Two of England’s biggest clubs descended onto Cardiff on a gloriously sunny May afternoon
If you were a betting man, you’d probably feel a bit more comfortable sticking money on the fact the Wurzels have never been played over the Principality Stadium’s loudspeakers, rather than the reverse.
And yet, as the voice of Adge Cutler reverberated around the home of Welsh rugby to celebrate Bristol Bears’ Gallagher Premiership victory over Bath, the chorus of ‘Drink up thy zider’ was sung with the same enthusiasm as the anthem in this stadium. If any moment summed up the day, it was this.
Walking down Westgate Street in the hours before kick-off, it was a little difficult at times to reconcile with just what was happening on this sunny May afternoon. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
The pubs that adorn the street across from the Principality Stadium were filled with Bristol and Bath jerseys, spilling out onto the road that had been closed, at that point, for a couple of hours.
The Queen’s Vault, opposite the Welsh Rugby Union’s Parkgate Hotel, heaved with English rugby fans.
Miles away from this English derby in the Welsh capital, Cardiff were readying themselves to take on the Bulls in Pretoria. At times, you have to pinch yourself at what rugby in 2025 has become – the longest walk for the shortest glass of water.
Common sense failures aside, the streets of Cardiff, with fans jostling for position near pubs, had the feel of an international matchday. Just without Wales being involved.
This was ‘Big Day Out’, Bristol’s first attempt at hosting a Premiership game at the Principality Stadium. The hope is, for the club, it will become an annual occurrence.
If the crowd drawn in for the first is anything to go by, they stand a pretty good chance of making it stick when the Bears’ men and women return for a double-header next March.
51,095 fans piled into the home of Welsh rugby to watch Bristol keep up their play-off hopes against the heavily-rotated league leaders with a 36-14 win.
Even the lack of front-line talent for Bath – without British and Irish Lion Finn Russell pulling the strings – didn’t put off the fans, nor Lions coach Simon Easterby at the back of the press box.
It’s all too easy to look at Judgement Day – with the latest edition bringing in 28,328 fans back in April – and wonder how you make the coming together of the four Welsh clubs like this.
From the off, this felt tangibly bigger, livelier – just better – than the coming together of Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets on Easter Saturday. Of course, right now, just getting the four clubs on the same page – and then getting them to put their signatures on that page – is the priority.
Just hours before this game, more statements were forthcoming about the fact the new Professional Rugby Agreement hasn’t been signed by all yet. Perhaps, then, Welsh eyes weren’t all on the Principality Stadium to pick up any hints.
In truth, there’s no obvious answer as to how you get Judgement Day to this. The same gimmicks that just don’t click on Judgement Day – like pre-match light shows – were committed to wholeheartedly by the English crowd.
Getting characters like prop Max Lahiff to record a tubthumping pre-match video is another reminder that the English clubs know how to make the most of their personalities.
It wasn’t all fun and games. An inflatable rugby ball, being passed around the stadium joyfully, got as far as the press box, where a WRU employee confiscated the ball to boos from the nearby fans.
Bristol have, in fairness, cultivated a unique matchday experience, targeting a younger audience, and this was just an extension of that.
There were fan-cams, with one bald fan with glasses being compared to Little Britain’s Matt Lucas. At half-time, indie band Maximo Park provided entertainment for the masses with a lively set.
The chorus from their 2005 top 20 hit ‘Apply Some Pressure’ – “What happens when you lose everything? You start again, you start all over again?'” – seemed particularly fitting in the land of boom or bust.
Regardless of that, the revelry was contagious. Young kids, heading for the exit near the press box after getting their first taste of professional rugby, asked if they could come again.
Maybe, if you’re being a little optimistic, any Welsh youngsters in the ground thinking that might end up at a Welsh game sometime soon.
Maybe, if you’re being a little optimistic, that’s what Welsh rugby can tap into when it lets two English clubs into its home.
If not that, and whatever the financial benefits are, then, now more than ever, there’ll be a need to get more out of Judgement Day, if it continues. That’s easier said than done.
One things for certain. On this showing, Big Day Out is here to stay. It’ll be back next year, in March, for another go around.
Bristol coach Pat Lam, who has never hidden his admiration for Welsh rugby or the stadium itself, was definitive that he wants this to be an annual event.
As Bristol’s song, ‘Blackbird’, echoed down the hall from the changing rooms to the press room, you can guarantee this won’t be the last time the stadium hears the Wurzels.
