A taste of things to come?

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Martin Moodie

Martin Moodie is the Founder & Chairman of The Moodie Report.

Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)

• Discovering a fresh philosophy in Shenzhen and talking Trinity in Ho Chi Minh City - April 24, 2024
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• Free as a (Kiwi) bird and flying high in Haikou - April 13, 2024

Given his fanatical support of the All Blacks rugby team The Moodie Report Publisher is highly suspicious of all things French at the moment.

In the run-up to Saturday’s big Rugby World Cup quarter-final between two of the tournament’s top sides, I have temporarily avoided all things French, in case of a repeat of the food poisoning that so devastated the All Blacks team of 1995 on the eve of their World Cup final clash with the hosts South Africa.

In true solidarity with the men in black, I have studiously avoided everything gallic, from first growth Bordeaux to foie gras, dining instead on green-lipped mussels and Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. French fries are out, of course and even the French polish for the furniture has been banned from the Moodie household.

Imagine the suspicion then when the knock came on the hotel door here at the Regal Airport in Hong Kong and the porter passed me a parcel, with a French sender’s address. It was from Pernod Ricard Asia’s Commercial Director Asia Duty Free Patrick Castanier, a passionate and vocal supporter of Les Bleus.

Could it be a bomb? Or, worse, a video tape of the 1999 World Cup semi-final between the French and the All Blacks at Twickenham when l’hommes in bleu famously upset the Kiwis?

In fact it was neither…

Inside (pictured above against a suitable backdrop) were two bottles of 2005 Montana Sauvignon Blanc, the fine New Zealand wine now owned by Pernod Ricard. A classy cross-cultural touch… even if it was intended to help me drown my sorrows after the weekend’s match.

The French play rugby the way it was supposed to be played, with flair and skill and passion. May they display all those qualities in abundance at the weekend, but may another New Zealand vintage, this time the one of 2007, prove just a little too good in the end.