If you were expecting a blow-by-blow account of my trip to Paris, then you will be disappointed. I will say that Paris life was, as I left it 13 years ago, vibrant and engaging.
Apart from the foie gras and the escargot, the good news is that the Waratahs' efforts have been closely monitored and warmly received. The games are viewed overseas by many and the reputation of the defence, forward play and improving backs had preceded my arrival.
The Waratahs have taken no short-cuts in preparing to face the Lions this afternoon.
Reading yesterday about us being "certainties" to win is an uncomfortable claim in a competition that is never decided until the last game has been played.
I have already said on many occasions this year that when the Sharks take on the Chiefs in the last game on May 17, only then will we know the identity of the teams making up the final four.
Today's opponents, the Lions, are enduring a season similar to ours last year. Key players such as Jaque Fourie and Andre Pretorius were lost before the 2008 season started, and then the pain set in. Their head coach, Eugene "Loffie" Eloff, writes a weekly column on the Lions website and his personal pain oozes through despite his renowned enthusiasm.
Loffie has had great success bringing new blood into the South African professional rugby scene.
The Lions have some of the newer and brighter prospects in South African rugby. This coach and much of the squad actually narrowly lost last year's Currie Cup final after a fairly positive Super 14 season. Loffie discusses the goal of finishing in the top half of this year's competition and after only one win, this is looking difficult.
Yet the Super 14 competition is full of teams that get confidence and get on a roll.
Loffie will be hoping our game can be the start and they will be feeling more confident after their excellent first-half showing last week against the Crusaders, when the Lions led at half-time.
I can remember being at a similar point ourselves, when your preparation does not match your performances. Any elements of luck go your opponents' way and the spiral is down. Close losses are the order of the day and losing becomes a habit.
The cycle is hard to break and the devil is in the detail. The Waratahs beat the Hurricanes in Wellington in the last game of last season by a record score.
That 38-14 triumph was the first win by the Waratahs in Wellington and it was a record score against any New Zealand team that year. The point being is that despite all the circumstances that people concoct and contrive, there will be a reversal of fortune, because a good coach and good players will work it out.
So the Waratahs have approached this game with history in mind. We know what the Lions are capable of.
They beat the Crusaders 9-3 last year and led them at half-time this year, so they are doing some things well. Despite the bookies' odds, we never entertained the idea of wholesale changes for the match.
In fact, we have made no changes because we are conscious of getting it right. I have never been a fan of hoisting the white flag against anyone and twice this year South African teams have virtually conceded the Crusaders game for an applied effort the following week. The Lions did this last week and now have the benefits of the good work the "promoted players" did the week before plus a fresher bunch of established players to choose from.
While they have announced a team to play us, the word is that fullback Earl Rose and lock Cobus Grobler have been flown in this week and you can bet those two haven't just come out here for a holiday. Both these guys were regular starters in 2007 so their arrival will only strengthen their challenge and we won't be surprised to see them on the park.
There is no room for complacency in a Phil Waugh-led team and he has taken personal responsibility to ensure the newer players understand that the points each week require hard work and are not given to you by newspaper talk.
