“The French Riviera, a sunny place for shady people.”

Somerset Maugham

Promenade des Anglais in Nice stretches for seven kilometers and provides an uninterrupted view of the bright blue sea and the plethora of palm trees.

Its name comes from the English aristocrats who came to Nice in the 18th century to enjoy the health benefits of the climate. At that time, the shoreline was not so regular, and because the lords and their wives wanted to walk comfortably, a seaside promenade was built The English names of the hotels, such as Westminster and West End, still bear witness to the influence of the islanders on this place.

Since Friday it has become, temporarily, Promenade Pays de Galles the stretching human sea of red a beautiful contrast to the blinding azure Mediterranean and the cloudless skies.

There was also a hint of the Algarve as Portugal fans, enjoying a tournament with all the big boys, were savouring every last drop, quite literally, at Café Simone on Rue Rossetti.

Wales 102 Portugal 11 was the scoreline in 1994 when these two met in a Rugby World Cup Qualification match, times have changed and no one was realistically expecting a similar margin of victory at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice.

This match was very much France v Uruguay revisited. Louis Rees-Zammit set Wales on their way with a try in the 9th minute but Wales’ second touchdown did not appear until minute 43 when Dewi Lake crashed over from a self taken tapped penalty to give Wales a 14-3 half time lead.

In between those two scores it was Portugal who looked the more organised in defence and attack, Wales looked uncoordinated and panicky with the ball in hand.

The second half saw Jac Morgan’s 56th minute try give Wales a 21-3 lead but they never looked comfortable, losing four line outs, and their quest for a fourth try, and the resulting bonus point, looked to have passed them by until the peerless Taulupe Faletau scored near the posts with 83:51 on the clock. Sam Costello’s conversion secured a 28-8 victory for Wales.

But the biggest cheer of the day came with Portugal’s 63rd minute try, a beautiful well worked line out move which resulted in Nicolas Martins diving over.

The so called tier two nations are causing the big boys quite a few tears in this Rugby World Cup and it looks like those massive score-lines of previous tournaments are become fewer.

Portugal next head to Toulouse to face Georgia, whilst Wales, who have maximum points head to Lyon for an almighty clash with Australia.

Cafe Simone should do quite well for business tonight.