England VS Samoa

On Saturday November 20th a bunch of us went to the England/Samoa rugby match in Twickenham, which is just outside London.  I was pretty excited for the game since I have never seen a professional rugby match before, and my ticket was only £20.00 thanks to Mark and the deal he got from his school. 

Sarah, Simon, Kari and I went to Twickenham at about noon even though the match didn't start until 2, and thank goodness we did.  The crowds were actually unbelievable and if we had gone later the transfer trains would have been ridiculous.  We met Britny, Mark, and a few of his friends at a pub called The Cabbage Patch, in which I experienced a mild case of claustrophobia, and had a few drinks before making our way to the stadium.  We had a few more drinks on the block-and-a-half journey to the stadium, and were very much on our way to being completely intoxicated by the time we found Gate F. 

Our tickets were great - we were sitting in the first bowl and were only about fifteen rows from the action.  Rugby, as you probably know, is an incredibly violent sport.  These guys are just SO strong; they have to be, as they literally get the crap pounded out of them.  It was a fantastic time; songs were sung, waves were (somewhat successfully) attempted, hats and scarves were thrown about, and beer was poured on the heads of unfortunate spectators, including Britny and myself.  Regardless of that, we had a really wonderful time.  England won 26-13, and even though I don't exactly know all the rules of rugby, I felt like I belonged there.

After the game Britny and I stood in the que for the shop just outside the stadium and bought ourselves some Christmas presents - a peeeeeeeeerfect opportunity.  We then walked for what seemed like forever to a pub just outside Twickenham, had a couple more drinks, and then drunkenly made our way back to Maidstone (stopping for my first McDonalds meal since the summer on the way - glorious).

I really enjoyed the rugby match, and I hope that I will be able to get equally cheap, equally good tickets for when my family comes to visit in the spring - I'm sure my dad and Mike would get a kick out of it (no pun intended).