Standing in a sea of RED jerseys.... I was there

[GaryLockyer]

Singing as loud -and as off-key - as I could, the other 84,703 spectators not minding a bit - the Lions roared and the Wobblies - oops - wallabies trembled.
The front row in compete ascendancy, popping the Aussie props, the second row winning ball at will, the back row out rucking and out mauling the opposition and the back line simply waiting their turn to get the pill and run smashing lines into the weak opposition.
Not that I am biased one way or the other, but my call before the game was Australia 15 - Lions 46.
So, I was out a tad and it ended as 16 - 41, but on the right side of the ledger.
The atmosphere at the match was electric. Not to the standard of the old Cardiff Arms Park on amatch day, where the singing would have started at least an hour before kick-off, but for a game on this side of the equator it was wonderful.
(I still can't get my head around the English Poms wanting to sing Swing Low Sweet Chariot, but at least we got them to sing Bread of Heaven with us).
The estimate was that there were approximately 25,000 Lions supporters in the crowd, but I reckon there were more than that. I think they only took into consideration those that had travelled over here and not allowed for the local support, like myself and others that went.
I reckon that with there being such a large Welsh presence in the team, Max Boyce had better sharpen his pencil and get another famous win into his musical repertoire.
On the Friday before the game a few friends - all ex-UK - went to the Sydney Rugby Club for lunch.
Surprise, surprise - the place was full of RED jumpers. Made me feel homesick.
Anyway, after our first few drinks, the guys I was with started talking ABOUT 3 females that were stanfing nearby. I said - " don't talk ABOUT them - talk TO them" - so I called them over.
Lo and behold, they were from Mountain Ash. I ended up having a right old chinwag with them. You know the type of thing -who do you know, when, where etc etc. Seems that they knew my cousin Kim Peacey's in-laws, the Parslows over there.
Then did some more catching up on Stella - as they are avid fans as well.
That weekend has certainly made up for my anguish when Wales were last over here and lost all 3 Test matches by a total of only 6 points.
It was a pity that Sam Warburton was injured for the last game - although Lidiate had a blinder - as I think he has 'come of age' now and was a worthy Lions captain.
Bring on the SIX NATIONS........... and we were singing - hymns and arias, land of my fathers, ar hyd y'r nos............

[brianblaenboy]

Gary, thanks for a very un-biased report, you did well! The night before the game, my friend and I were not prepared to put money on the outcome, certainly not over 6 points either way. It is now a standing joke that at 24, I was not a 16 stone back row forward, which means the Army never gave me the right food, there again no-one else did!
I did show some rugby fanatics the stub of the ticket for the first game I ever watched at the old Arms Park, March 1965, Wales v Ireland, cost 4 shillings! Mind you I was on about £5 per week and had to travel from Warminster.
Will they do a repeat of the 1971 series against the All Blacks in four years time???

[GaryLockyer]

So Brain, you actually PAID - for a ticket to go to the Arms Park?? twp mun.
I never bought a ticket to a 5 nations match before going to Cardiff for the game. We used to gather outside of the City Arms pub in Quay Street just before they opened at 10.30 in the morning. Either in the upstairs bar when I was with the crowd from Ferndale or in the downstairs back bar - down the steps - if I was with my Porthcawl friends.
If you wanted a ticket - you could generally get one in this pub - and only pay face value for it. No scalping allowed or else the scalper was relieved of his stash of tickets pdq. If you failed to get a ticket, you could usually get in for ten bob to the guy at the turnstile anyway. There was no way that you could turn around and go back out once you had gotten that far in any case. It was very simple to do in the 60's. I think the WRFU finally cottoned on to this scam in the late 60's because they started to get policemen stationed at the first set of gates as you were going in, asking to see your ticket. Having been turned around once at the gate for not having one meant more devious ways were needed. Playing against the French was the easiest game to get into. Get yourself a French rosette - even if you had to 'borrow' it off a French supporter, then just waltz past the coppers once you had buried yourself in amongst a load of French supporters on their way in. They - the police - would be there shouting 'Billet' Billet" (Ticket, ticket - for you non-french speakers) - and we would yell back Oui, Oui - yes,yes at them. If they tried to get to see it you just looked blank at them - non-comprendre monsieur and keep walking. All easy-peasy. Other ways were to say he's got all the tickets, and point to someone either in front or behind and yell - "Show him all the tickets, will you" - then disappear as fast as you could.
Only once I ever bought tickets prior to a match and they were for the centenary test Wales v Australia.
But that is another story - which I will relate in the future........

[brianblaenboy]

Gary, the only time I turned up at the Arms Park without a ticket, but hoping to get one was in November 1967, snow on the ground, when East Wales played the All Blacks, the game was drawn. This was the penultimate mid-week game before the Baa-Baas game on the Saturday at Twickenham. That ticket cost me 15 shillings. So in 2 years the price of a ticket went from 4 to 15 shillings - inflation!!!! In 1977, for the Queen's Silver Jubilee, the 1977 Lions played the Barbarians at Twickenham, cost £2.00 which meant the best players from the tour played the best players who couldn't go on the tour. At the time I was Team Secretary of my club based in Orpington, so I had access to tickets far better than today. Memories are priceless.

