Lord of the Dance
Six Nations: Aviva crowds one of the loudest
Sport

Six Nations: Aviva crowds one of the loudest

WHEN Ireland host England at the Aviva Stadium in Sunday’s Six Nations clash, they will do so in front of an impressively roaring crowd.

During the first two rounds of the tournament, a survey found that fans in the Dublin stadium were the second loudest, behind Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

A test carried out by Press Association Sport in coordination with Pulsar Instruments, showed the decibel (dB) levels at the six fixtures that have taken place so far.

At its highest point, the Aviva crowd scored the top reading of 101.0dB at full-time in Ireland’s victory over France, the sound level equalling a jet taking off (at 305 metres) or a power lawn mower.

But the Millennium Stadium led the way in terms of its average noise levels throughout a game, with a reading of 92.0dB. The crowd in Dublin followed behind at 89.8dB.

Reporters took the LAeq reading, the total sound energy over a given period of time, at each game.

1. Millennium Stadium (Wales v England)
LAeq summary average - 92.0dB
Highest point LAeq recorded throughout the measurement - 100.0dB following Rhys Webb's early try

2. Aviva Stadium (Ireland v France)
LAeq summary average - 89.8dB
Highest point - 101.0dB at full-time 

3. Twickenham (England v Italy)
LAeq summary average - 88.4dB
Highest point - 91.1dB straight after the anthems had been sung

4. Murrayfield (Scotland v Wales)
LAeq summary average - 88.0dB
Highest point - 96.0dB following Stuart Hogg's early try

5. Stadio Olimpico (Italy v Ireland)
LAeq summary average - 86.1dB
Highest point - 92.8dB following Kelly Haimona's late disallowed try 

6. Stade de France (France v Scotland)
LAeq summary average - 85.1dB
Highest point - 90.2dB as the crowd started singing the anthem after Camille Lopez's late penalty