Sam Warburton and Danny Care have ranked the Six Nations stadiums from worst to best for the BBC with England placing second in the rankings.
#6. Italy: Stadio Olimpico
Care: “I think as a fan, as a weekend, I’d say it’s one of the best. As soon as you know you’re away to Italy the families start booking their flights.
“But is the rugby as good as it’s going to be on other weekends? No, because of the competition. But for me I like the Olimpico and I like walking out into the arena. But you’re a long way from the crowd and it’s a long walk when you’re getting subbed on or off getting back to your seat.”
Warburton: “It’s a really long walk out and it’s like you’re going into some sort of gladiatorial battle the way you had to climb up the stairs and the stadium would open up in front of you.
“But I think the Olimpico is quite wide and the fans are quite far away. The Italians aren’t normally in the game and the fans go quiet quite quickly. Great stadium, great country, great away trip for fans but I wouldn’t put it near somewhere like Twickenham.”
#5. Ireland: Aviva Stadium
Warburton: “I loved it at the Aviva. The pitch was immaculate. Changing rooms immaculate. Stadium is stunning.
“It’s a great stadium with a great atmosphere and the Irish are rampant there. Ireland at home are very difficult and they do thrive off that home advantage.”
Care: “We’ve often played there on St Patrick’s Day and it’s an incredible atmosphere. You get that fun, festival-type vibe but you also get the vibe that you’re not very well liked as an Englishman.
“They want to do anything they can to make it hard for you. The crowd just get into the game and it’s so hard to win there. I’d say I only won there once.”
