‘Discovering something new’ - Barbara Bellogini, Italy - Scotland
Barbara works as a communications assistant in Rome. She took her mother to the Italy v Scotland game. It was the first time either of them had been to a rugby match. “It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time,” says Barbara. “My mother is Scottish and my dad is Italian, so it was a win-win situation.”
Having witnessed Scotland’s 36-20 victory, Barbara is keen to make more trips to the Stadio Olimpico in the future. “The biggest positive for me was just being inside the stadium, enjoying the atmosphere and discovering something new. I’d definitely go again if the opportunity arises. But I feel I need to learn more about the rules of the game!”
‘It was great seeing England at the top of their game.’ - Chris Dyer, Scotland - England
Chris and his partner Sue went to the England-Scotland game at Murrayfield. Originally from Manchester Chris has been playing and following rugby for most of his life. “I played as a schoolboy, then at junior level at a local club and briefly for a local adult side. I went to my first rugby league game watching Salford when I was seven. That’s nearly 40 years ago! But I remember being fascinated by the selflessness of the play. You put yourself on the line in rugby. It’s a different world from any other team sport.”
Having watched the All Blacks in Cardiff during the last World Cup, this was Chris’s first Six Nations game. Both him and Sue had positive and negative experiences at Murrayfield. “At the World Cup England looked lazy and demotivated. Eddie Jones has sorted that! They now look hungrier and more in control of their game. But the two grumpy women behind us were not happy about Scotland losing. They kept kicking Sue’s chair and yelled obscenities throughout. The vision of rugby being a supporters’ game was shattered a bit. But it was great seeing England at the top of their game.”
Chris also thinks something could be done about the current ticket prices. “We’ve just joined the England RFU to try and save money on future tickets. The prices they currently go for are ridiculous. I paid £250 for our England tickets. It would be probably be twice that price at Twickenham for similar average tickets.”
‘It was one of the best sporting occasions I’ve been part of’ - Amal Palin
Amal Palin has been interested in rugby ever since going to an Edinburgh vs Ospreys game in 2007. She’s been to a few Six Nations games since then, and was once again present at Murrayfield this year for Scotland’s home games against England and France. “It was a bit of a family affair this year. I went with my husband, my best friend and her family.”
Having enjoyed the tournament overall, Amal feels England have not been tested enough, but at the same time has been encouraged by Scotland’s performances. “I thought overall Ireland would have been stronger, and I don’t think England have been pushed very hard. It’s always nice when Scotland get a couple of wins though, and the win over France at Murrayfield was one of the best sporting occasions I’ve been part of.”
‘England thoroughly deserved their win this year’ - Gerard Fitzpatrick
Gerard is a Dublin native and a Leinster season-ticket holder who normally gets tickets for Ireland matches. “I started going to Ireland games around 1980. My first match was against Wales at the old Lansdowne Road stadium. It was the last game of that year’s Five Nations tournament, and the St Patrick’s Day celebrations going on all weekend helped make it a memorable experience. It turned out to be a very handy 21-7 win for Ireland, but unfortunately England won that tournament too.”
This year Gerard was at the Aviva Stadium for Ireland’s thrilling 16-16 draw with Wales and their 58-15 victory over Italy. While Ireland will always be his team, he didn’t mind England winning the tournament this year. “England have been the most consistent team and thoroughly deserved to win it this year. Also, anybody my age will appreciate England coming over to Dublin in 1973, when both Wales and Scotland had declined the year before because of safety issues.”
‘Ireland have blooded a lot of new players’ - Sean McGinley
Sean has also followed Ireland keenly in this year’s tournament. While he is disappointed the team is languishing in fifth place before the last round of fixtures this weekend, he believes head coach Joe Schmidt has a plan in place. “We’ve been very unlucky with injuries and some poor refereeing decisions this year. Having said that Ireland simply did not put a full performance in against anyone. We’ll have to look to the summer tour and build for the next World Cup. Schmidt has moved Ireland on to the four year World Cup cycle, aiming to peak at that tournament rather than the Six Nations.”
Sean has been impressed by a number of new Irish players during the tournament and is cautiously optimistic about the future of the national side. “Ireland have blooded a lot of new players this year. The stand out players for me have been the No8 CJ Stander and lock Ultan Dillane. My personal highlight of the tournament has to be the second Jamie Heaslip try against Italy. It was a throwback to bygone eras of running rugby and a try which only the All Blacks or France in their pomp could score.”
‘There have been some great individual performances’ - Ian Robertson
Ian lives and works in Hampshire, but he is originally from Cardiff. He has fond memories of growing up in the city watching Cardiff RFC matches at the Cardiff Arms Park with his brother Lance and school friend Mathew in the 1980s. “Rugby is a cornerstone of any Welsh upbringing and my brother was an absolute rugby nut. He played for his school Bishop of Llandaff. Scrum-half Terry Holmes was the main man back then.”
He has followed rugby since the 1980s, but Ian has developed more of a passion for the sport in recent years. “I’m probably more interested in the game now than when I was younger. My first memory of the Six Nations was a trip to Wembley for England v Wales in 1999, when tries from Shane Howarth and Scott Gibbs helped us to a thrilling 32-31 victory. It was a truly memorable day.”
Ian, his girlfriend Michelle and brother Lance watched Wales beat France 19-10 last month. “Driving from England to Wales on a Friday night is not worth the hassle, so we ended up taking a day off in order to get ahead of the traffic. The atmosphere in Cardiff on a Friday night was enjoyable, there were lots of French fans in town.”
George North scored Wales’s only try of the game, with Dan Biggar kicking 14 of the team’s points. “It wasn’t the greatest of spectacles but was still a great evening out. Our defence made the difference and our fitness in the last quarter combined with a strong bench meant it was an all round team effort. I know Dan Biggar converted the penalties but he also missed an absolute sitter!”
Ian’s one disappointment from the tournament is the way Wales performed against England at Twickenham. “We could and should have won that game! But there have been some great individual performance by Wales this year. George North, Taulupe Faletau, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb have all been fantastic. And I suppose it’s good to see England playing to their full potential with Scotland improving also.”
‘Credit to Scotland, but Italy have been left behind’
Sean agrees that Scotland have looked a lot better than in recent years. “In the last tournament Scotland finished rock bottom, but they deserve a lot of credit for building on their good World Cup performance last autumn. I’m very nervous ahead of the Ireland v Scotland match this weekend.”
While Scotland have shown signs of improvement, Sean is less complimentary about how Italy have fared this time around. “They have been terrible. Their performance in Dublin, when they lost by 43 points, was one of the worst I’ve ever seen from a team in this competition. Heaslip’s try against Italy was tremendous, but sadly you have to look at the team he scored it against.”
Sean suggests a decision should be made about Italy’s future participation. “The Six Nations needs to address Italy’s performances. They have some great players but, due to the changes in the professional game in the last couple of years, they’ve been left behind. I would be all for the team who finishes bottom of the Six Nations playing a qualifier to continue their participation in the competition the following year. That would liven things up.”
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