INTERNATIONALS | Rugby Adventures

International Rugby

It is always spectacular going to see international rugby. Unlike top-level football, there still remains a sizeable gap between club rugby and international rugby. We have visited Murrayfield, Twickenham and The Principality Stadium in Wales in recent years. On top of this, we also got to see the 2015 Rugby World Cup at St. James' Park as well as a pre-2019 World Cup friendly between England and Italy. All of these stadia are great, but nothing beats Flower of Scotland at Murrayfield!

Murrayfield Stadium

Our most recent visit in February '20: When we arrived, the weather was fine and we even watched one of the other matches on the big screen outside. When the players arrived, the wind was up, but it was still ok. The players warmed up and it was fine. Then the match started and the weather turned wild! The game was spoilt a bit by the conditions, but England deserved their win. I had never seen players deliberately let the ball bounce before (to avoid knock-ons!). The walk back to the city left us like drowned rats, but we had great seats and still had a wonderful time.

Twickenham Stadium

Our most recent visit, February '20: Twickenham truly is one of the great homes of rugby. The stadium itself is enormous, and, while it has become a little outdated, it still provides an incredible atmosphere for a game of rugby. We were seated right up in the Gods and got a lift up to the top, but it gave us a great opportunity to take in all the sights. We also were fortunate enough to witness a great game of rugby. England were by far the better team, but the most remarkable thing about the game was, without doubt, the fact Johnny Sexton decided to have probably the worst game of his career. Also, even in the upper echelons, you can still appreciate the fact both Devin Toner and Courtney Lawes are giants! As a side note, parking on someone's drive and then walking off is weird!

Principality Stadium

We went to see Wales play Scotland. To be fair, we got an absolute pasting that day and the Welsh thoroughly deserved their victory. It is an absolutely brilliant venue on the waterfront and it was really special to see the old Cardiff Arms Park gates. Again, the atmosphere around the ground was brilliant, Cardiff is a lovely, but fairly small, city, and we even had time to po and visit the stunning Caerphilly Castle as well. Other than the result, a great weekend!

St. James' Park

Whilst this is the most like a home venue for me these days, it is still brilliant going to Newcastle United's home ground. There is a capacity of over 50,000 and it provides and excellent atmosphere for both the football and rugby. We thoroughly enjoyed the England Italy game last year, although I thought the venue was spectacular for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The fan zones outside the ground were brilliant and all visitors bought in to a wonderful all-round experience. St James' Park has also hosted the Heineken Cup and Challenge Cup Finals: both great occasions and a fine opportunity to see some of the best club sides in Europe go toe-to-toe.

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The O2 London

Formerly the Millennium Dome, I never really thought of the O2 as a rugby venue, but we had a great time watching Rugby X there. It is a fantastic venue with a range of eating options. We also really enjoyed the stunning views from The Emirates Air Line on the way to, and from, the venue. Inside the venue, we also made great use of the outlet-priced shops and the Sky VIP lounge, which meant we could enjoy the build-up and light show in comfort.

As for the rugby, there were some great skills on show, and some of the players were lightning fast. Carlin Isles and Perry Baker of the USA team were some of the biggest names on show there, but, for me, the standout player of the tournament was the Irish player, the brilliantly-named Cormac Izuchukwu. He was only a young lad, but was a giant, moved well and had good hands. It would be interesting to see whether he could reach the top levels in the full game. For now, I suspect he is more than happy with the exhibition rugby, travelling roadshow that is Rugby 7s.