By Scottydog
February 20 2006

... Or how we lost our RL virginity. It was a day of contrasts for us as we attended our first ever Rugby League game. The sight of all those coaches in the Rosebine car park was the first of many surprises. It was soon followed by the sounds of the Saints supporters’ songs drifting from the already packed North stand more than an hour before the game kicked off.

We chose to pay for the cheap seats in the South Stand as the North was sold out and prices in the Lexus were a bit steep we thought. On entering the ground we were struck by the differences in the appearance and behaviour of the supporters from St Helens who all seemed to be enjoying a party and having a good sing-song from all parts of the stadium. My first task was to speak to a large group around ND’s statue and explain to them why using it to stand their drinks on was not appreciated. They all wanted to know about Nick and were genuinely interested and moved by the story. They were friendly and co-operative.

The chanting from the North Stand took me back to a few visits as a child to the Dell with my grandfather who followed Southampton Football Club (The Saints). The chants and songs were very familiar and lent the whole event a football type atmosphere without the threatening feel of pending violence. We met up with a work colleague of mine from Liverpool and his wife (who had followed Saints for many years) in the bar in the Lexus stand. He predicted a win for them at 32-12 which was pretty close.

Many of the Saints fans I spoke to that day echoed his view that we had a wonderful ground that we should all be very proud of. Their Knowsley Road stadium is a left over from the 50’s and sadly neglected despite their winning ways of many years. They hope to have a new ground one day that might be as good as the Stoop. The female members of my group overheard a discussion in the Ladies that went along the lines of “Eh, oop ducks this place is right posh. They have hot water and towels down here!”

We took our seats amongst the masses of travelling support in the South Stand who kept up a barrage of chants and songs almost non-stop throughout the game. Some of it reminded me why I don’t enjoy going to round ball games these days as we sat there in a cloud of tobacco smoke and four letter words. We never felt threatened in any way but oh so different to a union game.

Several times we declined the offers to stand up and show how much we hated Wigan and winced every time the match officials were accused of coming from “Newark”. But smiled as they referred to us as “Better paid than them” or “The poshest supporters in the world”

The entertainment was quite good before the match and during half time and I for one appreciated the adult version of Harley’s Angels. We spotted the mascots on the roof as they prepared to abseil to the ground and worried that they were in fact Percy and Janet in a reprise of their performance at Plymouth. If it really was you two then you did a great job. I won’t let on to the kids I promise.

As to the match, well we were confused by the rules, the rotation of players and the strange penalty decisions and despite the help and advise of the supporters around us found it difficult to get fully involved. Perhaps we would have enjoyed it more if Quins were closer to competing but it seemed to me that a single missed tackle meant a try conceded as there was no strength in depth behind the flat defensive line. I turned my attention many times to translating the various chants of the Saints fans but was completely baffled by the references to “Betty’s Hotpot” until the wife educated me on the subject of Coronation Street.

I saw Tony Copsey walking past the stand with the biggest grin ever on his face. Given the continuous flow of food and drinks transported to all around us I guess the takings at the outlets and bars were good. Afterwards I spoke to many RL fans of both teams and all seemed to have enjoyed the day and the venue. The result was as expected and better times lie ahead for Quins RL apparently. Of the Quins RU fans there the reaction was very mixed with some saying they would not be coming to see another game but others determined to give it a few more chances before they made their minds up. Likewise I suppose it is probably too early to say I won’t go to another RL game but it is difficult to be certain. I enjoyed it for it’s differences (fans, passion, chants etc.) but not for the game itself which I found all too similar in style throughout.

So I’ll probably give it a few more attempts before I write it off for good but I have to be honest and confess that it probably isn’t for me. That said I’m all in favour of the venture to have both codes playing at the Stoop and hope that it works out for the benefit of all of us.

Come on you Quins!