What a day to be invited to accompany my (English) friend Andrew to the Six Nations Calcutta Cup (Scotland v England) match at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. And what a result!
The buzz around the stadium grounds; the cheers when the Scotland team’s coach pulled up outside the west stand and the players and support staff filed in; the boos when the England bus arrived; the banter between Scotland and England fans sitting side by side in the stands.
And then the game. The disappointment when England scored a converted try in the first five minutes. Oh boy! here we go again. 0–7. Then 0–10. And then the fight back. Duhan van der Merwe’s hat trick—the first Scotland player to score three tries against England in a Calcutta Cup match that was to be the cornerstore of their historical fourth win in a row.
We filed out of the stadium and almost immediately caught a bus west, back to Corstorphine, where I used to live and where I’d parked the car (although not on the street that we at first returned to… ahem!)
The Indian meal in Corstorphine on the way back to the car rounded off a wonderful day with a very dear friend.
