Wayulles, Wayulles, Wayulles ...

A couple of weeks ago I went to my first rugby match -- ever -- at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Fantastic!

I wasn't planning on going and had walked to the city centre to just be around the buzz and heard a scalper 'buying and selling' tickets on the street for the Wales-South Africa game. I knew they averaged £65, but it was a glorious sunny afternoon and I didn't know if I'd get a chance in the near future to try and see a game.

"How much for a ticket?"

"How many do you want, luv?"

"Just one."

He showed me a ticket for £65.

"Make me an offer."

"£20."

"I thought you would give me a serious offer!"

"Sorry, I just thought I'd give it a shot," I said, shrugged my shoulders and walked away.

"Luv." He called me back. "Because I like you, you can have it for £30."

I still wasn't sure, and walked away again, thought about it for two minutes and decided it was a pretty good deal.

"I'll take it," I said.

"I thought you would."

Right on the centre line, only 14 rows from the field, only three seats away from the entrance the players use to come onto the field. It was a single ticket too, as I was surrounded by people, which explains the great price I got on it.

Live sports in an arena can't be beat. The stadium holds close to 70,000 and there were about 58,000 on hand. As well, games are not blacked out here, so the game is available live at all the pubs and in people's homes on television.

Red and green, the Welsh colours everywhere, dragons painted on people's faces and the Welsh flag draped over shoulders. People wear giant yellow daffodil hats (the daffodil is the national flower). Before the players enter the arena, large flames shoot up high at points around the field, like a dragon's hot breath. I can feel the heat in my seat.

The game is crushing and fascinating. Wales leads handily by half-time and when they come back, it is as if the two teams switched in the dressing room. South Africa takes the game by mere points with Wales on the verge of breaking through again in the final minutes.

I don't know why anyone would play this game. It is brutal. It makes N. American football players look overprotected with all that padding they wear. But it is fascinating and requires passing and throwing skills from nearly all the players (as well as an ability to give and take crushing blows.)

After the game, the hordes step out into an early clear evening, with a pink sunset blushing the sky. The stadium is downtown and everyone spreads out through the streets, hitting pubs, stopping at cafes and restaurants, filling up on some street grub. I head for some chips with curry sauce, the perfect food on a cold night, and eat it sitting in the city centre.

This Saturday, Wales meets the much-anticipated New Zealand team, the leaders in rugby.

And that's the last International game until the Six Nations teams play in the New Year.

Wayulles, Wayulles, Wayulles ...