Six Nations news: Best moments in each national stadium
Every stadium tells a story.
The Six Nations showcases some of the best arenas in world sport, from the heritage of Twickenham and Murrayfield to the contrasting and relatively new Aviva Stadium, and everything in between.
Fans have the ability to change games and home advantage is expected to have a huge impact on this year's competition.
Brought to you by Sports News Blitz writer Charlie Elliot, here are the best moments from each team's national stadium and a brief bit of history about the place itself.
Twickenham: England 53-3 South Africa
In its over 100 years of existence, Twickenham has seen it all.
To narrow down such a storied history into one singular moment feels slightly disrespectful to the heritage that it holds.
Out of every game played at the stadium, England beating the Springboks 53-3 must be the best show of dominance that has been seen against such a strong opposition.
The result happened in the Autumn of 2002, right before the best year in rugby history for the country, which makes this moment even more interesting to look back on as a precursor to greatness.
Will Greenwood got a brace of tries and Lawrence Dallaglio notched one in a star-studded lineup that went on to bigger things after this.
So many moments could have made it for Twickenham, but this one tops the lot.
Stade de France: France 44-5 Ireland
Although it isn’t as old as some of the other stadia in the Six Nations, in just over 25 years at the Stade de France, there have been a whole host of great games already.
The first Grand Slam of the Six Nations era being secured here takes the crown.
Not only was it history-making, but it was a hugely convincing victory.
The way that they won it adds to how impressive this game was.
Three minutes in, the hosts opened the scoring and did not look back, putting Ireland to the sword.
To many fans, the 100-minute game between Wales and Ireland may be the first game that springs to mind, but the relative recency of this skews how memorable it is compared to the dominance over Ireland.
Finishing this year at home against Scotland, another Grand Slam being secured could be on the cards.
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Aviva Stadium: Ireland 22-24 New Zealand
Lansdowne Road saw a lot happen in and around its stands, and the Aviva Stadium has carried on the legacy.
The All Blacks broke Irish hearts with a last-minute winner in Dublin in what is the best moment at this stadium to date.
It was made all the more harsh because of the dominance shown throughout by the hosts.
Ireland just couldn’t put the game to bed and were punished in the worst possible fashion.
A missed conversion at the end made the game appear to have finished in a draw, but the kick was retaken due to Ireland players charging down too early.
Despite the game being over 10 years ago now, Ireland fans still grimace at the thought of that kick.
Murrayfield: Scotland 12-10 Wales
Celebrating its 100th anniversary in March of this year, the Edinburgh-based stadium has seen countless moments of magic in its storied history.
The most momentous was when 104,000 spectators packed Murrayfield for the 1975 Five Nations clash between Scotland and Wales.
Although it happened before a lot of people’s time, it held the record for the most attended rugby union game until 1999.
Made better by the fact that the hosts won, a loss would have left a lot of fans very disappointed that day.
Wales ended up winning the tournament, with Scotland runners up after losing the final game to England.
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Stadio Olimpico: Italy 34-20 Scotland
The home of Italy for plenty of huge games and used as a football stadium for Roma and Lazio, Rome’s largest venue is somewhat of a modern-day Colosseum.
Opened in 1953, Italy’s best sports events usually find themselves being played here.
In rugby terms, the best moment came in their Six Nations debut, beating the reigning champions Scotland.
One of the biggest assets for Italy is the partisan crowd that turns out for the big games and this game was no different, with the fans being described as the 16th man on this occasion.
Although they haven’t lived up to the promise that this win suggested, they are a side who are on their way up.
Millennium Stadium: Wales 32-20 Ireland
When the roof is closed at the Millennium Stadium, the sound is deafening.
A strong contender for the loudest national anthem out of the Six Nations cohort, when Wales performs well on the pitch the crowd is unbelievable.
With that being said, it is not hard to imagine just what it was like in 2005, when Wales beat Ireland to secure their first Grand Slam in 27 years.
Emotions were running high and the tension in the ground was palpable for the last few minutes.
What stood out the most was the eruption of noise at the final whistle was simply amazing.
Head coach Mike Ruddock compared the game to the heydays of Welsh rugby in the 1970s - such were the memories created.
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