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Volunteer Rob shares his RWC experience thanks to sportsbreaks.com

After a wonderful send off from our Musselburgh club, volunteer Rob Risien tells us about his experiences and impressions of attending a key match at the 2023 Rugby World Cup courtesy of sportsbreaks.com.

Rob arrived in Paris on Saturday 7^th October for the much heralded Ireland vs Scotland game. Hope was high for Scottish fans but the mountain to be climbed was insurmountable as we know from the final score. But that didn’t stop Rob having the time of his life. After checking in at the Pullman Hotel in the Montparnasse district of Paris Rob met up with the ‘team’ from Musselburgh Rugby Club. Here’s what Rob had to say.

Rob Risien, Innes Stewart and Brian Jardine Musselburgh Rugby Club President

“I met a group of 16 of the Musselburgh Club's supporters prior to the match and went with them to the game, although we were all spread round various parts of the ground which has an 80,000 capacity. The attendance on the night was 78,500. I reckon that the Irish fans outnumbered the Scots by 4 to 1. Which seems about right given the number of green jerseys I saw."

"The atmosphere was electric and the rendition of the anthems was spine tingling!! The stadium itself had great facilities for refreshments in all parts of the ground.

I was seated directly behind the goals 3 rows from the front at the end where Ireland scored their first half tries!! I did also see both of Scotland's tries in the second half.

The Irish team merit their ranking as number 1 in the world and the quarter final against New Zealand will be an epic." (and wasn’t it just)

For Scotland the step up was too much and with a couple of injuries early on their task became impossible.

As a "Sports Geek" I am always interested to see the professionals going through routines in the warmup (Football, Rugby, Golf) and I got to see Scotland close up. They may have been well beaten but no one can question their ability, the players skill with the ball in hand and the kicking was stunning. You don't get that good without putting in long hard hours of practice.

I had the Sunday to myself before returning on Monday. I visited the fanzone at the Place de la Concorde and then boarded the "The Big Red Bus" for a trip round all the sites in Paris to see the city in a short space of time.

Despite the result I had a fantastic time and will always be grateful for a once in a life time opportunity.”