Rugby Sevens - Glasgow2014

27th July 2014

Ibrox Stadium

It was almost fifteen years to the day since my last visit to Ibrox Stadium, and I had forgotten quite how imposing and yet compact a venue it is.  But that may have been in part due to the fact my previous trip had been for a ditchwater-dull Champions League Qualifying tie, and I had found myself with a pillar for company in the Main Stand.

This afternoon I was in the Copland Road end and the view really was excellent.  Ibrox is probably the only ground I know where I do not mind the pair of open corners.  For here we have those two unique glass-fronted staircases behind which ghostly figures can be seen gliding up and down.

The neat stairtowers - there is one at either end of the main stand.

Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow.

Panorama of Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow.

No football on show today though, as this was the quarter-final stage of the Glasgow2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens tournament.  But there was precious little for the supporters of the three competing home nations to shout about as first Wales, then England and finally Scotland all exited with varying degrees of timidity.

The Welsh made the best fist of things; racing into a 19-0 lead by punishing the slightest errors by the more fancied Australians.  But in the final minute leading 19-14, the Welsh made a real pig’s ear of a three on one situation in the corner allowing the Aussies, with a grim inevitability, the opportunity to barge up the field to draw level , before taking the tie with the resultant conversion.

England, I felt looked the better side for much of their tie with Samoa, but the score conceded when they were down to six players after James Rodwell had been yellow-carded for a spiteful whack at Samoa Toloa proved the difference between the sides.

Scotland, by contrast, were just dire:  21-0 down after what seemed like just seconds, they rallied slightly to reach 21-12 after Stuart Hogg came on.  But a missed tackle out on the wing by the Scots on the quicksilver Seabelo Senatla ended the tie as a contest.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

South Africa's Cornal Hendricks scores the opening try of the match.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Scotland v South Africa - 2014 Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens.

Prior to these three matches we had witnessed New Zealand make very heavy weather of eliminating Kenya, one of the few lesser nations not to have ended up with a severe panning at some point or another during proceedings.

In fact the whole of the two sessions on the Saturday – I had followed on TV – appeared little more than a tedious procession of slaughter-fests with sides of battle-hardened professionals vying with each other to inflict the biggest humiliation upon teams of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers.  An utterly pointless exercise.

What we should have had was the eight strongest teams forming groups A&B, with the top three in each group qualifying; and two further groups each comprising four of the lesser lights with only the group winners qualifying to for the last eight.  That way we should have enjoyed a greater number of closely fought matches on both days - but then perhaps the rugby-watching public just love to witness a good massacre.

Finally, a word on the much-publicised Rugby-Sevens-at-Ibrox "atmosphere".  To me atmosphere at a sporting event develops spontaneously either due to crowd anticipation beforehand, or during a closely fought encounter.  If you are relying upon some pea-brained cheerleader gabbling away between matches or lowest common denomitator guff like the Bongo-Cam or Sweet Caroline karaoke, this is not the real deal. 

With Ibrox subway station crowded out, I decided to walk back to the city centre,
and took this pic from the Squinty Bridge of (L to R)
The Crown Plaza Hotel, The Armadillo, The Finnieston Crane and The Hydro.