The Official English Rugby Thread

[SaintK]

Not sure this will make much difference but worth a try.

The Premiership will trial away ­sections for supporters in two forthcoming matches in April, in an effort to improve atmospheres in top‑flight fixtures.
It is understood that for ­Saracens’ fixture against Gloucester on 19 April and Leicester’s match against ­Harlequins on 26 April, ­specific areas for visiting supporters to congregate in will be created.
Traditionally, rugby crowds have been unsegregated with many supporters holding the view that being able to mix with opposing fans is one of the sport’s appeals. But there is a school of thought that separate areas of concentrated visiting fans would lead to greater noise.
Premiership Rugby announced in October that it was considering a trial and it is understood a number of clubs have expressed an interest. Organisers are keen to stress that visiting supporters can still watch elsewhere in the stadiums and mix with home fans if they wish.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025 ... hip-fans

[Raggs]

I like the idea of having a designated area to allow them to group if they want, whilst not segregating those who don't want to be.

[Paddington Bear]

Agree it’s worth trying. It (I think?) used to be part of the regs for the Heineken and Challenge Cups, I think on the whole I’d sit in an away section unless going with a mate who supports the oppo etc. Might encourage a few more away fans to travel as well

[Slick]

Not sure this will make much difference but worth a try.

The Premiership will trial away ­sections for supporters in two forthcoming matches in April, in an effort to improve atmospheres in top‑flight fixtures.
It is understood that for ­Saracens’ fixture against Gloucester on 19 April and Leicester’s match against ­Harlequins on 26 April, ­specific areas for visiting supporters to congregate in will be created.
Traditionally, rugby crowds have been unsegregated with many supporters holding the view that being able to mix with opposing fans is one of the sport’s appeals. But there is a school of thought that separate areas of concentrated visiting fans would lead to greater noise.
Premiership Rugby announced in October that it was considering a trial and it is understood a number of clubs have expressed an interest. Organisers are keen to stress that visiting supporters can still watch elsewhere in the stadiums and mix with home fans if they wish.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025 ... hip-fans

I was just about to start a thread on the English ruining the game but you beat me to it.

[Slick]

Agree it’s worth trying. It (I think?) used to be part of the regs for the Heineken and Challenge Cups, I think on the whole I’d sit in an away section unless going with a mate who supports the oppo etc. Might encourage a few more away fans to travel as well

You are all disgusting

[Tichtheid]

I remember Robbie Savage being at a rugby game and couldn't believe the size of the players, but he also said the atmosphere was a bit, meh.

The same Robbie Savage almost kaked his breeks at an Old Firm game. The police and SFA allowed away supporters at a Celtic Rangers game this weekend, it was the first time for two and half years or something. I'm not saying rugby will end up like that, 99.9% of football fixtures don't.

Isn't mixing with the opposition supporters part of the fun?

[Hal Jordan]

Agree it’s worth trying. It (I think?) used to be part of the regs for the Heineken and Challenge Cups, I think on the whole I’d sit in an away section unless going with a mate who supports the oppo etc. Might encourage a few more away fans to travel as well

You are all disgusting

I'm not a fan of "away fans" ends, if only because it would deprive opposition fans of my inventive cursing when whichever team I happen to be supporting contrives to fuck it up in a new and interesting way.

[Sandstorm]

I remember Robbie Savage being at a rugby game and couldn't believe the size of the players, but he also said the atmosphere was a bit, meh.

I work with footie fans who've been to Rugby matches and also think it's dull. Although being able to buy beers after halftime and take them back to your seat, always perks them up.

I've also heard Tottenham fans say they want to go sit in the Arsenal section "because they are singing louder than us...."

[Paddington Bear]

I remember Robbie Savage being at a rugby game and couldn't believe the size of the players, but he also said the atmosphere was a bit, meh.

I work with footie fans who've been to Rugby matches and also think it's dull. Although being able to buy beers after halftime and take them back to your seat, always perks them up.

This has been the response any time I’ve taken a football fan to rugby. No atmosphere, no away fans etc. Not that English football culture is entirely something to be lauded mind

[Paddington Bear]

I remember Robbie Savage being at a rugby game and couldn't believe the size of the players, but he also said the atmosphere was a bit, meh.

