I've done this every year on Facebook for the last decade or so, to little excitement, so thought I would belatedly share it here for once :
1 : Rugby World Cup - France
September 8th to October 28th
Planned with my two regular rugby-going mates, Matt & Stuart, almost three years prior in the depths of lockdown, this epic series of trips to one of my favourite sporting countries didn't disappoint. Cymru even made a decent showing in topping their pool to make the quarter-finals less than a year after crashing to a new low in losing at home to RWC opponents Georgia and Australia in Autumn Internationals.
Highlights were our nerve-shreddingly tight victory over Fiji & demolition of Australia and the magnificent occasion of the opening game between France & New Zealand but the best match of all was the ding-dong battle between Argentina & Japan to decide who faced Cymru in the quarters.
Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes and (especially) Marseille were amazing host cities and the whole tournament played out to fantastic crowds & wonderful hospitality in searing temperatures. The air went out of the tournament a little once Wales and France were knocked out but the opening month or so was captivating.
There was even a weekend where Cymru didn't have a pool game leaving us free for...
2: Europe 16+1/2 USA 11+1/2 - Ryder Cup - Marco Simone Golf Club, Rome
September 29th - October 1st
My third Ryder Cup and it's always one of the most insane sporting events to attend, especially when transplanted to the edge of a city as crazed as Rome.
Mark, Matt and I had a weekend of stupidly early starts walking miles across the peaks & troughs of the course in baking sun and cramming around the stunning natural arenas at each hole was rewarded with the usual epic contest.
Though it ended up being a huge win for Europe (starting with a clean sweep of Friday morning's matches) there were times, even on the last day, where it looked like USA might get back in to it. There was even some agita between the teams after Patrick Cantlay's Hatgate that ended up with handbags in the car park.
We topped it off with a night of VIP Hospitality watching Roma at the Stadio Olimpico to make it an even more stupidly enjoyable trip.
3: Latvia 0 Cymru 2 - European Championships Qualifier - Skonto Stadium, Riga
September 11th
Not a vintage set of performances from the football team in 2023 but this was a memorable trip for many reasons other than the prosaic display for most of the match until the final seconds.
One of those reasons was the dash across Europe Matt and I undertook to be there after the late night finish to the above-mentioned RWC match against Fiji, necessitating a 3am alarm call and two separate flights to get to Riga.
The match itself was meandering to a relatively mundane 0-1 win (albeit one played in a party atmosphere with The Red Wall making up 80% of the crowd) when in the 96th minute David Brooks delightfully chipped in to the net to seal both the win and his recent return to the national side after two years out recovering from cancer.
The away sections dominating the stadium absolutely exploded with joy for him and the celebrations afterwards were wild and prolonged...not least the mammoth carioci session twenty of us had I n a local bar which was still going when I managed to leave at 4am.
I missed Wales best game of 2023 at home to Croatia (we couldn't work out a way back from the RWC that time) but this was special in other ways.
4: Hellas Verona 2 Roma 1 - Serie A - Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, Verona
August 26th
I'd wanted to see Hellas and visit the Bentegodi for twenty years since Tim Parks' excellent book 'A Season With Verona' piqued my interest in the club & ground and both more than lived up to my expectations.
The atmosphere around the stadium prior to the match was already electric and it was stoked further by a rare victory for the perennial relegation strugglers over one of Serie A's most established clubs. It was worth the trip just to watch the ultras non-stop support in both curvas.
This game was the centrepiece of a weekend of Calcioverkill which also saw me take in Sampdoria v Pisa and Fiorentina v Lecce in three classic Italia '90 stadia and it was a blast.
5: Australia 469 & 270/8 (declared) India 296 & 234 - World Test Championship Final - The Oval, London
June 7th to 11th
I've always wanted to watch every day of a Test Match and especially one that doesn't feature the Evil Empire so jumped at the chance to do so when the finale of the two year WTC between the two biggest and best countries in cricket was staged pretty much on my doorstep.
My mates Philip and Andy joined me at the crease for a day each and TMS was my companion for the rest of the time which was perfect. The crowd consisted of around 90% Indian fans but they were ultimately disappointed by a gritty Australian display which was only the start of their successful English summer.
6: England 2 Tests Australia 2 Tests - The Ashes - Lord's and The Oval, London
June 16th to July 31st
I saw two days of each of the London tests which ultimately saw Australia retain The Ashes. The visits to Lord's were particularly eventful with runs being piled on, wickets falling everywhere, Nathan Lyon batting on one leg and one of the most controversial (non-)catches I've ever seen from Starc finishing the day. All witnessed with my son, wife, sister-in-law and her Aussie husband and sons for a memorable family outing.
