Ribcages shook as the bassline dropped. Boom. Boom. Boom. The vibrations matched the march of the teams coming out. Fireworks blasted red and white into the sky and Taylor Swift’s familiar voice sang: “Are you ready for it?” The world record crowd definitely were and it is a good job Twickenham does not have a roof or it would need repairing as these teams are used to breaking the glass ceiling.
England rugby’s reputation needed some patching at their home, given that the last time a team frequented this grass the men were booed off after being destroyed by France in March. If you looked hard enough the cracks in the concrete were still evident, the fortress crumbling at the seams.
