Books: "In the heart of the Fern", a superb trip to the land of the All Blacks

Behind words and images, the life of an oval world both magical and mysterious flows like a refreshing waterfall along mesmerizing pages.

Much more than a great trip or a beautiful escape, “In the heart of the Fern” is a total immersion in the land of the long white cloud which has so magnified the men in black.

New Zealand and its famous All Blacks, these players from the other side of the globe who, for more than a century, have dominated the rugby world.

These triple world champion players (1987, 2011, 2015) that the XV of France will find in his pool during the 2023 World Cup in France.

It will even be the opening game.

"We feel that we are part of a whole that is beyond us"

"At the heart of the Fern" was to be a documentary.

"The idea was to travel across New Zealand from South to North, in order to discover the secret of this success," explains Ian Borthwick, New Zealand and former journalist at L'Equipe, who served as photographer and guide to a neophyte sidekick in rugby.

"You can not know less than me, laughs Vincent Fernandel, theater teacher, documentary director and grandson of the famous actor.

I left without a priori.

He came back transformed.

The film was not made, for lack of funding, but the trip did, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, and the resulting book reflects the shock and the passion experienced throughout these five weeks of discovery.

In Dunedin, the second largest city on the island, with young people from the local club.

Ian borthwick  

A course where legends of the oval balloon flourish, such as Dan Carter, who has just ended his career, where sumptuous landscapes emerge, where a special atmosphere emerges.

“We realize that we don't really look the world in the face in our everyday life,” says Vincent Fernandel.

There, we feel that we are part of a whole that is beyond us.

The relationships between beings, vis-à-vis nature, are always true moments.

The meeting with Brian Lochore

(Editor's note: former captain of the All Blacks)

for example, his depth, his strength and his simplicity will remain engraved in me.

"

Over the pages, a country of 5 million inhabitants, the size of half of France, reveals itself, characters tell it, a culture becomes clearer, and we could even guess the secret at the end of the journey, the quest initial.

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"At the heart of the Fern",

Ed. Au vent des îles, 32 euros.