Trevor Brennan's Diary: The clock is ticking towards tomorrow's match with Northampton
Where do I start? It's been two months since the last column. If I was to write everything that's happened since then I could fill a book. Since we beat Llanelli in our last Heineken European Cup pool game at home, we've played seven championship games, winning four at home and losing three narrowly away.
Classic French form, you might say.
In our most recent game, at home to Brive last Friday, we won 71-3. We produced some of the best rugby we've played all season. Before the game the club had a massive parade to celebrate Fabien Pelous winning his 100th cap during the Six Nations and it was like everyone lifted their game to commemorate his achievement.
During yesterday's video session Guy Noves said it was great for him as a coach to see a Toulouse team play well for two halves and not just one. Five tries scored in each half and an influx of all subs, including myself at half time, in the second half.
Freddy Michalak is in such good form it's ridiculous. It's mad. Well, I think so anyway. He finds gaps that just aren't there. Great feet. He's running flat out and he can stop, throw a dummy, then sprint again and just leave defences standing.
During the Six Nations we had just two weeks off, although I didn't play against Biarritz due to a calf strain I had picked up in training. After that game I met up with Gareth Thomas, who'd driven down to the macth with his wife Gemma. When we went into the dressingroom afterwards, it was the first time the lads had seen Alfie since Wales' incredible comeback against France a week earlier when he'd fractured his thumb in five places. The slagging broke the dull atmosphere which you usually have in a dressingroom after a defeat.
Pelous called him a few names for beating France in Paris and Alfie responded by saying "the game lasts for 80 minutes, boys" and "Wales for the Grand Slam".
I drove Gareth's car back to Toulouse as I had an early start the next morning for a week back in Ireland. I was picked up by my friend Alan and his father and we headed off to Armagh. I had given a Toulouse jersey to Al's cousin, Dessie Graham, who is involved in the Alzheimer's Society. The jersey was being auctioned off in the Armagh Pigeon Club, which Dessie is president of, and which ground shares with Armagh Rugby Club.
Perhaps people don't go out in Belfast on Sunday nights, or maybe it was because Trevor Brennan was there, but about 10 people turned up, most of them being first-team players from Armagh rugby club. A bash for my ego.
On the Thursday I had a rendezvous with 10 French supporters. This weekend it was my Dublin (sorry Ronnie Drew). I was very proud bringing my French friends around my capital city, showing them the spire, walking over O'Connell Bridge, and you know what they say about the Fair City, and the girls being so pretty (being married, I was only looking). The language barrier for my French friends was not a huge hindrance. In fact I would say it was to their advantage.
En route to the Guinness Hop Store, I met a few familiar faces on Meath Street and stopped to chat to a few people on the stalls who I once sold packaging to. With the views and the Guinness, we stayed in the Hop Store longer than we should have. Thanks Mary from Campbells for the tickets!
We ended that night listening to some trad music in a pub in Temple Bar, which was heaving with about 80 per cent French people. A sing-song started, with Basque songs and La Marseillaise.
On the Friday I finished off an interview with TV3 in Kielys where I met mes amis francais. I had passes already organised through my sister-in-law Jacinta for the Whiskey Corner but Pat made the call to the manager Philippe anyway, whose company, Ricard, have bought over Jameson's Irish Whiskey.
So after the tour, and some whiskey tasting, we sat down for lunch, 11 of us at one table and about 35 people from Ricard at another table. Smoked salmon followed by Irish stew, and great hospitality. That evening we met up with some old friends, Victor Costello, Shane Horgan and Gordon D'Arcy, and we all mixed well. It was proving a tough old weekend.
John Baker, the man responsible for me signing with Toulouse, had some breakfast speaking engagements for me in return for two West Stand tickets.
It was a great buzz, meeting stewards from my days playing with Ireland, hearing shouts from some old friends like Del Boy and Robbie Lyons from Mary's.
Well, Ireland lost and the rest is history. After the game I had a Q&A with Des Cahill in the old Lansdowne pavilion for Permanent TSB. I'd asked a few of the Toulouse lads, Pelous, Freddy and William Servat to come back to Kielys that night and as it happened they brought most of the French team with them. As Pat said to me at one point: "Money couldn't buy this." Thanks to him and all the staff for a great weekend.
I had my mother and her cousin Shiela over on the weekend Ireland were playing Wales. As I was obliged to make a trip to Lourdes on the Saturday, we stopped off at Servat's father's house in Sallies du Salat to watch the game. After the match we headed off to the Hotellerie de Centre in the middle of the village where we sat down to a fantastic four-course meal.
Once again Monsieur and Madame Hubert refused to accept any payment. French hospitality at its best. I even managed to eat frog's legs for the first time in my three years out here. I couldn't believe it. A big silver platter for everyone to share, done in a lovely butter and garlic sauce. Once you take off the feet and the fins, they look like smaller versions of chicken wings.
We trained in the football ground, Le Stadium, yesterday. Nobody knows what the team is to play Northampton. The coach has been using the squad and making sure all the subs have been getting plenty of match time. But as we won our last match by 70-odd points, most guys expect him to stick with a winning team.
I applied for 150 tickets, as I have 30 friends and family coming over, as well as about 90 Munster fans who are going to take in our game and travel down to San Sebastian on Saturday. Toulouse flags are fluttering everywhere. Billboards and bus stop signs are all about the game. This is the third year in a row we've had a home quarter-finals at Le Stadium and there's a great excitement around town.
It should be a cracking weekend of rugby. Three French teams, three English and two Irish. Because the stakes are so high, I think that makes the games harder to call. But there's a good feeling in the camp, and confidence is high. We realise that European competition is different from the French championship, and everyone is on their guard.
Trevor Brennan's regular Heineken Cup column can be read on the ERC website, which is at www.ercrugby.com
(In an interview with Gerry Thornley).
