in an attempt to get water but gave up five minutes into the second half. “It was madness, the lines of people trying to get drinks and food were just not moving. The counter staff just didn’t seem to be able to cope with the volume of fans.
“We were lucky earlier as we ensured we got some water and drinks the minute we got into the stadium but that was an hour before the start of the game.”
Another fan, Joshua Smyth, explained that many of his group sitting in the direct sunlight were “forced to get out of their seats for a time” and stand in the shade to get some relief from the heat and humidity.
Even for French friends Jules Chenia and Julian Juhncar, both from just outside Bordeaux, who explained that they “love everything about Ireland and rugby”, the weather was too hot.
“While it was a great easy win for Ireland, it was tough on the team playing in that heat. It normally is around 26 degrees here at this time of the year. I think the organisation of the trams and buses out to the stadium were a bit out of touch due to the number of fans travelling here.
“There should have been many more buses and extra carriages on trams. We gave up trying to get on the trams as they were dangerously packed so we are walking the whole way out to the stadium,” they said.
The way back was not much better. Making several attempts to pack into the numerous dangerously filled trams back to town were Michelle Kennedy from New Ross, Co Wexford, and her husband Vincent. Passing off the panic of not being able to get on, she remained upbeat and wanted to focus on Ireland’s games in the tournament.
“Ireland are on top of their game right now,” she said. Despite the difficulties, she and her husband Vincent plan to travel over and back to France for the Irish side’s matches.