MILLIONS of rugby fans will be bracing themselves for another action-packed weekend as the penultimate Six Nations matches play out.
But for some locals who live near Cardiff‘s Principality Stadium, which will host Wales versus France on Sunday, it fills them with dread.
Nigel IskanderResident Ana says the ‘best place’ to be is indoors on match days[/caption]
Nigel IskanderMore than 85,000 fans flood to the Principality Stadium each weekend during the Six Nations[/caption]
When we visited as part of The Sun’s Life A Pitch series, where we speak to people who live and work near famous sports clubs around the UK, residents told us they give the 85,000-seater ground a wide berth on match days.
Retired driving instructor Derek, 74, told The Sun: “The cars parked up everywhere they shouldn’t be and the noise are a bloody nuisance.
“If I had my time again, I’d buy somewhere in the country. The stadium wasn’t built when I moved in 30 years ago. At least I had 10 years of peace, I suppose.”
Another resident, Ana, said she’ll be taking refuge inside her home with her two Boston terriers – Malavita and Mavis – on Sunday because the streets around the stadium become so crowded with fans.
The 49-year-old, who lives a stone’s throw from the stadium, said: “The fans are always extremely good-natured, but it’s just too busy out here for my dogs when there’s a match on, so we stay indoors, away from the commotion.
“Everyone is so excited and there’s a lot of noise. I worry that the dogs won’t like the noise.
“The other problem is the parking. People park anywhere they can and some of them are quite naughty, so it gets very congested.”
The supermarket manager added: “The best place to be on match day is definitely indoors.”
GettyThe impressive ground in the Welsh capital is known for its lively atmosphere and passionate fans[/caption]
AlamyOn match days it’s swarming with fans[/caption]
Free gigs & TV delays
However, the rugby fans aren’t the biggest problem, locals say, with superstar bands and musicians proving more of a pain.
Theatre and performance professor Katja Krebs told The Telegraph that Coldplay were the worst culprits, with their noisy fireworks landing directly in her back garden.
Nigel IskanderRobbie enjoys the free concerts he gets thanks to living so close[/caption]
Nigel IskanderChris Murray has even sung in the stadium for one of the rugby clashes there[/caption]
“Who would have thought that Rammstein would be far less annoying than Coldplay?” she joked, comparing Chris Martin’s ‘dad rock’ band to the German industrial metal rockers.
Retired builder Chris Murray, 66, has spent eight years living across from the sports stadium and looks forward to big event days.
He said: “The rugby and concert crowds are the best, but when we’ve had boxing here, they often leave lots of litter.
“I enjoy listening to the anthems being sung.
“I’m a member of the Barry Male Voice Choir and on one occasion I was in the stadium singing the Georgia national anthem when they played Wales.
“What’s more, they beat us!”
But there is one downside of living so close if he’s watching a game at home.
“There is a ten-second delay in transmission, I get to know if they scored a try or something because I hear a great roar from the crowd before I see what happened on the telly,” he lamented.
Six Nations remaining fixtures
AS the Six Nations draws close to an end, we look at the remaining matches that are yet to be played.
Saturday 9th March
Italy vs Scotland at 2.15pm
England vs Ireland at 4.45pm
Sunday 10th March
Wales vs France at 3.00pm
Saturday 16th March
Wales vs Ireland at 2.15pm
Ireland vs Scotland at 4.45pm
Frances vs England at 8.00pm
Another fan of the hustle and bustle is Robbie Paul, 50, who lives in a hostel opposite the venue.
“I love it here, when my bedroom window is open I can hear the concerts as plain as if I was there,” he said.
“I could never afford to actually pay around £100 to go, so this is great for me.
“When the Stereophonics concert was there I couldn’t believe it.
“They are one of my favourite bands and if I closed my eyes I could have believed I was actually there.
“I’ve listened to loads of concerts now, it’s brilliant.”
He even got an unexpected bonus when the live music and sport venue was shut during the pandemic.
He said: “There were no games being played, they gave us locals lots of free food.
“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
Recession boost
Nigel IskanderChloe Donovan said her team serves 25,000 tacos at every Six Nations match[/caption]
Nigel IskanderPantera, where Chloe works, can have queues outside that stretch 50 metres in length[/caption]
Nigel IskanderFarwzafar likes it when there are fireworks included in the shows[/caption]
For Farwzafar Kahn, 80, who lives two roads from the stadium, the noise and crowds don’t really bother him.
His favourite thing is when a special show is put on.
“The fireworks displays can be quite entertaining when they do them, but I’ve never found any spent fireworks in my garden or had them crash on the roof .. fortunately,” he said.
“The cars can be a nuisance because there are just too many, but that’s not just when there is something on, there are always cars everywhere these days.”
For nearby restaurant worker Chloe Donovan, 25, match day is about skill, nerve, stamina… and an endless stream of tacos.
