Complicated history of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot needs to be taught and honoured | Andy Bull

It’s been sung at Twickenham since at least the mid-60s but it’s now time to respect the spirit behind its undeniable powerEven back before it became a flashpoint in the culture wars, there were all sorts of stories about why, how and when the Twickenham crowd took to singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. For a long time it was supposed to have started as a spontaneous celebration of Chris Oti’s hat-trick against Ireland in 1988. Then a researcher turned up footage of fans singing it at the Middlesex Sevens in 1987, when Martin Offiah was playing for Rosslyn Park. Which fits, since his nickname wa…