We arrived in London a few days earlier to feel the atmosphere of the city before the grand finale that awaits the whole of England. The city, as we assumed, lived for the grand finale and it was all about rugby. Looking around and full of pubs, we have something to see, and the fans of both clubs who occupied the entire city. Rugby occupation of London. The football season is over, and even those who follow football are watching with attention who will win the grand final of the Premiership. In the city, at every step of the advertisement for the grand finale, the captains of the Saracens and Lester Tigers are smiling at the billboards. An even bigger arrival of fans from Leicester is expected on the day of the match. The home Saracens, as a team from London, will have great support from their fans, who will not be far from Twickingham.
London is an enormous city that lives 24 hours a day, the atmosphere of rugby fans who come to the game gives it a special charm. Along with football, rugby is the most popular sport in England and the finals will be played on Saturday the 18th. June, brings not only prestige and earnings, but also the spirit of rugby that will rule at least this weekend in London as the king of sports that everyone is talking about and that everyone will watch.
In London, we visit its sights from Big Ben, Carnage Street, Wesmister to Beckham Palace. A huge city with great public transport, starting from the popular subway that the English call a tube or ti tube, to the famous red buses on the floor of popular double deckers who are a symbol of London and England. We visited Trafalgar Square and the nearby famous Downing Street, the seat of the Prime Minister of England It’s very hot in London these days. The temperature rises to 38 degrees. The English have a hard time withstanding such climatic conditions and spend their free time in pubs with the popular Guinness. We decide to relax in a pub and try Guinness.
On Saturday morning, after the famous English breakfast that made England famous, we will head to the rugby temple at the stadium where the grand final will take place. Tviknem is located at the end of London near the famous Heathrow Airport. We can freely say that it is a suburb of London. The metro does not have its own line there and we will have to take the train. We already notice a lot of fans of both teams at the station. The first thing that catches our eye are the beautiful girls who are dressed in formal dresses with women’s hats on their heads.Men wear formal suits, jackets, ties and shoes. There is a grand final going on rugby. Rugby in England and everywhere in the world is a gentleman’s sport. There is no hatred between the fans. The station, which is huge, is full, and we are all waiting for the train to Twickinham.
The train arrives at the station, but unfortunately due to the large number of people we do not enter the train. We especially liked that there was no pushing or anything like that. All the fans stand behind each other as passengers waiting for the next train to arrive and to board slowly and without hustle and bustle on the way to Twickingham. We only get on the fourth train that arrives and we set off for Twickingham. The railway has increased the number of trains due to the final match, so the train to Twickingham arrives every 5 to 10 minutes. The journey to Twickingham takes about 30 minutes, and the song Tiiiigers can be heard on the train! Tiiiiigers!
We arrive at Twickinham, which is already quite full of fans of both clubs. Rivers of people flow to the stadium. We arrive at the stadium and the first thing we notice is a beautiful rugby monument in front of the stadium where there are a couple of players jumping and catching the ball. We are buying a program of the match that looks more like a book, but it also has a good price of 10 pounds, which is normal in the end, because everything we buy today will be more expensive.The grand final of the Premiership is being played, which is not on the program every day, but once a year.
We are buying an earphone through which we will be able to listen to what and with whom Judge Barnes is talking, who will judge the grand final. Unfortunately, there are cameras everywhere in the museum and it is strictly forbidden to take photos of anything in the museum because you are threatened with great punishment. The museum is phenomenal and if you have the opportunity, be sure to visit it. The museum’s display includes everything about rugby from its beginnings to the present day. were part of it.
The beginning of the match is approaching, which is still a few hours away, so we decide to enter the stadium after the museum. Twickinham is huge, but also a beautiful stadium where only rugby is played. We are looking for an entrance that we can easily find and where the guys who work at the entrance are waiting for us as security and to help people who come to the stadium. We have tickets in our phone. We bought the tickets and in order to get them, we had to download the Premiership Rugby application to our phone, where they sent us a ticket with a cuar code via that application. Simply the paper maps I prefer seem to be a thing of the past or maybe it’s just there for this grand finale
We enter the stadium after checking and checking the QR code. I must mention and say that the people who work at the entrance, both the security that searches you and all the debtors, are extremely kind and will do everything to make you feel comfortable in the stadium. There are already quite a few people in and around the stadium. Most are waiting for the arrival of their teams. We find out that the teams are coming at 13.30 and until then we decide to wander around the stadium and see what the atmosphere is like before the start of the match.
First come Lester Tigers. A lot of Leicester fans gathered, but we somehow managed to get close to the fence and patiently wait for the arrival of the bus. As it was announced at 13.30, a bus arrives with players getting off the bus and heading towards the entrance to the stadium. We recognize well-known members of the Tigers, such as Cola, Ford, Nadolo and many others. The fans are in a delirium. They chant the name of their club and shout the names of the players. Great atmosphere and support for Lester Tigers.