[GaryLockyer]

So, this being in the future compared to my post above, here is the rest of the story about the Wales v Australia centenary Test at the Arms Park in 1981.
I finished working for Christie Tyler in 1978 to go to University fulltime and was enrolled in UWIST in Cardiff studying Engineering, Manufacturing and Production. IN 1978 I had gone through a lifestyle change, divorced and living in a flat in Crwys Road in Cathays, Cardiff. Into my final year, 3, of my course I had become involved with an Australian girl who eventually moved in with me.
She is one of 4 girls in her family, and one of them, Lyn - together with her husband Gordon, were about to "DO EUROPE"
You know the type of thing, visit 345 countries, see every castle - museum and art gallery.
I was told that Gordon is an avid rugby supporter. So, to show some Welsh hospitality I actually contacted the WRU to see if I could "BUY" some tickets -------------------- (sorry, I was almost ill typing that)------------- as I had visitors coming from OZ.
I ended up buying - with REAL MONEY - 4 North Stand tickets for the game.
Lyn and Gordon's Qantas flight was scheduled to land at Heathrow at 9am on game day.
As you are aware, it is only 140 miles to London from Cardiff, and Heathrow is closer than London.
At 5am on match-day I was up and on the phone to Heathrow to ensure that the plane was on-schedule for touchdown.
I was assured that it was on time, and could be a few minutes early as the flight had a tail wind coming over Europe.
(It had a stopover at Abu Dhabi and left there at 3am our time - they said).
Armed with this confirmation we set out at 6.30am in my Volvo, up the M4 to Heathrow. A drive which took me only 2 hours with a stop.
Found parking at the correct terminal carpark and walked over and into the terminal at 8.40am.
Looking up and down the Arrivals board we discovered that the flight was marked with the dreaded "DELAYED" sign.
Over to the Qantas desk to establish what exactly was going on. I explained that I had phoned to confirm the flight being on time and that it was expected early only to be told that it had not yet left Abu Dhabi. Well, it is about a 6 hour flight and I could see that things were not turning out too well for us.
Suffice to say that the plane eventually arrived at Heathrow at 4pm.
KICK OFF WAS AT 3PM..................
The funny thing about airports is that they do NOT have live TVs showing anything - anywhere at the terminals.
(This is to cater for the unfortunate occurrence of a plane crashing and being shown live on TV whilst you are waiting to get on one).
However, I did discover a TV at Heathrow airport. It is in the SECURITY GUARDS BREAKROOM.
There I was, banging on the door to the breakroom and trying to explain to the guards that the match was being shown 'live' on the BBC - and, and ...LOOK MUN, I EVEN GOT THE TICKETS TO GO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even flashing the tickets got me nowhere, but worse was to follow.
We went back to the car to listen to it on the wireless... ( ok, radio, then).
THEY DID NOT GO TO AIR WITH IT ON THE BBC - it was only aired on BBC WALES RADIO.
I sat in the car and fumed and fumed and fumed for the next few hours until the plane eventually arrived.
We were there waiting for the arriving passengers, me with my preconceptions of what an Aussie rugby supporter would look like. (Tall, hard as nails, bronzed etc etc.)
I am looking over people's heads - not even knowing for whom I was looking - when this little wimp of a guy, about 5ft2inches comes over and hugs my partner. Lo and behold they had arrived, breaking all of my imagined ideas.
As I was in such a foul state of mind, very little was said on my part on the 90 minute trip back to Cardiff.
Yup, I was speeding all the way.
Arriving back at my flat, we unloaded the luggage and I was ready to hit the pub, which was only 50 yards away.
My local at that time was the Crwys Hotel. A real beer and skittles, darts, dominoes and cards place complete with sawdust on the floor.
I walk into the bar with Gordon tagging on behind. My thoughts of getting a few beers into me foremost in my mind.
Walking up to the bar I ask Gordon what he would like to drink - whilst at he same time the barman was already pulling me my usual,a pint of guinness. When he said 'A small sherry please" I almost choked on my guinness.
I said to him "If you think I am ordering that in HERE, you got another thing coming" so he relented and had a HALF of guinness.
I polished off 4 pints whilst he struggled though his half and we went back to the flat with my opinion of ALL Australians very much lower that the expectations at the beginning of the day.
That day consisted of a trip to Heathrow and back, 4 pints and NO RUGBY.

Moral of this story?
NEVER BUY TICKETS FOR THE MATCH BEFORE THE GAME.

[GaryLockyer]

Ooops, forgot to add the miserable ending - Australia scored more points than us.

Remember - always remember

NO TEAM HAS EVER BEATEN WALES, THEY JUST SCORE MORE THAT WE DO

[brianblaenboy]

Gary, priceless - what a brilliant story, and the punch line is even better. It did remind me of a phrase of my own:-

When asked "Where do you work?", I always replied, "I don't work, I'm employed!"

Between 1972 and 1977, I played rugby at Westcombe Park, based at Orpington. On one of my trips to Twickenham, some-one decided to get in for nothing and as he got to the top of the spiked railings, his trousers split but he didn't care, he'd got in!

Iechydd

Brian