7: England 10 France 53 - Six Nations - Twickenham Stadium, London
March 11th
I swear this isn't in the list purely because it is England's record home defeat of all time, though that obviously helps. I was there with an English rugby fan mate because I love the current French side and they delivered one of the greatest team performances I've ever seen in any sport to completely annihilate the home side.
As well as the collective display, Antoine Dupont (pretty much my favourite current sportsperson) gave a personal showing which was astounding, completely controlling every element of the game in a way that reminded me of the one time I saw his countryman Zidane play for France.
8: Sutton United 0 Wimbledon 3 - Division Four - Gander Green Lane, London
August 11th
The Dons had a wretched eighteen months or so prior to 2023/24 but this early season game hinted at hope for a far better campaign this time around. Wimbledon had never really turned up for the previous games against their proper derby opponents Sutton in the modern era but my boy and I saw them demolish the Amber & Chocolates for once.
It was also a reminder of how much fun away days (even very local ones) with a large travelling support are and the two of us had another one a couple of weeks later when 5000 Wombles fans went to Stamford Bridge and took Chelsea right to the final seconds in a narrow 2-1 defeat in the League Cup.
9: Memphis Redbirds 8 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 9 - Triple A, Minor League Baseball - Autozone Park
May 6th
A sporting interval in an otherwise Elvis-dominated trip with my Mum and my introduction to the eccentric world of the minor leagues (and hers to baseball at all).
Memphis's lovely ballpark is right in the heart of the vibrant downtown and was bliss on a blazingly hot & sunny day (though the endless buffet and drinks brought to our seats behind the batter helped) and I think I guided Mum through what I understood of the game well enough. The visitors' excellent name only added to the fun so I couldn't begrudge them their win.
10: Walton & Hersham 3 Hanworth Villa 1 - Isthmian South Central Play-Off Final - Elmbridge Sports Hub
April 30th
One of the most heartening football stories in the last few years has been the gradual resurgence of one of my local non-league clubs. From being famous for successes including FA Cup giant-killing in the seventies they lost their historic ground and were close to being out of business recently, dropping as low as the tenth tier.
This win in front of over 2000 fans including some local mates, their sons and I took them up to the seventh tier after three consecutive promotions and with a new lease of life being breathed in to the club. We even realised late on that one of the sons had played enough games on loan earlier in the season to qualify for a medal so he joined in the on-field celebrations.
1 : Rugby World Cup - France
September 8th to October 28th
Planned with my two regular rugby-going mates, Matt & Stuart, almost three years prior in the depths of lockdown, this epic series of trips to one of my favourite sporting countries didn't disappoint. Cymru even made a decent showing in topping their pool to make the quarter-finals less than a year after crashing to a new low in losing at home to RWC opponents Georgia and Australia in Autumn Internationals.
Highlights were our nerve-shreddingly tight victory over Fiji & demolition of Australia and the magnificent occasion of the opening game between France & New Zealand but the best match of all was the ding-dong battle between Argentina & Japan to decide who faced Cymru in the quarters.
Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes and (especially) Marseille were amazing host cities and the whole tournament played out to fantastic crowds & wonderful hospitality in searing temperatures. The air went out of the tournament a little once Wales and France were knocked out but the opening month or so was captivating.
There was even a weekend where Cymru didn't have a pool game leaving us free for...
2: Europe 16+1/2 USA 11+1/2 - Ryder Cup - Marco Simone Golf Club, Rome
September 29th - October 1st
My third Ryder Cup and it's always one of the most insane sporting events to attend, especially when transplanted to the edge of a city as crazed as Rome.
Mark, Matt and I had a weekend of stupidly early starts walking miles across the peaks & troughs of the course in baking sun and cramming around the stunning natural arenas at each hole was rewarded with the usual epic contest.
Though it ended up being a huge win for Europe (starting with a clean sweep of Friday morning's matches) there were times, even on the last day, where it looked like USA might get back in to it. There was even some agita between the teams after Patrick Cantlay's Hatgate that ended up with handbags in the car park.
We topped it off with a night of VIP Hospitality watching Roma at the Stadio Olimpico to make it an even more stupidly enjoyable trip.
3: Latvia 0 Cymru 2 - European Championships Qualifier - Skonto Stadium, Riga
September 11th
Not a vintage set of performances from the football team in 2023 but this was a memorable trip for many reasons other than the prosaic display for most of the match until the final seconds.
One of those reasons was the dash across Europe Matt and I undertook to be there after the late night finish to the above-mentioned RWC match against Fiji, necessitating a 3am alarm call and two separate flights to get to Riga.
