I know it was not an Australian game but I really do need to start with Twickenham. I had the good fortune to have a ticket to England vs Wales at Twickenham on Saturday night. (England time that is. I am having enough trouble working out the day & time here, I am not even going to try to work out Aussie time.) And wasn’t that an experience!
Is it bad that I was more excited for this game then I was for the Wallaby v Fiji game? It was at the home of rugby after all. This was also my first visit to Twickenham so, yes I was super excited.
The atmosphere was just……….. well, off this planet. Twickenham has overtaken Cardiff as my most favourite place in the world to watch rugby. I think it was good to be there for the first time with no skin in the game so to speak. And let’s face it, if was a bloody good game.
No matter what you think of “Sweet Chariots”, it is an experience to hear the English in full voice. Then the Welsh, and maybe a few Aussies, replied with ‘Wa-les Wa-les’. And to top it off the couple of groups of Argentinians breaking out in song to keeping us entertained during the breaks in play. And you know things are flash when the gardeners wear suits & ties.
The hush around the ground for the kicker is a lovely touch. However I would say that insisting on silence for the England kicker and then happily yelling and singing while the opposition take their kicks is not in the best spirit of the game. Hypocrisy does not become you English fans. Next Saturday will be interesting.
Then today. Birmingham. Australia v Uruguay.
The atmosphere here had been more party like. Less tension. As can be expected when tier 1 & 2 nations clash. It had a real 7s feel.
The English still cheered for the Uruguiains. What else would we expect? But after 11 tries all was right in the world and us supporters had earned a few beers. Birmingham has lots of pubs in case you a wondering.
We now have a week to England vs Australia. Personally I can’t wait. At least we will have the Welsh behind us.
In the mean time I need to brush up on some Waltzing Matilda. And I’m off to Munich tomorrow……. I will be in touch next week……… if I live.
