Rugby World Cup: Songs of praise

IT will soon be on television screens across the length and breadth of the country. The sights and sounds of the Rugby World Cup will be flooding living rooms, pubs and bars everywhere – but what exactly will the sounds you hear mean?

As vocal as it is physical, the sport of rugby is renowned for its famous chants and lung-busting rhymes.

Ahead of the tournament opener between England and Fiji, Total Bath delved into the world of rugby anthems to investigate the acoustic tribal-like calls we will be hearing for the next month-and-a-half. Here are some of the key contenders:

England – Swing low sweet chariot

The classic. You know, we know it, the world of rugby knows it. The famous cry which states:

‘Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down, comin' for to carry me home, yet still my soul feels heavn'ly bound, comin' for to carry me home’.

A crisp, spring day in 1988 is said to have be the starting point for the anthem’s famous association with the men of the red rose.  England played host to Ireland at Twickenham and, after a dismal first half, a resurgent comeback in the second saw the crowd rise to its feet and bellow out the iconic tune.

Since that day supporters of the England nation side have been ‘carrying them home’ ever since, and the song was here to stay.

Scotland – Flower of Scotland

Flower of Scotland – it may be the national anthem but you’ll be sure to hear it echoing around the stands mid-play if the boys in blue are in need of any form of motivation.

‘O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see
Your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
To think again.’

With deep-rooted references to the battle of Bannockburn and the Scottish defeat over Edward II’s men by Robert the Bruce, it will be difficult to find a more rousing battle cry in the whole of the competition.

Australia – Wild Colonial Boy

A folksong – deep, rousing and undoubtedly personal, 'Wild Colonial Boy' has been heard at many of the Aussies' most important international clashes.

‘One day as he was riding the mountain side along, A-listening to the little birds, their pleasant laughing song, Three mounted troopers rode along -- Kelly, Davis, and FitzRoy. They thought that they would capture him -- the wild Colonial boy’.

The original version was about Jack Donahue, an Irish-Australian rebel who became a convict, then a bushranger and was eventually shot dead by police. According to the song, he spent his time ‘robbing from the rich to feed the poor’.

In the heat of sporting moments, sometimes folk songs can provide exactly the right mix of adrenaline-fuelled motivation. Cheika’s men will be hoping it pays off for them in the weeks to come.

Ireland – Fields of Athenry

Here another anthem gives example of the links between Ireland and Australia. Fields of Athenry is an iconic anthem which can be heard sung from the terraces of many a sport.

‘Low lie the fields of Athenry, where once we watched the small freebirds fly. Our love was on the wing, we had dreams and songs to sing, it's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry’.

The acoustic tale tells of a fictional man named Michael from near Athenry in County Galway, who has been sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food for his starving family.

A competitor to ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ for its emotive value, fans can expect ‘Fields of Athenry’ to ring out loud and proud throughout the entirety of Ireland’s duration in the Rugby World Cup.

Wales - Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

Another national anthem and another unmistakable sound.

With passion etched into every word, the Welsh faithful sing in unison:

‘Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi,

Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri,

Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mad,

tros ryddid collasant eu gwaed’.

Or, for the English speakers:

‘The land of my fathers, the land of my choice,

The land in which poets and minstrels rejoice;

The land whose stern warriors were true to the core,

While bleeding for freedom of yore’.

Always sure to feed emotion into the occasion, the anthem has been a mainstay at all Welsh rugby games throughout every major competition. Now the World Cup has arrived on home soil, expect the Millennium Stadium to host one of the largest renditions to date.

Fiji - Fijian Cibi

England’s opposition for the tournament opener, Fiji have long since been spurred on in their interational endeavours by shrill chants of the Fijian Cibi.

The native chant is easily identifiable and, when sung in unison, can provide a daunting and hostile environment.

‘E luvu koto ki ra nomu waqa

O kaya beka au sa luvu sara

Nomu bai e wawa mere

Au tokia ga ka tasere’

It translates through to English as:

‘Your ship is sunk below,

Don’t think I’m drowned too.

Your defence is just waiting

To crumble when I prick it’.

Deriving from ancient origins, the traditional native wardance was first brought to a rugby field by the national team and performed before kick-off in 1939. Usually a sure-fire way of getting the blood pumping and testosterone levels peeking, England will be hoping their Sweet Chariot can drown out the Fijian Cibi on Friday evening.