The same Robbie Savage almost kaked his breeks at an Old Firm game. The police and SFA allowed away supporters at a Celtic Rangers game this weekend, it was the first time for two and half years or something. I'm not saying rugby will end up like that, 99.9% of football fixtures don't.

Isn't mixing with the opposition supporters part of the fun?

Had good experiences and bad, most indifferent. My sister hasn’t been to a rugby match since the way she was treated by a beardy CAMRA ‘this isn’t bloody football’ type at Welford Road, equally I had a cracking evening having headed to Kingston Park solo late last year despite the loss. Internationals are different

[Margin__Walker]

Yeah usually is a positive, but have absolutely had away games adversely impacted by proximity to absolute fuckwits.

[sockwithaticket]

Newcastle latest doesn't sound good.

Seeking new investment, not recruiting any new players until it's found

As a Wasps fan, this reminds me very much of the 'keep calm and carry on, we've got time and options' speak that came before the collapse.

Diamond was at Worcester when they went under, but insists Newcastle are nowhere near that position.

"The financial management declaration is the end of April, so we are still within that due process of speaking to investors and figuring out other options - so we are well within our timeframe," he said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... 052qk8y55o

[Tichtheid]

Newcastle latest doesn't sound good.

Seeking new investment, not recruiting any new players until it's found

As a Wasps fan, this reminds me very much of the 'keep calm and carry on, we've got time and options' speak that came before the collapse.

Diamond was at Worcester when they went under, but insists Newcastle are nowhere near that position.

"The financial management declaration is the end of April, so we are still within that due process of speaking to investors and figuring out other options - so we are well within our timeframe," he said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... 052qk8y55o

As an aside to this, I was just reading this afternoon that Ealing are not to be allowed into the GP due to the ground issue.

[sockwithaticket]

They don't want to come up, it's that simple. If they were serious about it, they'd have sorted out their ground. Doncaster have. Exeter did. It's a known factor, a requirement tied to an act of parliament.

It's long been rumoured that the current owner's kids have zero interest in continuing to funnel money into the club, so when he carks it (and he's not young), Ealing's taps are turned off unless they can woo another rich benefactor. They're certainly not going to be sustained by gate money.

[Margin__Walker]

Newcastle latest doesn't sound good.

Seeking new investment, not recruiting any new players until it's found

As a Wasps fan, this reminds me very much of the 'keep calm and carry on, we've got time and options' speak that came before the collapse.

Diamond was at Worcester when they went under, but insists Newcastle are nowhere near that position.

"The financial management declaration is the end of April, so we are still within that due process of speaking to investors and figuring out other options - so we are well within our timeframe," he said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... 052qk8y55o

Yeah, it doesn't look good. The difference here I guess is some earlier warning of impending crisis. It's been clear for a while that they have been scaling back massively waiting for an investor (very wealthy hobbyist) to ride in to the rescue. Kurdi is clearly at the end of his tolerance for the losses.

Ultimately though it's crunch time. Any CVC/League loan would very much seem like a bailout to try and keep the product viable. Not sure really where English pro rugby goes from here.

[Paddington Bear]

Newcastle latest doesn't sound good.

Seeking new investment, not recruiting any new players until it's found

As a Wasps fan, this reminds me very much of the 'keep calm and carry on, we've got time and options' speak that came before the collapse.

Diamond was at Worcester when they went under, but insists Newcastle are nowhere near that position.

"The financial management declaration is the end of April, so we are still within that due process of speaking to investors and figuring out other options - so we are well within our timeframe," he said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... 052qk8y55o

Yeah, it doesn't look good. The difference here I guess is some earlier warning of impending crisis. It's been clear for a while that they have been scaling back massively waiting for an investor (very wealthy hobbyist) to ride in to the rescue. Kurdi is clearly at the end of his tolerance for the losses.

Ultimately though it's crunch time. Any CVC/League loan would very much seem like a bailout to try and keep the product viable. Not sure really where English pro rugby goes from here.

