England v Ireland 09.03.24

I decided to start my day at Twickenham’s loveliest riverside pub, the White Swan. By the time I arrived however, a Spring tide was coming in fast requiring everyone in its path to hotfoot it from the beach and beer garden to a narrow strip of higher ground in front of the pub. It was all a bit too frantic for taking photographs of rugby fans.

So I decided to move on to the Barmy Arms, a pub which in the last couple of months has benefited greatly from a major refurb and is where the water doesn’t rise quite as high, so I thought. Took a few rather uninspiring shots before getting my feet wet. Time to bail out and head for the stadium.

Ticketless in Twickenham

With England trying to keep the Championship alive and thwart Ireland’s Grand Slam bid, there was a real sense of expectation hanging in the air. Most England fans I spoke to thought their team would be annihilated and most Ireland fans I spoke to, perhaps with recent memories of the Rugby World Cup in mind, didn’t like being favourites one little bit.

Twickenham has become very pricey in recent years, so I wasn’t particularly bothered I hadn’t managed to get a ticket for the game. Outside the stadium, I met lots of lovely people who were very happy to chat and for me to take their photograph.

I met a very distressed woman from Dublin, who had just discovered she’d been scammed for tickets and was in tears. Not sure what had happened exactly but I probably would have offered her mine if I had one.

England v Ireland, a drop kick from the Stadium

I watched the game back at the world-famous Cabbage Patch, which was rammed full of both England and Ireland fans. The place was absolutely rocking and the atmosphere as good as watching the match in the stadium. Far easier to get a beer and take a leak too.

It was an incredibly fast and furious encounter with a nail biting finish. I have vague recollections of a powerful late line break from England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso leading to a winning Marcus Smith drop goal. Half of the pub erupted and the other half fell silent. England had nicked it at the death and denied Ireland the Grand Slam. Final score, England 23 Ireland 22.

One of the good things about rugby though, is that within about half-an-hour most people have largely forgotten about the result and the good times roll. Particularly true when Ireland are in town.