 " Swing Low , Sweet Chariot " is very commonly sung at England fixtures – especially at Twickenham . The song arrived in the rugby canon through the Welsh male voice choirs who sang many spirituals . It was a popular rugby song at clubs during the 1950s and 1960s and was sung every year at Twickenham during the end @-@ of @-@ season all @-@ day Middlesex <unk> tournament accompanied by <unk> hand gestures that played on the double <unk> of some of the words . During the 1970s the Twickenham crowd also sang it during England matches then coming into the last match of the 1988 season , against the Irish , England had lost 15 of their previous 23 matches in the Five Nations Championship . The Twickenham crowd had only seen one solitary England try in the previous two years and at half time against Ireland they were 3 – 0 down . During the second half a remarkable transformation took place and England started playing an expansive game many had doubted they were capable of producing . A 3 – 0 deficit was turned into a 35 – 3 win , with England scoring six tries . 
