Rugby in real life!

The last time I went to a live rugby game was in 1976. It was also the first time. The All Blacks were touring and Sid Going was the star of the show at Newlands. I don't follow rugby, finding it quite difficult to understand, and preferring single player sports like golf and tennis where I can see the ball most of the time! Yesterday an opportunity presented itself to go to the Stormers vs Lions game and I thought, Life is for living, so just go, and I did.
Season tickets and parking in the garage next to the stadium went a long way towards maximum ease of access and was second best to a box. Actually, it was great to be in the throng among die-hard fans who never let up on the cheering, chanting, booing and flag waving throughout the game, all of which gave prompts as to what was happening on the field. Without the constant commentary of TV viewing and close ups of all the action, it wasn't easy for a pleb like me to keep up with the subtleties, but it was clear that the ref was bearing the brunt of the booing. I also knew which direction each team was playing in, so it wasn't a totally lost cause.
Although we lost by a narrow margin, I left the famous stadium feeling that live rugby was infinitely preferable to the TV version for the the human connection with the players right in front of us on a field that looked so much smaller in real life, and most of all the unity of spirit in the crowd.