Ever wondered what the loudest RBS 6 Nations stadium is? Well wonder no more, as the decibel levels have been measured and the results are in.
Press Association Sport conducted a survey of sound levels during the first two rounds of this year's RBS 6 Nations tournament, and while Dublin's Aviva Stadium could not claim to be the loudest 6 nations stadium on average, it did host the single loudest moment of the survey, as the roar when Wayne Barnes' whistle brought an end to the action as Ireland defeated France registered at 101.0db.
PA reporters recorded LAeq reading, which is the total sound energy over a given period of time, and here are the rankings in full:
#1 - The Millennium Stadium - Cardiff
LAeq summary average - 92.0dB
Highest point LAeq recorded throughout the measurement - 100.0dB after Rhys Webb's try v England.
#2 - The Aviva Stadium - Dublin
LAeq summary average - 89.8dB
Highest point - 101.0dB at full-time v France.
#3 - Twickenham - London
LAeq summary average - 88.4dB
Highest point - 91.1dB immediately after the national anthems v Italy.
#4 - Murrayfield - Edinburgh
LAeq summary average - 88.0dB
Highest point - 96.0dB after Stuart Hogg's try v Wales.
#5 - Stadio Olimpico - Rome
LAeq summary average - 86.1dB
Highest point - 92.8dB after Sergio Parisse's disallowed try v Ireland.
#6 - Stade de France - Paris
LAeq summary average - 85.1dB
Highest point - 90.2dB after Lopez's late penalty v Scotland.
No surprises there regarding the stadium in last place on that ranking, but it is interesting to see that The Millennium Stadium still came out on top despite the roof being open. You would have to imagine the reading would have been even higher were it closed like Warren Gatland wanted.
