Eden Park Dublin 14

Our history – a story of fun-loving flair

Three Racing players took part in the very first international rugby match in France, against New Zealand in 1906. In 1987 Eden Park’s founder Franck Mesnel himself played at the very first Rugby World Cup Final against the All Blacks at the Eden Park Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, after also playing his first two selections against the All Blacks in France.

The lads hit upon the bowtie during a dinner, when they were trying to think of a fitting accessory to represent the spirit of their team. Pink was already their trademark colour (with the Pink Panther for team mascot), so they had to find a festive and classy emblem to symbolise the exceptional evening. Someone came up with the idea of wearing a bowtie with a tuxedo. The team loved it, and said it should be pink for the added fun factor – a perfect illustration of the squad’s Parisian cheekiness.
One week later, on the Racing pitch at Colombes, all the backs in the squad decided to celebrate the bicentenary of the French Revolution in their own way. For their match against Le Boucau, they arrived on the pitch wearing long striped shorts in the revolutionary colours of blue, white and red, and sporting Phrygian caps, the headgear that symbolises the French Revolution.

Throughout those years, the Showbizz players consistently attached great importance to French elegance, even on the field – they turned up their collars, always kept their socks pulled up high, sometimes lengthened their shorts, looked after their shoes and jazzed them up with white laces. This attitude was part and parcel of the stringent standards they insisted on upholding, both in sport and in their appearance.