Twickenham

So today we went to the home of English rugby to watch the Canterbury Crusaders v the Natal Sharks.

The train from Clapham Junction to Twickenham was jammed full with kiwis and saffas, I felt sorry for any passengers that weren't going to the rugby.

Despite it being two foreign teams playing and only a portion of the stadium being open there were still huge crowds of people at Twickenham.

The weather has been great here in London the past few days we took a picnic and sat in a park near the Thames before the game. We were so comfortable we almost didn't want to go to the game. But eventually we joined the masses of people heading towards the stadium. Along the way there were lots of front yards that had been turned into food stalls with bbq's cooking and selling all sorts of things, there was even a place that was making fresh donuts in their front yard which looked good but we were getting a little late so we headed straight for the stadium.

Jackie navigating the crowds and avoiding the donuts!

We got there just in time for the minutes silence, followed by a very poor rendition of the anthems.

We were in Row 2 at the north end of the stadium so we didn't have a great view of the game but were close to a lot of the action.

Blue skies in London!

The game was quite free flowing and despite the Sharks scoring the first try the Crusaders ran away to a big first half lead which was good as there were loads more South African's there and I think they might have become unbearable if the Sharks were winning.

Canterbury in a huddle after Sharks scored their first try

I think the highlight for me was at half time watching a group of people in front of us get out their picnic which looked extremely gourmet, all home made, there was a meatloaf, or possibly a terrine - we couldn't get close enough to tell, along with bread rolls, and salad and then there was some sort of slice for pudding. I wanted to ask for some but don't think that was going to be appropriate. 

The second half was less dominated by the Crusaders and the Sharks almost made a come back but not quite. We skipped out a few minutes before the end to get a train before it got too packed, this worked out quite well as it meant we could stop at the South African bbq and get a Boerewors (South African sausage) in bun and get a quiet fast train home.

Second half, Crusaders attacking to our end. 

All in all a great afternoon.

Twickenham stadium is definitely an intimidating place and impressive stadium. I'd like to make a trip back for an international game as I think it would have an amazing atmosphere when it is packed and when England are playing.