In the hours before and after rugby internationals, she and her team bang out around 25,000 tacos.
The queue of hungry fans can stretch for 50 metres in the build-up to kick-off over the road.
Most will wash their Mexican nosh down with one after another of the Latin American country’s famous export – tequila.
If I had my time again, I’d buy somewhere in the country. The stadium wasn’t built when I moved in 30 years ago
Derek, local resident
“We’ve got the biggest selection of tequila in Wales and when there’s a game on, the fans can’t get enough of it,” Chloe told us.
Like most hospitality businesses in the shadow of the stadium, rugby internationals, especially Six Nations clashes, provide a much-needed turnover boost for her restaurant, La Pantera.
In a recession, they are game-changers.
Chloe said: “Times are extremely tough in the hospitality industry at the moment, so these home matches are a godsend.
“It’s an opportunity to roll our sleeves up and do what we do, and if we get it right, we can prosper on these days.
“But for me, it’s about the atmosphere. When Wales are playing here, it is electric and I feel privileged to be here right next to this amazing stadium.
“The fans are wonderful. In five years I can honestly say I have never seen any trouble here – before or after a game. There’s lots of banter and even more singing, especially when Ireland are here.
“The Irish are my favourite visiting fans because they are always smiling and singing. They light the whole city up.”
Chloe said in the minutes before matches kick off, the streets surrounding her restaurant become “a ghost town” as fans make their way into the ground or seek out local pubs screening the action.
I’d love to go to the internationals but unfortunately I just can’t afford the ticket price – it can be around £150 and I just don’t have that kind of money as a single mum with two teenage kids
Christina, local resident
“We don’t televise the games here so as soon as the game starts, they’re off,” said Chloe.
“I don’t mind too much, though, because it gives us a chance to catch our breath. An hour and a half later, we’re rammed again until we close around midnight.
“By the time we shut, I reckon we’ve sold around 25,000 tacos and got through dozens and dozens of tequila bottles.”
‘Beer, beer… and more beer’
Nigel IskanderBarman Nick Ahmed and the team will be serving from 9am until 1.30am the following morning[/caption]
Nigel IskanderOne wall inside The Queen’s Vaults pub pays tributes to Welsh rugby legends[/caption]
A few metres down the road at the Queen’s Vaults pub, it’s beer the fans want, according to barman Nick Ahmed, 31.
Nick is a “veteran” of 10 Six Nations series and knows what his customers require: “Beer, beer… and more beer.”
Former nurse Nick serves his first pint on match days at 9am, and will “keep serving them until 1.30am the next day”.
“It’s relentless,” he added. “I have a one-hour break halfway through and the rest of the day is spent serving a sea of thirsty customers.
“We have 30 staff on duty because it gets so busy in here when there’s a game on.
We had to clean the men’s toilets every 20 minutes and it was so busy in there you could barely get in between everyone to do your job
Chris Ling
“We have to serve drinks in plastic glasses but I’ve never seen any trouble here or anywhere else.
“Rugby fans aren’t like football fans. The rivalry is always good-natured. But if Wales lose, our fans don’t come back in after the game. They just go straight home.
“The build-up to these Six Nations games is fantastic. Everyone is talking about the action to come and having a great time.”
Because he’s always working on match days, Nick confesses he has not been inside the Principality Stadium despite it being mere metres away.
“I’d love to watch a game in there, rather than having to squint at the screen in here over the heads of the punters for a few seconds between serving pints,” he said. “Maybe one day.”
‘Deafening roar’
Nigel IskanderChris Ling, who worked in the Principality Stadium, said toilets had to be cleaned every 20 minutes[/caption]
Matchday pub regular Chris Ling, 53, said the atmosphere at the bar is “unbeatable”.
“It’s brilliant in here when there’s a game on. Mind you, it’s even better in there,” he said, pointing to the stadium.
And he should know, for he spent several years working at the Principality Stadium as a member of the cleaning team.
“You could hear the slap of body against body when the tackles went in, then the deafening roar of the fans,” he recalled. “It was just immense.”
Not that Chris got to see much of the play: “We had to clean the men’s toilets every 20 minutes and it was so busy in there you could barely get in between everyone to do your job.
“The job wasn’t much fun but I always enjoyed the atmosphere in that stadium. It’s a special place.”
Not everyone is at the Queen’s Vaults for the rugby, though.
“Can’t stand the game,” 81-year-old Bob Blake, a retired carpenter, told us.
“I’m a football man through and through, I’m afraid. I just come in because the beer’s good.”
Nigel IskanderBob Blake says he ‘can’t stand’ the rugby but still visits the pub, which is metres away from Wales’s ground[/caption]
Nigel IskanderSun reporter Nic North hears the perks and frustrations of living next to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium[/caption]