Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of
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@pakman said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
@antipodean said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
Lions tours and RWC pool games. Always a good percentage of people who are there to have fun and like the best part of rugby.
Would love to do a Lions tour to SA.
Only one of two nations who obsess about rugby as much as us
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@victor-meldrew said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
Any AB game at the Millennium Stadium - roof open or not. Cardiff is fantastic on match day and the Welsh fans passionate, knowledgeable and great to have a beer with.
All Blacks -England 2018 at Twickenham. Incredibly close game, lion's den of noise but none of the crowd ugliness I've experienced from previous visits. (all credit to the RFU). Fantastic day.
agreed, did a few trips to cardiff whilst living in london, did cop quite a bit of abuse from the locals "finally got what you deserve!" after the 2007 QF which was a surprise after a few other very enjoyable trips
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@mn5 said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
Athletic Park vs Australia 1996.
One of those rainy, windy, shitty days that those who don’t live in Wellington believe we have every day. Woken up by the old man to say he had tickets through work, going to the pub with him first ( bear in mind the drinking age was 20 in those days and I’d just turned 19 so he shouted everything ) and then sneaking in more booze to the ground and sitting with a bunch of GCs who had also smuggled lots of booze which was the thing to do in those days.
The ABs also destroyed Australia 43-6 which was nice. An incredible display of rugby in the worst possible conditions. The water that drizzled on us was brown from the rust in the good old Millard stand. To my utter non surprise Athletic Park got demolished a few years later.
Was at that test too, was sitting on top of Millard Stand right at front. Was cold as f*** ,but the best seats I have ever had. Being up that high about 10metres from touchline, was like watching a game on chess board below. Couple of real special things that stuck out among a lot of great things, was watching the angles Iceman ran, and Zinzan setting up backline in a try he scored ,just blew me away.
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Tests this one
Proper terraces managed to squeeze in - the crowd was going apeshit an hour before kick-off. The roar when the players came out for their warm ups was louder than that at the end of the RWC final 11 mths earlier.
I wrote about it at the time. Magic day Taxi down from BA all afternoon at a bar in La Plata. One (Colombian) guy had flown in from Bogota just to see the AB's. Treated like royalty by the Argie fans (we were the only Kiwi's in the stand as weren't part of a tour party). Must've had to pose for 50-60 photos with locals. Gave away most of my AB gear.
Next day flew out to Santiago and when the airport staff saw we were Kiwi's they waved us through immigration and security into the VIP lane.
Plenty of great NPC games sliding down the bank at Onewa Domain. Great venue to get close to the action Probably smacking Canterbury in the 94 semi
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@crazy-horse said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
I always look back at the crowds for the 80s Canterbury Shield era with fondness. I was a teenager at the time and just getting into rugby. Some of the bigger challenges had the embankment packed and spilling out on to the field. There was a real nervous energy at the time. Good times.
Great days!!!
I recall around that time (at a test match) prior to the game, Keith Quinn appeared in a commentary position, high above the bank.
As you would (in that era, Ollie), the crowd began singing KQTIUTA doo dah doo dah. A sound man behind Keith conducted the crowd - urging them to sing louder. Which they/we did.
It was a backfire! They were making a short documentary on how feral the Lancaster Park crowd is. And the bastards doctored the sound so you couldn't make out the lyrics when they played it on TV!
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I've been to a few but pretty much any Lions match. Provincial, or test, from when I was a kid, to getting on the piss with the fans later in life.
Those guys travel half way around the world to follow their team and support them whole heartedly, even if they lose. They come for the party more than the match quite often I think, and it makes for a really passionate but cordial atmosphere. The Brit sense of humour with the banter also a lot of fun.
I ended up drinking for hours on a flight back to HKG (I was a passenger) with a bunch of them, one of whom lived minutes from my in laws in Wales and knew my FiL. 2005. Was just a party at the back of the plane. Nobody got stroppy, just good rugby banter (and a lot of beer). May have all been on best behaviour because they knew who I was but I doubt it.
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@snowy said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
I've been to a few but pretty much any Lions match. Provincial, or test, from when I was a kid, to getting on the piss with the fans later in life.
