TELEVISION bosses once ensured that I had to make a ridiculously early start on a Sunday morning to get a train across England to watch an FA Cup quarter-final that kicked off a 1pm.

Funnily enough I didn't feel like cheering the Everton team off the paddock at half-time when they trailed Middlesbrough 3-0 at the Riverside, dreams of Wembley over before 2pm in one of the grimmest places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.

I booed manager Walter Smith and his players as they traipsed to the changing room and, unlike many others, stayed until full-time to display my usual approach to sporting disappointments – I stood there with my arms crossed, the silence being my way of letting them know by dissatisfaction.

But some punters regularly voice their displeasure and I respect their right to heckle; it's part of the trade-off for having a real atmosphere.

Goodison Park, Everton's ground, can be a bear pit but it can also be subdued and on rare occasions (particularly in the grim Smith era) it can be poisonous.

That's the way I like it; there are no clowns banging on drums creating a manufactured 'atmosphere'.

If you want supporters to passionately back their team then at times that same zeal will lead to the players being lambasted for coming up short.

The same applies in rugby; despite what some snobs say.

Rodney Parade is said to be among the most intimidating crowds in the Guinness Pro12 and that's because of its rawness.

The fans on the Hazell Terrace are close to the action and usually back their players to the hilt while heckling the opposition.

But let's not pretend it's all polite applause and silence for kicks.

And the odd idiot will always overstep the mark in any gathering of people – I heard Ospreys back rower Joe Bearman, who put his body on the line 77 times for the Dragons, called a "scab" earlier this season – but happily things are self-policed to keep things in check.

That's the compromise for a genuine atmosphere without music blaring out at every stoppage and I am grateful that the majority of the games I cover are at Rodney Parade rather than the Liberty Stadium or Murrayfield.

Dragons fans' loyalty to their team is impressive given the frequent disappointments that they often have to watch but there are times when they let their displeasure be known.

However, a boo is only powerful if held back for special occasions when things go spectacularly wrong – and thankfully the target is usually a team rather than an individual.

Sadly that wasn't the case in Cardiff last weekend when Rhys Priestland's introduction prompted jeers from small pockets of the crowd.

But against the Wallabies he was heckled before Dan Biggar had even limped off the pitch, an awful situation for a confidence player.

There are many justified complaints about the behaviour of the Millennium Stadium crowd and there are plenty of folk who only venture through the turnstyles at internationals.

But there were even some murmurs of discontent about the fly-half when the Dragons played at Parc y Scarlets earlier this season.

He deserves better, Priestland is a likeable chap who has copped some awful flak on social media but hopefully there will be a good response to his name being read out against before the Test against Fiji on Saturday.

And if the result doesn't go well then there will be collective responsibility if the cheers turn to jeers.