{"id":288960,"date":"2023-09-17T08:36:34","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T08:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=288960"},"modified":"2023-09-17T08:36:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T08:36:34","slug":"nantes-isnt-natural-rugby-territory-but-theyre-trying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/nantes-isnt-natural-rugby-territory-but-theyre-trying\/","title":{"rendered":"Nantes isn&apos;t natural rugby territory but they&apos;re trying!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Nantes isn&#8217;t natural rugby territory but they&#8217;re trying! Gritty Brittany city was once France&#8217;s largest port and a centre for shipbuilding, with Ireland&#8217;s fans enjoying the sights ahead of their win over Tonga<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ireland smashed Tonga 59-16 in their second Rugby World Cup encounter<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The travelling fans found themselves outside France&#8217;s rugby heartlands\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>But Nantes is being transformed with a nod to its industrial heritage\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This isn&#8217;t rugby country. But like our own dear isle, it&#8217;s trying.<\/p>\n<p>There is bunting with the World Cup livery around the city. There&#8217;s a fan zone, enthusiastic volunteers and an eagerness to engage with visitors in town for the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>But Nantes is a soccer city, with a team well established in Ligue 1, and there is not much of a rugby hinterland in these parts.<\/p>\n<p>None of that greatly matters, and it certainly didn&#8217;t bother the owners of bars, restaurants and cafes that did a roaring trade from Friday and through the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Players often speak about the challenges posed by a night-time kick-off, with the whole day to kill and challenges around when and what to eat.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/17\/07\/75522147-12527929-image-a-41_1694930725899.jpg\" height=\"451\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Nantes isn&#8217;t natural rugby territory but there was a warm welcome for Ireland&#8217;s supporters<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/17\/07\/75522131-12527929-image-a-42_1694930742055.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Crowds gather outside the Stade de la Beaujoire ahead of Ireland&#8217;s match against Tonga<\/p>\n<p>Won&#8217;t someone think of the fans in these situations?<\/p>\n<p>From early on Saturday morning, Irish supporters dotted the city, sight-seeing or wandering around aimlessly in the persistent drizzle that had replaced the baking heat of the previous days.<\/p>\n<p>The supporters&#8217; village was still being finished, so instead Irish visitors were drawn to Les Machines de l&#8217;Ile, an odd and engaging attraction built on the city&#8217;s ship-building past.<\/p>\n<p>Nantes is built on the river Loire, and has historically been seen as a part of Brittany.<\/p>\n<p>In the 17th century, it grew to become the largest port in France, and was central in the Atlantic slave trade.<\/p>\n<p>It fell from that position of poisonous importance following the French revolution, but the mid-nineteenth century saw its revival as an industrial force.<\/p>\n<p>And crucial to that was the Ile de Nantes, an island in the Loire, connected to city on either side by a series of ten bridges.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was the heart of the city&#8217;s shipbuilding up to the 1980s, and in the two decades thereafter fell into such a state of neglect that it became a no-go area.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/17\/07\/75522151-12527929-image-a-43_1694930787801.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The local passion is for football with Nantes an established Ligue 1 outfit\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/17\/07\/75522143-12527929-image-a-44_1694930807887.jpg\" height=\"419\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>But rugby took over for a day as Ireland thrashed Tonga 59-16 to record their second win<\/p>\n<p>From 2007, a transformation began that results now in Les Machines de l&#8217;Ile, a series of fantastical mechanical structures built from the wrecks of abandoned industry.<\/p>\n<p>It is one of the city&#8217;s most striking attractions and drew the interest of many Irish visitors.<\/p>\n<p>The star of the show is an enormous mechanical elephant that trundled around carrying delighted visitors, with a handful of green jerseys part of the transport.<\/p>\n<p>The project is celebrated as a great cultural resurrection, but it is also a reminder of that grittier maritime past, and traces of it are still detectable.<\/p>\n<p>This is a university city and the centre is bright and busy, but some of the areas around the river still look careworn.<\/p>\n<p>But cranes fill the sky, suggesting a more extensive renovation is taking place.<\/p>\n<p>One feature of this city guaranteed to draw admiring stares from Irish visitors is a functioning public transport system, and light rail tracks crisscross Nantes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/17\/07\/75512653-12527929-Johnny_Sexton_became_Ireland_s_record_points_scorer_during_the_v-a-45_1694930871998.jpg\" height=\"417\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Johnny Sexton became Ireland&#8217;s record points scorer during the victory against Tonga<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/17\/07\/75512657-12527929-Sexton_left_led_by_example_after_running_in_Ireland_s_fourth_try-a-46_1694930875360.jpg\" height=\"429\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Sexton (left) led by example after running in Ireland&#8217;s fourth try and secured a bonus point<\/p>\n<p>They are free to all users at the weekend, a brilliantly far-sighted decision taken in 2021, during the pandemic. Smaller French towns and cities have gone further in introducing free public transport outright.<\/p>\n<p>The aim is to improve accessibility while reducing private car use, with all the environmental benefits that entails.<\/p>\n<p>It is environmental action driven by the authorities of a direct, practical and instantly effective sort. But it is also entirely dependent on a functioning system being in place in the first place, which of course is where an Irish initiative would struggle.<\/p>\n<p>When these wise decisions were taken, they did not factor in weekends with thousands of enthusiastic visitors.<\/p>\n<p>The demand would tax the highest functioning light-rail system, but good cheer abounded.<\/p>\n<p>The Irish support was easily spotted around the city in the hours before kick-off, and not just by their green shirts. The unmistakeable awkwardness of a group of middle-aged men, tyring to fill the day until they can start drinking and heading to the game, is a sight to behold.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/17\/07\/75512675-12527929-Once_Tadhg_Beirne_got_over_the_destination_of_the_victory_and_it-a-47_1694930878822.jpg\" height=\"372\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Once Tadhg Beirne got over, the destination of the victory, and its nature, was inevitable<\/p>\n<p>There was the occasional family over for the match, and lots of young men with dubious moustaches and haircuts like Mack Hansen.<\/p>\n<p>Their support is an expensive indulgence, and it&#8217;s no wonder that Andy Farrell and his players are so keen to include them in this journey.<\/p>\n<p>The adventure moves to Paris next week, and Ireland&#8217;s remaining games, whether in the pool or beyond, will be played there.<\/p>\n<p>Plenty of time to claim it in the name of rugby country.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12527929\/Nantes-isnt-natural-rugby-territory-theyre-trying-Gritty-Brittany-city-Frances-largest-port-centre-shipbuilding-Irelands-fans-enjoying-sights-ahead-win-Tonga.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Nantes isn&#8217;t natural rugby territory but they&#8217;re trying! Gritty Brittany city was once France&#8217;s largest port and a centre for shipbuilding, with Ireland&#8217;s fans enjoying <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/nantes-isnt-natural-rugby-territory-but-theyre-trying\/\" title=\"Nantes isn&amp;apos;t natural rugby territory but they&amp;apos;re trying!\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288959,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Nantes isn&amp;apos;t natural rugby territory but they&amp;apos;re trying! - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/nantes-isnt-natural-rugby-territory-but-theyre-trying\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nantes isn&amp;apos;t natural rugby territory but they&amp;apos;re trying! - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nantes isn&#8217;t natural rugby territory but they&#8217;re trying! 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