442 Pub Milan - New Banner
Down at my favourite watering hole there is a curious new flag with ‘Four Four Two, Milan’ on it. Although this flag, which can been seen on Facebook, appears to be English - red cross on a white background, not the Union Jack, interestingly enough, it is the flag of Milan.
I have no idea why the England and Milan flags are exactly the same, but I have to say that it is very appropriate for a sport pub in Milan. If anyone out there knows anything about the origins of the Milan flag, then please let me know.
I have used said flag as the basis of the new banner ad on this blog, and you will see it down on the left hand side. If you click on said banner, you will be taken to the official 442 pub site, but much better than a virtual visit is a real one. And shortly all you rugby fans will be able to see all the rugby down at the pub - but get there before the matches start, otherwise you will find it is standing room only. The atmosphere will be great though, sitting or standing.
Oh, and the ‘two beers for the price of one’ offer is still on. Yet another excuse for checking the place out.
The day I met the president.
Yes, it’s true, I met the president the other day, while I was watching rugby at the 4-4-2 pub here in Milan.
However, as you may have guessed, the president I met was not the famous guy who runs the States from a big white house. Instead this president, one Massimiliano Natale, heads the Italian Touchrugby association, and is involved in the association’s informative website ‘Mai dire Meta’ - ‘Never say Try’ in English.
Since this sounded interesting, we started chatting and he told me how he and a group of friends got together in 2005 to promote touch rugby as a new sport in Italy. As a result, they created a website and registered the Italian Touchrugby association as a charity. Now they are working on the promotion of the sport in Italy. However, promoting this game will not be all that easy in football mad Italy, but, having said that, there are some indications that football is losing some of its popularity here. Interestingly, Massimiliano is himself an ex-football fan, which is one indication that something is changing. Another sign of change is the participation of the Italian rugby team in international rugby championships, which has proved very popular with Italian TV audiences, thanks in great part to the matches being shown on the Italian La 7 TV channel.
Perhaps it would be true to say that the Italian team’s struggle to the top has created a resurgence of interest in Rugby which is something of a minority sport here in Italy. Possibly this resurgence is due to stories of violence at football matches, over-paid players, and various scandals have caused people to find an alternative to the ‘beautiful’ game. In other words, a sport which is still a sport, and not a thinly disguised international business.
Enter touch rugby or ‘touch’ as it is known down in Australia, where it is also referred to as touch football, apparently.
But why play touch rugby instead of the traditional form of the game? Well, while rugby is a great game, it is perhaps a wee bit violent for the average person who is not built like a small armoured vehicle, and this aspect of the game most probably puts many people off from trying out the sport. Touch rugby, though, is an essentially non-violent form of rugby. There is no tackling, scrumming, rucking, mauling, lineouts and kicking. It’s also a sport which both men and women can play on equal terms, and Massimiliano told me that a number of women do play the game in and around Milan. I like the idea that both men and women can play a sport together, and touch is one of those few sports in which mixed-sex teams are possible.
Have a go
If you would like to have a go at touch, then at the moment Touchrugby organises touch matches in local parks, especially Parco Nord which is on the northern side of Milan and the park in Cernusco sul Naviglio. Both Parco Nord and Cernusco are easily reached by public transport. You can find details of forthcoming events and games in Mai Dire Meta’s forum, although the information is currently only in Italian. I shall try to encourage Massimiliano to set up an RSS feed on his site so that subscribers can find out when and where meetings will take place.
Other teams
There are also some other teams springing up, as you can see from the list on the Mai Dire Meta site. The news on the front page indicates that there are also two teams down in Rome.
English is spoken
Do not worry if you do not speak Italian, Massimiliano speaks good English and I understand from him that a number of non-Italians are members of the club, including a few Welsh people who live and work over here.
So if you are feeling a little overweight and need a little exercise, or simply fancy meeting some new people and want to have a little fun, get in touch with Touchrugby Italy through the Mai Dire Meta site, or register in the Mai Dire Meta form, ask a few questions (in English!) and find out some more. The non-obligatory Touchrugby membership fee is a whole 10 Euros. For this fee you get insurance cover and the right to play in international tournaments. However, playing a game of touch in the local parks will not cost anything and never will. Players between the ages of 25 to 60 are more than welcome. Mai Dire Meta is also looking for volunteers to help set up touch teams in other areas around Italy, so contact them if you think you may be able to help out.
