Sporting miracles do occasionally happen. And when they do the vivid memories cascade down for years and years. Think of dramatic Six Nations games between Ireland and France, say, and it is impossible not to be mentally transported back a quarter of a century. Baggy cotton jerseys, Irish underdogs and – magnifique! – a young Brian O’Driscoll scoring a hat-trick to beat France 27-25.
Not only was it Ireland’s first win in Paris for 28 years but that evocative mid-March weekend sticks out for a different reason. It also proved to be the final overseas rugby assignment for one of the great oval-ball chroniclers, the Guardian’s own Frank Keating. Frank adored Ireland and its revolving cast of quick-witted rugby characters and that night, once the two of us had finally located our hotel down a tiny street on the Left Bank, we duly raised a glass to the most lustrous of green days.
