Watching the Six Nations rugby championship at the weekend was exciting, but a strange, disappointing, experience compared with past thrills.
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| The way we were: Wales v France, February 2020 |
I enjoyed the fight to the final whistle in each game but missed the roar of the crowd, the exuberance of the spectators, young and old, men and women, with their ever more imaginative emblems - some at the Cardiff stadium with faces framed with giant daffodils.
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| Wales v Italy, March 2016 |
What a disappointment for the quarter of a million or so who would have been in Cardiff, Dublin and Twickenham.
Instead we had to watch on television, the stadiums deserted except for the players, officials and support teams.
No atmosphere, no din.
It was not only going to the game that I missed, but the anticipation, the hours before kick off when I would be enjoying lavish hospitality.
It was probably the same in all the countries with pre match receptions.
In Cardiff, at BBC Wales headquarters in Llandaff, I would mingle with rugby greats, reliving past glories while enjoying a glass, or more of bubbly.
One of the most sought after pre match celebrations was at the Wales Gas Board headquarters. Chairman Mervyn Jones’s receptions at their headquarters were legendary.
There must have been dozens by other organisations and businesses. Most guests would then go off to the match while I usually went home to watch on television.
Those were the days. They will be back, perhaps for the autumn international matches.
I can’t wait.
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