Life @ Kaplan: Rugby in Bath

Rugby is a very popular sport in the UK and the new season is just about to start!

Our KIC Bath students saw a warm up match this summer as part of their Kaplan social program and for Daniel Erst from Switzerland, it was his first ever time at a rugby stadium. We asked him about what he thought about the game, the crowd and his overall experience!

"I really wanted to see a rugby match during my stay in England. The regular rugby season starts in September and it can be quite difficult to get tickets for Premiership matches, so watching a pre-season match was the perfect solution!

Along with Penny our Social Organiser, we all went to the Recreation Ground, which is the city's rugby stadium and saw Bath Rugby take on London Welsh. Despite their name, they're actually an Oxford-based team! Bath Rugby is one of the sport's oldest clubs, so it was great to watch a traditional game with historical context!

In the past, I had only seen rugby being played on television. Live, I thought there was a great atmosphere considering it was a friendly! The crowd was very enthusiastic and cheered loudly after every good bit of play. I was also very impressed by the fairness of the players and the crowd. There was nobody booing the other team, which in many other sports is extremely common.

We saw some rough tackles, a total of 9 tries and a final result of 40 – 31 points to Bath, which is an unusually high result for a rugby friendly. It was an exhilarating experience for the sports fans but also the students who weren't that interested in sports were fascinated by the intensity of the game.

All in all, it was a perfect day out for everyone, whether they were interested in sports or just wanted to see this important part of English sports culture. I would definitely suggest visiting a rugby match to any student who is studying in one of the UK colleges. Especially if it's part of the Kaplan social program!