Right, so the Scotland versus France rugby game was on. Always a fixture I look out for, you know? Proper Six Nations stuff. Got myself settled, ready for the usual rollercoaster these two teams seem to provide.
I remember thinking about the build-up. You always sort of hope, especially if you lean towards Scotland, but France, they just have that… flair, sometimes unpredictable, sometimes brilliant. Makes you nervous just watching them warm up.
Thinking Back
Watching them line up for the anthems got me thinking back, actually. Years ago, must be nearly ten years now, me and a couple of mates decided we’d actually go see this fixture live. It was in Edinburgh that year. Booked everything months in advance – flights, a cheap little place to stay, even managed to snag match tickets, which wasn’t easy.
We were buzzing for weeks. Planned the pubs we’d hit before the game, the whole thing. It was gonna be epic. Then, the week before? Chaos.
- First, Dave, one of the lads, his work suddenly said he couldn’t have the time off. Some emergency project landed on his desk. He was gutted.
- Then, checking the weather forecast – looked like the worst storm in years was heading straight for Scotland. Flights looked dodgy.
- The final nail? I went to check the confirmation email for our accommodation, just to print the details, and realised I’d booked it for the wrong weekend. Yep. Booked it for the weekend after the match. Absolute rookie mistake.
Tried desperately to change it, but everything was booked solid because of the game. Flights were getting cancelled left, right, and centre because of the incoming storm anyway. The whole grand plan just fell apart, bit by bit. We ended up watching the match in our local pub, feeling pretty stupid, while Edinburgh apparently got battered by wind and rain.
Lesson Learned? Maybe?
It just reminded me, watching this latest game unfold, you can plan all you want, have all the hope, think you know how things will go. But then life, or a French counter-attack out of nowhere, just throws a spanner in the works. You can’t control everything. That trip was a wash-out before we even left the ground, much like some of Scotland’s chances over the years when facing those French teams.
Still watched the whole game, mind you. You always do. But yeah, that disastrous trip plan came flooding back. Funny how your brain connects things, isn’t it?
