Bath Rugby supporter Glyn Edwards gives his take on events at The Rec...
It may be embarrassing for a committed supporter to admit this, but Bath's LV= Cup semi-final defeat by Exeter did have one – albeit very thinly-plated - silver lining.
Of course I would always want Bath to be successful in any cup competition - whether I could be there to witness it in person or not. But missing the Exeter semi-final by having to be 'on duty' at Twickenham for the England v Wales game was bad enough, without my trip to Rome last weekend being affected by thoughts of what was happening at Sandy Park in the LV= Cup final.
So it was – unfortunately for Bath – that Saturday was all about the finale of this year's RBS 6 Nations, rather than the Blue, Black & White's pursuit of our first trophy since United beat Northampton Wanderers at Franklin's Gardens in December last year to claim the A League crown.
Flights to Rome were ludicrously expensive over the weekend – despite this season's not being the Valentine's fixture that this match has traditionally been, at least over the last six years or so – which meant that the only viable solution was to fly over for a longer stay than the rugby necessitated.
Fortunately, the suburban B&B which we regularly stay at – a ten-minute journey south of the Colosseum – is owned by an Italian rugby fan, through whom I get tickets for the match, and has rates which go down significantly the longer your stay.
Besides which, the Ides of March are well after Valentine's Day, and it seems that the anniversary of Caesar's assassination merits much lower prices!
So, before 7am on Thursday last week my 'Rome virgin' son, James, and I headed out of Gatwick to begin our six-day visit to the Eternal City – the scene, so far at least, of eternal Red Rose victories at the impressive Stadio Olimpico and previously at the smaller and rather more homely, but enthusiastically atmospheric, Stadio Flaminio.
Stadio Olimpico hosts some rather fierce Roman soccer derbies between Roma and Lazio – as it serves as the home ground for both clubs - with many being hard-fought, close contests in front of their often overly-passionate fans.
Even with the many thousands of England supporters present – easily noticeable all around the stadium in their white shirts – the distinctively Italian carnival-type atmosphere was a reminder of just how much the addition of this fixture to the Six Nations calendar has improved the tournament as a spectacle.
But, despite the closeness of the last two encounters, Italy's competitiveness – or rather the lack of it – was cruelly exposed by Stuart Lancaster's team in a 52-11 romp that gave England a chance of the championship title, to follow the Triple Crown secured against Wales the previous weekend.
Whatever was to happen in the France v Ireland game to follow, all of the England supporters who had made the trip would have been delighted with the commitment and ambition shown by their team on the day as they played with skill and flair which the Azzurri were unable to contain let alone counter.
We watched the following game on the stadium big screen as Wales demolished a ragged and rather clueless Scotland XV. They must be eagerly awaiting the arrival of new head coach, Vern Cotter from Clermont, in place of their hapless 'interim' leader, Scott Johnson, as they can surely only improve from their current low ebb.
Despite the view that Steve Walsh then refereed France out of their contest with Ireland in Paris – consistent, perhaps, with his previously-stated dislike of England – the Irish played well throughout the tournament and are deserved 6 Nations winners.
Their only defeat was to England, however, and but for a couple of awkward bounces of the ball and some questionable decision-making in Paris by the men in white at the start of the competition the final outcome could have been significantly different.
Next year, with World Cup on the horizon, promises to be even more fascinating.