Those guys travel half way around the world to follow their team and support them whole heartedly, even if they lose. They come for the party more than the match quite often I think, and it makes for a really passionate but cordial atmosphere. The Brit sense of humour with the banter also a lot of fun.
I ended up drinking for hours on a flight back to HKG (I was a passenger) with a bunch of them, one of whom lived minutes from my in laws in Wales and knew my FiL. 2005. Was just a party at the back of the plane. Nobody got stroppy, just good rugby banter (and a lot of beer). May have all been on best behaviour because they knew who I was but I doubt it.
The limited exposure I've had to foreign fans or rugby fans abroad is overwhelmingly positive. There was the French man with tears in his eyes gracious in defeat in 2011, the young Englishmen gracious (and disbelieving) in victory in 2019. And riding the train in Tokyo I remember starting convos with strangers of a number of nationalities all about rugby
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@canefan Far more good fluffybunnies in rugby than actual fluffybunnies.
Had a great day in a corporate box that @gman organised for us in Pretoria. Was a Blues v Bulls match and I wore a Blues jersey. Got told several times that I was brave, but it was just a bit of fun. Being a big bugger probably helped but almost all of them were too. Free beer great spread of food. Awesome day out and the crowd were fantastic. Nearly full house from memory. Only catch was that bloody Liefling song...
Some good days at Ellis park as well and a great sevens tournament in George with @Billy-Webb as well. All great crowds even if I wore my teams colours.
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@snowy said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
@canefan Far more good fluffybunnies in rugby than actual fluffybunnies.
Had a great day in a corporate box that @gman organised for us in Pretoria. Was a Blues v Bulls match and I wore a Blues jersey. Got told several times that I was brave, but it was just a bit of fun. Being a big bugger probably helped but almost all of them were too. Free beer great spread of food. Awesome day out and the crowd were fantastic. Nearly full house from memory. Only catch was that bloody Liefling song...
Some good days at Ellis park as well and a great sevens tournament in George with @Billy-Webb as well. All great crowds even if I wore my teams colours.
Yeah. Sounds like my mate that went to Pretoria was being a pussy 😆
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@snowy yeah I've had good times with Lions supporters dating back to 71. Probably best was 77 and revenge for the 71 stain on our record. I was in a temporary stand (like the things you used to have your school phots taken on) on the sideline at EP. When Lawrie Knight scored we all jumped up together and the bloody thing disintegrated.
In general though Kiwi crowds are a bit reserved
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@dogmeat said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
@snowy yeah I've had good times with Lions supporters dating back to 71. Probably best was 77 and revenge for the 71 stain on our record. I was in a temporary stand (like the things you used to have your school phots taken on) on the sideline at EP. When Lawrie Knight scored we all jumped up together and the bloody thing disintegrated.
In general though Kiwi crowds are a bit reserved
lol i was right next to that happening once
it was NZ stockcar Nationals in Gisbourne, Barry Hunter got a win, and his entire extended family it seemed were right next to me on the top 2 rows of the "grandstand" they were jumping up and down and carrying on and then suddenly they just weren't there, they were all on the ground 5m below me. Funny but also really dangerous
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@snowy said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
@canefan said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
Yeah. Sounds like my mate that went to Pretoria was being a pussy
I was actually welcomed for wearing the jersey.
I had a great night drinking in Tokyo with some Bokke supporters. On the other hand I sat next to some wasted Saffers in a takeaway joint after that game who just went on about how they were going to smash to Poms. But they weren't wrong...
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@mariner4life It was fucking dangerous alright. Scaffolding poles everywhere. Fortunately we were all very 'relaxed'
Then back to the Poe which is where both teams had the after math and then joined the fans in the sorts bar for a few jars. Great night.
@canefan Worst drunken supporters I've ever come across was a bunch of Kiwi's in 2011 at a bar in Takapuna. Boorish, graceless in victory - in the faces of a few French lads who were just having a few quiets to drown their sorrows. I had to tell them to pull their heads in. One of the few positives about being is as old as Methuselah is you can get away with that (generally).
