When I first came to Italy, I knew that I wanted to go to one of the Italian Six Nations Games, lucky enough for myself I was able to watch Scotland play Italy in Rome for one of the best rugby games I have ever witnessed as a rugby fan.

My friends were keen to experience both Milan and Rome so they first flew out to see the beautiful city I stay in and then we travelled to Rome together. It’s no secret that Italy is a large country so figuring out how to get my friends and I from Milan to Rome posed us with a couple of options.

The first option which would have been cheap and given us many times to choose from was bus, I have already spoken about my admiration for cheap bus travel in Italy; however, this option would have taken upwards of seven and a half hours to get to Rome. Knowing that my friends were eager to enjoy Italy in Rome and not on a bus meant this was not realistically viable for the short time that they were here. So, what was the fastest way to get to Rome? The quickest way was to fly which would only take just over an hour; however, with the excitement and multitude of fans travelling to watch the game the prices of the flights spiked up substantially.

This left us with the most realistic option, by train, which only took just over 3 hours and a half hours. One of the reasons I really enjoy this country is the fact that all of these options of transport would have been cheaper than a subsequent journey distance in the UK, it makes travelling and taking in new cultures and experiences more viable for a student.

After showing my friends Milan, we got a train in the morning to Rome and were there just before noon and managed to get pizza before taking a slow walk before checking in at the Airbnb. Once settled in, we decided to explore the city.

Compared to Milan, Rome is certainly more historical and every street had some sort of history, there is much more architecture and historic points in this city than I have every witnessed. Once night had fallen we and many Scottish rugby fans were surrounding the Trevi fountain. One of my new favourite experiences to have is by watching Scotland rugby games abroad, with no fault there is always someone playing bagpipes and it was a marvellous experience to look at Roman architecture whilst listening to Scotland the Brave. Soon after this, we hit the hay so we could wake up for the game tomorrow.

I woke up early and myself and one other decided we would make ciabattas for breakfast to fuel up for the day, so after a slow start and Italian deli breakfast we were heading in an Uber to the game. Two of my friends were bringing the atmosphere to the game by wearing kilts while I opted for a massive saltire to wear as a cape and my Scotland top that I wear to every game. We bought beers outside the stadium and enjoyed the pre-game atmosphere with both Italian and Scotland fans who were getting ready to cheer their team on. We went inside and were sat in the north stand just behind the posts. In recent years the Stadio Olimipico struggled to fill, but not today, the stadium was sold out with the Italians very much up for the battle ahead. With game about to start the anthems began, it surprised me how loud the Flower of Scotland was, there was a large number of Scotland fans who had made the trip to Rome.

But that noise was soon surpassed as Il Canto degli Italiani filled not just the stadium but most of Italy. The noise was deafening, frightening, and it certainly raised the bar of the atmosphere to another level. Then the whistle sounded and the game began.

Scotland started the game off strong and filled us with confidence going into the second half. I am not sure what happened at half time but something in the air changed, a supercharged Italian side soon announced their strength and took the lead in the second half. The Italians did not let the volume decrease after that, Italian chants, Italian songs, Italian voices and cries bellowed in the stadium: I myself started to urge the Italian team on. In the dying embers of the game, Scotland failed to maintain possession in extra time and the whistle rang.

The Italians won against Scotland for the first time since 2015, and they let everyone in the stadium know. Perhaps, the most surprising thing that happened when we were leaving the stadium was the respect that the Italians showed us Scottish, they thanked us for the game and shook our hands even as supporters, this had obviously meant a lot to them. As a rugby fan, I had nothing but respect for the Italians, but what was promising for the country was the amount of children at the game, there is no disrespect in saying that Italy has had a large rough patch when counting wins in the Six Nations, so to see so many children watch rugby in a largely football dominated country was very promising for the future of the sport in Italy.

In fact, we came across an Italian family who asked me if I would swap my large saltire for their little girl’s Italian flag she had brought to the game. Of course we swapped and I can only hope that the small girl keeps the flag and will maybe have admirations to play for the Italians women’s team one day with the memory of how good it is to see your country win an international game.

Outside of the stadium, my friends joined in with a small touch rugby game on the grass, which they decided to shortly turn into contact and started tackling one another. We decided to buy a rugby ball and whilst making our way to the city we passed and kicked the ball in the historic streets of Rome, which is something that not many people can say that they have done. After that, we ditched the ball and headed to the centre, where we enjoyed the Italian hospitality before heading back to the Airbnb.

The next day we woke up slightly groggy and still in awe of what had happened the day before. We slowly woke up and decided to explore the city before heading back to Milan. We started off by walking to the Palatine hills where there plenty of Roman ruins which lead to behind the Colosseum. After that, we grabbed lunch nearby and slowly headed to the train station and went back to Milan. Once back at my flat, we got pizza at one of my favourite takeaways. I said my goodbyes to my friends as I had class early the next day and they had an even earlier flight.

Looking back, this has been one of my favourite trips as I truly feel as I have witnessed history happen, perhaps even the true turn around for Italian rugby. Rome is a city that I need to visit once again as there is so much culture and history that interests me that I did not get to see because of the tight time scale I was on.

If someone was going to consider going abroad in the second semester or for a year in Italy, I’d definitely recommend experiencing the atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico in the Six Nations as the passion that the fans emit is something truly different to anything I have experienced before, but most of all is to make time for a trip to Rome. Even though it is quite far away from Milan, the transport across the country makes all parts of Italy accessible for an affordable price for students.

~ James (Go Abroad Ambassador 2023/24)