In the autumn and winter Twickenham hosts the Investec internationals and the 6 Nations. The ground is often baltic, grey and somewhat of a boring vibe and this is the truth whether the red rose are winning or losing. It’s a difficult place for teams to go and be victorious and very memorable for all in attendance. But, the sea of wax jackets and farmers caps, worn by a lucky attendees, who have paid the steepest prices in world rugby don’t create the maddest of modern sporting atmospheres.
Shall we shift forward a few months…
Twickenham in May, a week before the premiership final, Twickenham takes on a new façade and for a weekend as the sun beats down on South West London. Supporters of 16 Nations descend on Rugby Road and suddenly the stale autumnal colours are replaced with the colours of Kenya, Portugal, Canada, USA and the usual powers of world rugby. The London Sevens leg of the IRB World Sevens Series rolls into town and for two days Twickenham acts like no other time of the year with seats are cheap at only £10 per day, the old stadium is expecting 100,000 fans across the weekend supporting their flyers from around the globe.
The Sevens series is known for people enjoying a beer or two but London Sevens more than that, from groups of people dressed as animals, spacemen, and of course this year especially Superheroes it most definitely does not feel like the traditional outing at Twickenham. For one weekend of the year, the South Stand is akin to its famous sister in Hong Kong as the volume grows to a crescendo as the finals take place on the Sunday evening.
With tens of thousands of supporters from all around the globe taking in the rugby as one, sharing a beer and burger as friends of the game of rugby, dressed in fancy dress, singing local songs and enjoying speed of rugby that certainly hasn’t been seen at Twickenham for a good number of years in the 15s game.
For just one weekend of the year, forget what you think about Twickenham, don’t think of old committee members snacking on smoked salmon and sipping red wine in the west car park with range rovers, consider that the sun will be shining and the Olympic sport of Sevens takes the big stage in the worlds most famous rugby stadium and for 2 days take in noise, colour and of course the worlds best rugby sevens protagonists at the IRB London Sevens (May 22nd/23rd)
Tags: London Sevens, rugby, rugby sevens, sevens, sevens rugby
April 15, 2010 at 5:28 pm |
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