Wales might not win it but Cardiff probably already has.
This is from the Telegraph.
The whooshing noise which greeted the final whistle here was the sound of 71,576 people simultaneously sighing in relief. Drained by their heroics at Twickenham last Saturday, Wales stumbled over the line against a magnificent, ambitious Fiji side, in the process winning their third game in the 'group of death’. Now England’s task on Saturday is all the more stark: it is win or bust for the hosts.
Though host is a flexible term in the Rugby World Cup. This tournament may go under the official title England 2015, but Cardiff had embraced it as if this was entirely their own affair. From midday, the city centre was rammed with enthusiastic rugby fans. The millionth spectator at the competition was in attendance at this game. And it seemed, as customers were obliged to ruck their way westwards in carriages so full they presented a health hazard, that the entire million had travelled on the same train.
Through the Welsh capital, Mancunian swag workers were selling half and half matchday scarves, stalls were offloading sheep hats and inflatable leeks, everywhere could be heard the cry of the competition: “Anyone need tickets, I’ll buy or sell.”
“Welcome to the glorious city of Cardiff on this glorious afternoon for a glorious game of rugby,” a World Cup volunteer was announcing through a loud hailer. And, packed with those still wearing a smile after last Saturday night, it was indeed a glorious sight.
In front of the giant World Cup rugby ball which is protruding from the walls of Cardiff Castle, dozens of supporters were standing with their hands in the air for photographs as if catching it. Alongside them a group of Wales fans were doing a Dan Biggar jig, imitating the fly-half’s jittery pre-kick ritual, now known throughout the Principality as the 'Biggarena’.
Regulars suggested there was a subtly different atmosphere abroad from a Six Nations game here, not least because the sun was blazing down. You never see so many neutrals here during the spring domestic competition. But there were dozens in South African shirts, in Ireland tops, in All Blacks outfits. Not to mention the two blokes waving Australia flags in full drag.
There were Fiji fans too. Or rather there were those attending who had turned Fijian for the afternoon. Certainly one lad called Jamie, who was wearing a suspiciously crisp looking Fiji flag, looked non-plussed when challenged to sing the islanders’ national anthem. “I was born in England, bred in England, live in England,” he said. “But my wife’s Welsh, so I’m supporting Fiji. She’d do the same if it was the other way round.”
Jamie was on his way to the fan zone in Cardiff Arms Park. With free admission, in addition to those crammed into the Millennium Stadium, some 10,000 people were watching proceedings unfold on a big screen right next door. It was the rugby equivalent of Henman Hill.
And what a game they got to watch. Biggar the jigger, scrum-half Gareth Davies pole-axing a giant Fijian prop, Wales playing with a rare adventure. Plus Fiji slinging the ball around like this was a rehearsal for the Olympic sevens competition. The men in white ran everything, side-stepping, dummying, squirming out of tackles. And that was just their forwards.
As Fiji came back in the second half, it did not help home nerves that a procession of injured Welshmen left the pitch with a regularity that insisted the Welsh Rugby Union had done a sponsorship deal with Injury Lawyers 4U.
But Wales held on. Just. And, as they lined up outside Cardiff station for the trip home, the tantalising prospect for Welsh supporters remains that their team will be in the competition longer than the hosts. England 2015 indeed.
Wed Sep 30, 2015 10:39 pm
