Leinster, cooler than ice. Literally.
Monday, December 20, 2010 at 8:51PM ;)
A very cold Lansdowne road before kickoff
There are many things to take away from Leinster's match against ASM Clermont Auvergne on Saturday. The Irish Times's Gerry Thornley summed up the quality of the Rugby rather succinctly "Simply the best performance by an Irish province this season"
While it's nice to have my suspicions about the quality of the match confirmed by a professional sports commentator, my lasting memory will be of the cold. Not the usual Irish issues of wind and rain, this was cold I have rarely experienced in Ireland. According to the Irish Met office, it reached -6 degrees, and while gloves and a hat kept my head and hands warm my choice of footwear left something to be desired. Or maybe I hadn't left the house wearing enough pairs of socks, either way my desire for a post match pint with my Dad and Brother had to be put on ice so that my feet weren't.
A great day for Leinster, and my first trip to the new home of Irish Rugby at Lansdowne Road. Not, you might notice the official name of the new stadium. Despite the rather prominent advertising for the sponsors it will always be Lansdowne road to me.
Upon completion of the South stand at Twickenham the English didn't feel the need to rename the stadium. Upon redevelopment of their respective stadiums, Munster didn't rename Thomond park, Bath didn't rename the Rec, Leicester didn't rename Welford road and Harlequins definitely didn't feel the need to rename the Stoop. When the Welsh Rugby Union tore down the old Cardiff Arms park and built one of the greatest Rugby stadiums I've ever been to, they didn't name it after an insurance company, a manufacturer of sporting goods or an airline. It was named the Millennium stadium, rather fitting for a stadium that saw Welsh Rugby into the new Millennium.
The deal the IRFU struck with the stadiums new sponsor is only for ten years, so in 2020 the home of Irish Rugby may well change name to please our national team's latest sponsor. So for me, and I suspect other fans of Rugby, there will only be one name.
Lansdowne road is dead. Long live Lansdowne road!
