The arrest of pivotal Australian scrumhalf, George Gregan, in Paris yesterday, deals a serious blow to the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign.
The feisty ex-Zambian, who is known for speaking his mind when on the field, met his match in the shape of a phalanx of no-nonsense Gendarmes who removed the veteran scrumhalf from a Parisienne restaurant after it was alleged Gregan became violent and disruptive in the world-renowned night spot.
A group of Wallabies players were dining at the upmarket Fellini Restaurant in the Les Halles district of the city when Gregan was alleged to have questioned the Maitre-D’s knowledge of the food being served.
An argument ensued wherein Gregan was alleged to have become belligerent with both the Maitre-D and the restaurant Manager, Pierre Du Bois, Gregan refusing to accept that the lamb he’d ordered had been properly treated.
M. Du Bois was visibly upset by Gregan’s behaviour and insisted that the Lamb Cacciatore was prepared traditionally: he went on to explain how the world-class chefs at Fellini took garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and black pepper and sifted them into a small bowl. They then proceeded to sprinkle this mixture over the lamb and tossed it to coat the meat. Thereafter a large, heavy, deep skillet was heated over medium-high heat until very hot. Olive oil was added and swirled to coat the pan. The lamb was browned in batches, taking care not to crowd the pan. Once removed, the browned lamb was added to a separate bowl and red wine was then added to the hot pan, cooked for 3 minutes, scraping all the browned bits from the bottom. Tomato sauce was blended with the red wine in the pan, swirling to combine, whereafter the browned lamb was returned to the skillet. Sweet peppers, bell peppers, mushrooms, rosemary, and garlic were added and gently tossed to combine with the sauce. The mixture was brought to a gentle boil, covered, and heat reduced to lowest setting. The cacciatore was allowed to simmer for about 1 hour, being stirried every 15 minutes, until the lamb was fork tender. Additional kosher salt and pepper was added as needed. Crucially, Du Bois noted - the rosemary sprigs were to be removed before serving the lamb cacciatore over linguini or other large pasta. “This is how Mr Gregan’s lamb was prepared – not ‘rooted to death by a queer Froggie cook in fishnets and g-string with a feather up his arse’ as Mr Gregan claimed,” said the distraught restaurant manager.
Bail was denied by the local authorities when it became clear that Gregan’s violent behaviour in the restaurant wasn’t going to abate in a hurry, thus numerous Gendarmes arrived to quell the riot. Gregan continued to shout, scream and hurl abuse at the French policemen on the trip to the holding cells.
The case will be heard tomorrow at 10 am. The Wallabies’ legal counsel are confident that “the ropey frog bastards will come to their senses…” but declined to comment further. John Connolly was tight-lipped noting that young lamb was made to be discreetly shagged not broiled and pickled in red wine with rabbit nosh. He was hopeful that his vice-captain would be released for the Wallabies clash against Wales on Saturday, adding that “George was always a bit hot-headed especially after a skinful of grog but what they did to that poor lamb was enough to annoy any red-blooded Aussie bloke.”
Gregan has declined to comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment