My views are probably tarnished by being soaked on three occasions prior to the game, and the fact that the match itself was a poor advert for rugby union.

However, one fact is very clear. The crowds at the respective games are so very different - and I don't just mean the size! The atmosphere at Ninian Park was much better than of late, with a number of different ditties sung as well as the old favourites. Meanwhile, over at the Arms Park the atmosphere was, well, sort of, dead!! Only one chant from the home supporters - the very imaginative "Cardiff!", whilst our friends from out west were slightly more vocal, although equally unimaginative. Cries of "Scarlets!", "I'm Scarlet 'till I die", "there's only one Gareth Jenkins", and the predictable "Sospan Fach" were the sum total of their offerings.

On the plus side one has to say how much less partisan the crowds behaviour is at a rugby union match. Great to see fans mixed in together (both during the game and in the pubs after) and absolutely no hint of trouble whatsoever. It so much increases my hatred towards football hooligans and their apologists, but I digress.

As for the game, well it's just not my cup of tea I'm afraid. Too stop/start for my liking and the primary tactic seemed to be to hoof the ball as far upfield as possible. The old adage that the crowd at a rugby union game sees more of the ball than the players sadly held true yesterday evening. On the plus side was the sheer ferocity of the tackling and defensive play - some of the tackling, seen at such close quaters, is frightening! These guys are huge, and you probably wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of them!

The final disappointment for me was the amount of punches thrown by the players and the "handbag" incidents. Now I know that it's part of the game but, to me, it has no place in a team sport. If you want to throw punches, learn to box! If you throw a punch then you should be off - not just sin-binned for 10 minutes.

All-in-all then a worthwhile experience, one which I may repeat in the future. That's strange I hear you say after being so critical? Maybe, but the ultimate reason would be the lack of hostility on the terraces and in the stands - football needs to look at rugby union and learn lessons in crowd behaviour.

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