Rugby fan Aled Lloyd-Biston was VERY excited to be a travelling fan again after two years of Covid
THE highlight of my four years in university was a trip to Dublin to watch Wales in the Six Nations in 2020.
Trips to watch Wales play over the last two years have been stripped away from fans due to the pandemic. But at 7am on Friday I set off on the long but very welcome five-hour journey to Holyhead.
In the darkness of Cathays, my friends and I checked our bags one last time to make sure we had everything: money, clothes, toothbrush, Wales shirt …
But this year the additional baggage of masks, covid passes and forms to get into Ireland meant the trip was different from what we were used to.
As we reached Holyhead, we crammed into the packed Edinburgh Castle pub just minutes away from the port where Wales fans were enjoying a pint and a song before the three-hour ferry journey.
The herd of Welsh fans slowly moved to terminal two where the 2:45pm Stena Line ferry waited for us.
The songs were silenced as we had to put on our masks and make sure we had our forms ready to show security before boarding the ferry.
Although we were all very used to sticking to Covid restrictions, it was very different experiencing them on the ferry.
Social distancing was encouraged, masks had to be worn when moving around and protected screens between bar staff and travellers were in place, and the most striking thing was that the ferry was much emptier than two years ago.
But on arrival in Dublin, Covid was soon forgotten as we headed to our hostels to change and then went straight out to Temple Bar.
Everything was exactly how I remembered it from two years ago. The streets were full of green, you could hear the laughs of people enjoying themselves and the clinking of glasses to celebrate the return of fans in the Irish capital.
Even though I’d experienced it all before, I was in awe at the scenes I was witnessing, every single pub was packed, and the pints were flowing. If this was a sign of things to come for game day, then it promised to be a day to remember.
We were in the pub by 9.45am on Saturday, we were going to make the most of this weekend.
As we walked down Temple Bar, you could swear we were in Cardiff. Everyone was wearing Wales tops, a sea of red glistening in the Irish sun ready to fill pubs across the city.
O’Connell’s was the pub of choice to watch the game, as it was two years ago.
The set-up was the same as last time – a traditional Irish bar with a domed roof and pints of Guinness poured ready for the Welsh to drink.
Similarly to the ferry, O’Connell’s was not as full as I expected it to be. There were no empty seats this time, but walkways to the bar would normally be full of fans with eyes glued to TV screens. This year, they were clear.
But the atmosphere remained as loud as before. Wales’ fans blasted Land of My Fathers full of passion as we normally do, and even sang Shoulder to Shoulder with the few locals in the pub.
You could tell from before kick-off that Wales fans weren’t optimistic about the game, and their instincts were proved right rather quickly. As we watched Ireland go into half-time 10-0 up, it was lucky we were still in the game.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half it was 24-0 and the little hope we did have was snatched away from us, but at least we got to celebrate a Taine Basham try, even if it was only a consolation.
Despite being the wrong side of the scoreline against a strong Irish team, spirits weren’t dampened as we went from bar to bar singing Calon Lân, Delilah and Green Green Grass of Home, with the Irish applauding and joining in.
Perhaps the best part of the day was watching Scotland beat England, a moment celebrated with huge roars from both the Welsh and Irish. Anyone but England, right?
We sang into the early hours of Sunday morning, walking back to our hostels with kebabs in our hands and in high spirits after an amazing weekend.
On the ferry home and another five-hour journey from Holyhead to Cardiff I reflected on another great trip, another of the best weekend’s of my life.
With Covid retreating, my biannual trip to Dublin should continue for many, many years. It was so good to be back on the road again.