The match itself was meandering to a relatively mundane 0-1 win (albeit one played in a party atmosphere with The Red Wall making up 80% of the crowd) when in the 96th minute David Brooks delightfully chipped in to the net to seal both the win and his recent return to the national side after two years out recovering from cancer.
The away sections dominating the stadium absolutely exploded with joy for him and the celebrations afterwards were wild and prolonged...not least the mammoth carioci session twenty of us had I n a local bar which was still going when I managed to leave at 4am.
I missed Wales best game of 2023 at home to Croatia (we couldn't work out a way back from the RWC that time) but this was special in other ways.
4: Hellas Verona 2 Roma 1 - Serie A - Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, Verona
August 26th
I'd wanted to see Hellas and visit the Bentegodi for twenty years since Tim Parks' excellent book 'A Season With Verona' piqued my interest in the club & ground and both more than lived up to my expectations.
The atmosphere around the stadium prior to the match was already electric and it was stoked further by a rare victory for the perennial relegation strugglers over one of Serie A's most established clubs. It was worth the trip just to watch the ultras non-stop support in both curvas.
This game was the centrepiece of a weekend of Calcioverkill which also saw me take in Sampdoria v Pisa and Fiorentina v Lecce in three classic Italia '90 stadia and it was a blast.
5: Australia 469 & 270/8 (declared) India 296 & 234 - World Test Championship Final - The Oval, London
June 7th to 11th
I've always wanted to watch every day of a Test Match and especially one that doesn't feature the Evil Empire so jumped at the chance to do so when the finale of the two year WTC between the two biggest and best countries in cricket was staged pretty much on my doorstep.
My mates Philip and Andy joined me at the crease for a day each and TMS was my companion for the rest of the time which was perfect. The crowd consisted of around 90% Indian fans but they were ultimately disappointed by a gritty Australian display which was only the start of their successful English summer.
6: England 2 Tests Australia 2 Tests - The Ashes - Lord's and The Oval, London
June 16th to July 31st
I saw two days of each of the London tests which ultimately saw Australia retain The Ashes. The visits to Lord's were particularly eventful with runs being piled on, wickets falling everywhere, Nathan Lyon batting on one leg and one of the most controversial (non-)catches I've ever seen from Starc finishing the day. All witnessed with my son, wife, sister-in-law and her Aussie husband and sons for a memorable family outing.
7: England 10 France 53 - Six Nations - Twickenham Stadium, London
March 11th
I swear this isn't in the list purely because it is England's record home defeat of all time, though that obviously helps. I was there with an English rugby fan mate because I love the current French side and they delivered one of the greatest team performances I've ever seen in any sport to completely annihilate the home side.
As well as the collective display, Antoine Dupont (pretty much my favourite current sportsperson) gave a personal showing which was astounding, completely controlling every element of the game in a way that reminded me of the one time I saw his countryman Zidane play for France.
8: Sutton United 0 Wimbledon 3 - Division Four - Gander Green Lane, London
August 11th
The Dons had a wretched eighteen months or so prior to 2023/24 but this early season game hinted at hope for a far better campaign this time around. Wimbledon had never really turned up for the previous games against their proper derby opponents Sutton in the modern era but my boy and I saw them demolish the Amber & Chocolates for once.
It was also a reminder of how much fun away days (even very local ones) with a large travelling support are and the two of us had another one a couple of weeks later when 5000 Wombles fans went to Stamford Bridge and took Chelsea right to the final seconds in a narrow 2-1 defeat in the League Cup.
9: Memphis Redbirds 8 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 9 - Triple A, Minor League Baseball - Autozone Park
May 6th
A sporting interval in an otherwise Elvis-dominated trip with my Mum and my introduction to the eccentric world of the minor leagues (and hers to baseball at all).
Memphis's lovely ballpark is right in the heart of the vibrant downtown and was bliss on a blazingly hot & sunny day (though the endless buffet and drinks brought to our seats behind the batter helped) and I think I guided Mum through what I understood of the game well enough. The visitors' excellent name only added to the fun so I couldn't begrudge them their win.
10: Walton & Hersham 3 Hanworth Villa 1 - Isthmian South Central Play-Off Final - Elmbridge Sports Hub
April 30th
One of the most heartening football stories in the last few years has been the gradual resurgence of one of my local non-league clubs. From being famous for successes including FA Cup giant-killing in the seventies they lost their historic ground and were close to being out of business recently, dropping as low as the tenth tier.
This win in front of over 2000 fans including some local mates, their sons and I took them up to the seventh tier after three consecutive promotions and with a new lease of life being breathed in to the club. We even realised late on that one of the sons had played enough games on loan earlier in the season to qualify for a medal so he joined in the on-field celebrations.
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