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Saying it in style (6)

• Alastair Hignell
• 5 Sep 07, 11:07 AM

Versailles

It is not every day that England hold media briefings in council offices.

Mind you, not every council office can compare with those in . Beneath three massive chandeliers, in a vast room decorated with huge paintings, lashings of gilt and ornate furniture, England head coach Brian Ashton produced some exquisite Lancastrian Franglais in response to a florid welcome by local dignitaries, before handing down his .

If the backdrop was bizarre, so was the attendance. It appeared that all council workers above a certain rank had been invited to the press conference- there were certainly more suits and stilettos than the fourth estate get to see in a month of Sundays- and the grub wasn't bad either.

Champagne, canapes and petit fours were proffered by white jacketed waiters. Sandwiches - crust is cut off, of course - were delicately arranged on silver platters on damask tablecloths. All in all, it was very civilised - and very French.

Or so I was told. I was tucked away behind a screen in the main room-makeshift sound proofing, don't you know - and getting the lowdown on the injury that laid our low. By the time I had finished interviewing Brian Ashton, Phil Vickery, Lawrence Dallaglio, Mike Catt, , Jamie Noon, and Matt Tait for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 5live, all the champagne had been quaffed, the canapes cleared away and the tables stacked.

All that was left to eat was a leftover baguette. England were taking no chances with the hors d’oeuvres and had provided a packed lunch for the players. As always, we journalists were just happy with the crumbs from the table.

Still, the sun was shining as I made back my way back to our considerably less opulent hotel. And I couldn't help noticing, amongst all the window displays promoting the Rugby World Cup in this most affluent of suburbs, an advert in a chocolatiers window offering a box of handcrafted commemorative chocolates for a mere 20 quid. Perhaps we can have a whip round!

Alastair Hignell is a former England rugby international who commentates on rugby union for Radio 5 Live. He is covering England at the World Cup. 5 Live's full broadcast schedule is here.

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