We didn’t wait long, and the bus with the Saracen players arrived. Players led by captain Owen Farrell pass through a crowd shouting and chanting their names. Great welcome for the Saracens who also have the great support of their London fans.
We decide to enter the stadium earlier and watch the warm-up and training of both teams before the game. The stadium is solidly filled. People follow the warm-up of their favorite team, and the speaker of the program entertains the audience by asking them who will win by how much and who will score tries.
It is exactly 3:00 PM and the stadium is full. Players go out on the field with big fireworks, confetti, fire and all possible other effects, while the crowd shouts and sings to their teams. Personally from the smoke, I didn’t see anything on the field for a few minutes. Referee Barnes gives the signal to start the match and the grand finale has begun.
I have to admit that someone asked me before the final when I would bet I would say I don’t know. Both teams are great and play great rugby. The nuances will decide. Great defenses and tactical rugby are played with a lot of shots and shooting the ball up and to the opponent’s side. Of course, many mistakes are made in games like this, and mistakes are paid dearly with penalty kicks. I expect a difficult match with a few tries with mistakes that will cost both teams dearly. Penalties and the lead of the Saracens are decreasing, which remained shortly after, due to a high fall with a player less who received a yellow card. Lester takes advantage of this and achieves an try. He left at half time with the result 12: 6 for Leicester.
During the halftime, the RFU and the Premiership organize parades at the stadium. The stadium is a parade of young children who play rugby in the jerseys of their teams while the fans from the stadium greet them. Great! Hundreds of young people parade and wave flags. I think this must be the right experience for every little rugby player in the parade.
The second half begins and the Saracens start violently in the hope that they will give an try and take the lead. Great fighting spirit of both teams. Excellent defenses of both teams and it will be very difficult to score an try. The Saracens shot two penalties and tied the score at 12:12 with more time for both teams to score an try. Leicester are weakened because their player received a yellow card due to high shooting and almost until the end of the match they will play with a player less, which is an extraordinary opportunity for the opponent.
The Saracens are trying to score an try, but in vain, Leicester’s defense is great today and hard as a bulwark. Leicester is in possession of the ball and will have the last attack. He is slowly and surely going to try to score an essay. There are a few minutes left until the end. It’s a big fight for the ball, Leicester is only a few meters from the essay line, but he returns the ball to Freddie Barnes, who shoots a drop goal in the style of Johnny Wilkinson and scores an essay. The referee blows the whistle for a successful foul and points to the center. Indescribable joy at the Leicester fans’ stadium. Saracen players are in shock, but so are their fans. The lady with the binoculars next to me is in shock. She cheered heartily throughout the game, but Freddie Barnes’ drop goal seems to have shattered all her hopes that the Saracens will be champions.
The Saracens start from the center, Owen Farrell’s shot in the air and the ball comes into the possession of Leicester players who make cancer and shoot the ball out. The referee plays at the end of the match and the indescribable celebration of Leicester fans in the stands begins. Leicester players are celebrating while Saracen players on the other side are mourning. It’s all a sport. The Saracens congratulate the Leicester players in a spotty and gentlemanly spirit. The celebrations do not stop in the stands and only Tiiiiigeeers can be heard!
We are waiting for the awarding of medals. The first to perform are Saracen players who receive silver medals with applause. Dan Cole leads the Leicester team who come for medals and a trophy. The celebration can begin as the Leicester Tigers team rises high with fireworks and confetti the Premiership trophy high in their hands. Players kiss the cup and take pictures with it. The children of the players run on the field and the players together with the children walk around the honorary circle around the field with the cup with the stormy support of the fans who greet them with a standing ovation.
Great atmosphere and exciting match of the finals that can only be wished for. We are slowly getting ready to leave the stadium and take one Leicester flag with us as a souvenir for this great and great final. We are leaving the stadium. At the end of the match, the host announced that 73,000 people attended the match. A lot of people leave the stadium, and we decide to wait for the crowd to pass with Guinness, which we drink while waiting for the crowd to disperse..
The great organization of the match remains in our memory with a great final and great rugby that was played at Twickingham. We set off for the station while a mass of people are still waiting for the train in front of us. Good organization and increased flow of trains that come every few minutes, very quickly take all the fans in the direction of central London. We slowly say goodbye to Twickingham and return to London. We are waiting to return home, and God willing, maybe the finals of the Premiership will happen again someday. The grand final met all our expectations. Rugby was and remains the game of gentlemen in England.
From your correspondent in London
Dragan Petrović
