As mentioned earlier, Mick came to the pantomime ‘Cinderella‘ with me, so it was only fair that I should accompany him to a game of rugby union at one of the best know rugby union stadiums in the United Kingdom – Cardiff Arms Park.

We had seen this stadium quite a few times when we were on the bus, and I thought this was Cardiff Arms Park, although the name said “Principality Stadium”.

This is another view of what I thought was Cardiff Arms Park. You can see a smaller sign in the front right hand corner of the top photo.

But, I was wrong.

Cardiff Arms Park is beside this modern stadium. You can see Principality Stadium in the background. We had the coldest morning so far of our stay in Wales, -3C, but that meant the sun came out all day and it was a great clear afternoon. Perfect for both playing and watching rugby.

When we realised there was to be a game played at Cardiff Arms Park on our last Saturday in Cardiff, and when we found out that the tickets were only £15 each, we decided we’d go. The game was promoted as being between Cardiff Blues and Pataro Calvisano, an Italian rugby union team from Lombardy.

The competition is the European Challenge Cup, not a major competition, but it was a game none the less. Apparently, this competition is a second tier competition for European clubs and these teams are in Pool 5. Last time the teams met, the Cardiff Blues had a convincing win.

Kick off was 1.00pm, so Mick and I caught a bus into town and arrived before 12.30pm to make sure we were there and ready.

Our seats were in the North Stand which meant we had the sun in our eyes for the whole game. But the sun meant we were nice and warm.

Sadly the game was a disaster for the Italians, they were outclassed in both attack and defence, and it did not help that the referee penalised the Italians far more than the home team.

If you are looking for some blue guernseys for the Cardiff Blues – don’t. They wore grey, while the Italians wore mostly white.

We were sitting just in front of the Italian cheer squad. There was about a dozen of them, but they were loud, enthusiastic and optimistic to the very end.

Mick and I were at Cardiff Arms Park with 5,800 others. Everyone was very well behaved, and we did enjoy the experience.

Despite bringing along a secret weapon (a very important fan for Team Calvisano, all the way from the Vatican), the final score was 62-3.

Today we finish our house sitting assignment in Ely, Cardiff and catch a bus to London for the night. We are going to meet up with our son and his girlfriend in London, and all four of us will travel to Ely by train on Monday.

My brother will be in London as well, so he is joining us for dinner this evening. Another, mini family reunion – really looking forward to it.