Ireland v England at Twickenham

Last weekend (27 February) I went to my first international rugby match, Ireland vs England at Twickenham. Andy had managed to get tickets through work, so we went with his parents. Our seats were right at the very top of the stadium, very very high up, but with a fantastic view of the whole pitch. Only thing was everything looked a bit blurry and out of focus to me from up there - I'm going to have to get glasses for that kind of occasion it appears.
Although the place was mostly full of England fans, the Ireland fans definitely made our presence felt. England fans just wore normal clothes, but Ireland fans were bedecked in green. Puma, the new sponsor of the Irish team, had people giving out free flags, hats and inflatable bangy things to Irish fans, so we were quite visible. It was a little strange being there with three England fans though - every time I jumped up and down with glee they sat there looking a bit sad that their team was losing.

My favourite bit, though, was walking back to the train station after the match. The Irish people all around me were singing, in a way English people never do. They were singing the Fields of Athenry, Molly Malone and the Black Velvet Band, just snatches of songs coming up from different parts of the crowd. I think it's only on occasions like that, when I can see large groups of Irish people in contrast with large groups of English people, that I really notice how different the two countries are, and I start to understand the stereotype of Irish people being so much more relaxed and friendly than people from other countries.