1. The south of France is quite warm in the summer time. Make sure you bring the Factor 50, Paulie
O’Connell is the most typical looking Irish man while on holidays.
2. The Toulon lads won’t know all the words to ‘Stand Up and Fight’
It might take a while before it catches on.
3. Keep an eye out for Jamie Cudmore
Cudmore, who had an almighty scrap with O’Connell in 2008, plays for Toulon’s main rivals Clermont
4. You can open a vineyard and become the coolest rugby player on the planet
Follow Andrea Pirlo’s lead.
5. The average price of a pint is €5.90
The Guinness won’t be as good, and won’t be anywhere near as cheap.
6. They’re more well known for their tillage farming than their dairy farming in France
He won’t get the chance to appear in too many French milk adverts
7. A pair of gumshields is a necessity for the sometimes ‘rugged’ French club game
The likes of Bayonne are known for their propensity to rough up the opposition.
Bonjour Paul! !!!
That’s Stade Francais “against” USAP
exactly!
An epic brawl at Stade Mayol i couldn’t recommend highly enough: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bQDSHRdC-Wg
Those were the days
He has a chance of winning Champions Cups now again.
Moving to a big club that can win silverware was always going to be too big a chance for POC to turn down at the end of his career.
I was not happy to witness this. Paulie, however, has earned his ginormous paycheck, so I will respect his decision.
I just hope he whips some of those yahoos (Jocelino Suta, anyone?) into rough shape.
How can u begrudge Paulie the move. Honestly
hello Conor,
Suta – apart from his stupid chokehold on Strauss, and he definitely should’ve been carded/cited for that, unlike Williams – doesn’t have a history of violence. He’s not anywhere near the likes of Cudmore, Papé or early days Bakkies. Toulon are amongst the most disciplined sides in Europe. Discipline has always been Laporte’s credo
I’m not begrudging Paulie Ian. I know full well over the last number of years what a servant he has been. But my only disappointment is that he is moving to a team that I absolutely despise.
Merci beaucoup Elmer.
But remember, what Suta did can serve as a starting point for a chain of incidents committed by the same player. Just ask Dylan Hartley, because he started somewhere.
I agree with u there. Jesus if Toulan were lacking Leadership in dressing room they won’t be now
will he still play fir ireland
Conor,
Bernie already dropped him for the ECC Final after that MMA style choke-hold. Another reckless mistake and he’d drop him for a long long time. Despite his outrageous haircut, Suta’s a cool guy, and he’s 33 btw