Actually best bunch of fans in a bar was the French that RWC I rented my house out to a bunch of Froggies. Met them at Tabac bar next to TVNZ in Victoria St (now the Brewers Coop) which had become the unofficial French supporters HQ the afternoon of the Pom QF to hand over the keys. The whole place was going off unbelievably - singing, dancing giving shit to the Rosbifs. The place was insane 7 hours before kick off. TVNZ sent a film crew in just to capture the craziness.
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@dogmeat said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
@canefan Worst drunken supporters I've ever come across was a bunch of Kiwi's in 2011 at a bar in Takapuna. Boorish, graceless in victory - in the faces of a few French lads who were just having a few quiets to drown their sorrows. I had to tell them to pull their heads in. One of the few positives about being is as old as Methuselah is you can get away with that (generally).
worst fans i have ever come across, hands down, were the pissed up kiwis in Munich in 2007. Pool stages, Aus played immediately beforehand, and i went to the pub with a bunch of guys i knew to watch.
As the Aussie game was finishing the kiwis started rolling in from oktoberfest, already wankered, and carrying on like absolute assholes. Chased most of the aussies out, were being super obnoxious to my mates, and then one of them pointed at me and drawled "and who are you supporting mate?" i was wearing an ABs jersey. What a fucking cockhead. I actually left before the game was finished because i was just getting angrier and angrier. They just treated everyone, patrons, staff, like shit. cockheads
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@victor-meldrew said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
Any AB game at the Millennium Stadium - roof open or not
Ummm....errr.... 2007...ummm😀
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@canefan said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
@dogmeat The few French fans I've met seem good bastards. I'm more than happy for Les Bleus to win the RWCs soon, just for their fans who love rugby and Les Blacks
Hmm Les Gris but that wasn't the fans fault, and I agree. Six weeks with French fans for 2007 and apart from one obvious problem, it was great, as far as the fans go France itself was great accommodation was tough to find and not very good.
I might do it again if @Billy-Webb talks me out of RWC retirement. Thanks Wayne Barnes saved me heaps.
Did have a very amusing stay in Marseilles. Arrived very tired after flight from Hong Kong and TGV down from Paris. Showed up at accommodation and they had double booked. I was less than pleased, and another whole group of Kiwis were settling in. TBF she rang her daughter, an "artist" who had a spare room and we went there. Absolutely hilarious when we got into the place - it was just full of carved penises. All shapes and sizes. Some standing on the floor, those were more like statues really, smaller ones on book shelves, coffee table, everywhere you looked there was a dick. Most were timber but she had used different products as well, some sort of plaster, etc and other things. I almost laughed my cock off, but she had enough of them already. Absolutely bizarre and I'm not sure if she used them or just made them. I suspect both.
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@snowy said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
@canefan said in Best Rugby Crowd you've been a part of:
@dogmeat The few French fans I've met seem good bastards. I'm more than happy for Les Bleus to win the RWCs soon, just for their fans who love rugby and Les Blacks
Hmm Les Gris but that wasn't the fans fault, and I agree. Six weeks with French fans for 2007 and apart from one obvious problem, it was great, as far as the fans go France itself was great accommodation was tough to find and not very good.
I might do it again if @Billy-Webb talks me out of RWC retirement. Thanks Wayne Barnes saved me heaps.
Did have a very amusing stay in Marseilles. Arrived very tired after flight from Hong Kong and TGV down from Paris. Showed up at accommodation and they had double booked. I was less than pleased, and another whole group of Kiwis were settling in. TBF she rang her daughter, an "artist" who had a spare room and we went there. Absolutely hilarious when we got into the place - it was just full of carved penises. All shapes and sizes. Some standing on the floor, those were more like statues really, smaller ones on book shelves, coffee table, everywhere you looked there was a dick. Most were timber but she had used different products as well, some sort of plaster, etc and other things. I almost laughed my cock off, but she had enough of them already. Absolutely bizarre and I'm not sure if she used them or just made them. I suspect both.
Sounds like trophies from her 'cellar'. You are lucky you got out intact.
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