You may also be interested to hear that on the 11th October, Shane Wilson, an Australian who is the Scottish National Touch rugby team coach, will be over here in Milan. In honour of this occasion, Touchrugby has found somewhere to hold a match in the central Fiera area of Milan. A party is also planned and will most probably take place at the good old 4-4-2 on the same day. See the Mai Dire Meta site and forums for details.
To see some more photos of the players in action and find out more (in Italian), follow these links:
If you would like to see some videos of the teams in action check out this on YouTube .
There are certainly some parallels between touch and the full blown contact sport, indeed, after a game of either version, you will find all the players down at the pub downing more than a few beers!
Photos by Nicola Stornati
Four Four Two
UPDATE: Free Beer! After having a chat with Alessandro, the landlord, today, he agreed to offer readers of this blog the first two pints of beer ordered for the price of one. Not bad, eh?
There is a catch. Isn’t there always? This catch, not a big one, is that this offer is only open to the first 30 people who turn up clutching a copy of this blog post. And, no, nobody’s paying me for this, I just thought it might be a fun thing to do. Help get a worthwhile place off the ground.
By heck, it’s hot in Milan at the moment. How about a nice cool beer? 
What is Four Four Two? Well, it’s a new pub which has recently opened around these parts. It can be found at Via Procaccini, 61, and is on the corner of the appropriately named, for an English style pub, Via Londonio! You can find it on my Platial map. And I like this place. In fact, I’ve just got back from there after having downed two pints of Beamish. The simple fact that this place sells Beamish already puts it high up on my list of places to prop the bar up at. I know that this may sound odd, but Beamish and other English, Irish, Scottish style drinks are quite hard to come by in Milan. There are also John Smiths and Bulldog beers. And there is Strongbow cider - which is not at all easy to get hold of in Italy. The people that run the place are cool too.
This evening there was a group of Englishmen and various other non-Italians. There were also quite a few Italians, which was good.
This place is good because it is not your average sophisticated Italian evening joint, but a more down to earth place a like the English pubs I was used to. They even have a regular pub quiz. No darts though, as far as I could see! But, there is football and rugby on the TVs, which may appeal. Not to me, I’m not really a football or rugby fan, but we all have our little problems. They also do food, burgers, and, surprisingly for Italy, have a wide selection of cheeses from the UK, but no chips - planning regulations, I reckon
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Italian bars, the evening ones that is, which rarely have dart boards, are OK, but tend to be a little too flash for my tastes. This place is, as I have said, a little more like a normal English pub - so you don’t have to worry about dressing up in your finest Armani gear to get in. You can also pay as you drink. I know this may sound banal, but in many places here in Milan you order and then pay at end of the evening. This is OK, but after a few of the local Long Islands and Negrones, it can become difficult to remember just what you poured down your gullet. So, when it comes to settle-the-bill time, endless confusion is the inevitable result if you are from Ireland, England, Wales or Scotland. This system is not generally a problem for Italians because they are highly adept at making a single drink last just about all night. So, in the Four Four Two, you can have a hassle free pint or three and not have to worry about getting your head around the mathematics of sorting out the bill at the end of the evening. On the right you can see the crew, from left to right Maurizio, Verdiana, and the Landlord, Alessandro. Nice bunch of people and they all speak English, so ordering a pint will be no problem.
This is a pic of Maurizio is showing off a good old rugby ball. The sporting theme in this place is all over the walls and just about everywhere.
If you do make it there, you will probably meet the guy down below, Alessandro, who runs the place and is a big fan of footy, rugby and a lot of things English. In fact, he has been to the UK over 40 times and has worked there too. The pub is named after his favourite football move - 4 4 2 and there is a UK football magazine which goes by the same name, incidentally. Football types will know just what the 4 4 2 move is, I’m sure. Personally, I have no idea.
So, remember the name - Four Four Two, it’s worth checking out IMHO, especially if you are yearning for a nice piece of cheddar and you might even find me hanging around at the bar.Just look for a non-Italian looking face and more stomach than is good for a person.
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