I really think Newcastle are investable - own ground and training facilities, big city with a strong regional identity, large catchment area, lowest off field cost base in the league

[Margin__Walker]

I really think Newcastle are investable - own ground and training facilities, big city with a strong regional identity, large catchment area, lowest off field cost base in the league

I agree. If you're looking to buy into the league, that would be the easy/sensible option. Clearly not happening yet though. I'm pretty sure they've been unofficially on the market for a lot longer than they have been officially up for sale. Hopefully something comes through for them though and someone has just been holding fire until this point.

[geordie_6]

Newcastle latest doesn't sound good.

Seeking new investment, not recruiting any new players until it's found

As a Wasps fan, this reminds me very much of the 'keep calm and carry on, we've got time and options' speak that came before the collapse.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... 052qk8y55o

Yeah, it doesn't look good. The difference here I guess is some earlier warning of impending crisis. It's been clear for a while that they have been scaling back massively waiting for an investor (very wealthy hobbyist) to ride in to the rescue. Kurdi is clearly at the end of his tolerance for the losses.

Ultimately though it's crunch time. Any CVC/League loan would very much seem like a bailout to try and keep the product viable. Not sure really where English pro rugby goes from here.

I really think Newcastle are investable - own ground and training facilities, big city with a strong regional identity, large catchment area, lowest off field cost base in the league

Not a rugby stronghold though, which is why the crowds are consistently quite low (combined with the shite rugby ). Up here it's almost all about the Toon.

Ideal outcome we could hope for would be for PIF to try and re-establish Sir John Hall's "Newcastle Sporting Club" and pick up the Falcons. Whatever the losses would be, the Saudi's could cover with the change from down the back of their sofa.

[Kawazaki]

The Premiership will collapse and fail with fewer than 10 clubs. The other 9 clubs know this and are looking to bail them out (Lansdowne and Craig mostly).

[Kawazaki]

Yeah, it doesn't look good. The difference here I guess is some earlier warning of impending crisis. It's been clear for a while that they have been scaling back massively waiting for an investor (very wealthy hobbyist) to ride in to the rescue. Kurdi is clearly at the end of his tolerance for the losses.

Ultimately though it's crunch time. Any CVC/League loan would very much seem like a bailout to try and keep the product viable. Not sure really where English pro rugby goes from here.

I really think Newcastle are investable - own ground and training facilities, big city with a strong regional identity, large catchment area, lowest off field cost base in the league

Not a rugby stronghold though, which is why the crowds are consistently quite low (combined with the shite rugby ). Up here it's almost all about the Toon.

Ideal outcome we could hope for would be for PIF to try and re-establish Sir John Hall's "Newcastle Sporting Club" and pick up the Falcons. Whatever the losses would be, the Saudi's could cover with the change from down the back of their sofa.

PIF could literally buy all professional rugby in England, Scotland and Wales for less than they'd pay for a decent striker.

[Tichtheid]

Erling Haaland is paid four and a bit times the Gallagher Premiership club salary cap, before bonuses and sponsorship etc.

[Slick]

They don't want to come up, it's that simple. If they were serious about it, they'd have sorted out their ground. Doncaster have. Exeter did. It's a known factor, a requirement tied to an act of parliament.

It's long been rumoured that the current owner's kids have zero interest in continuing to funnel money into the club, so when he carks it (and he's not young), Ealing's taps are turned off unless they can woo another rich benefactor. They're certainly not going to be sustained by gate money.

Yeah. I know Mike reasonably well and one of his kids, Tristan, well, it is definitely dads plaything and no way the kids will keep pumping money into it. In saying that, Mike is not a sentimental chap towards his family and I wouldn't be surprised if a fair bit of his wealth is earmarked for the club in some way.

[Tichtheid]

They don't want to come up, it's that simple. If they were serious about it, they'd have sorted out their ground. Doncaster have. Exeter did. It's a known factor, a requirement tied to an act of parliament.

It's long been rumoured that the current owner's kids have zero interest in continuing to funnel money into the club, so when he carks it (and he's not young), Ealing's taps are turned off unless they can woo another rich benefactor. They're certainly not going to be sustained by gate money.

Yeah. I know Mike reasonably well and one of his kids, Tristan, well, it is definitely dads plaything and no way the kids will keep pumping money into it. In saying that, Mike is not a sentimental chap towards his family and I wouldn't be surprised if a fair bit of his wealth is earmarked for the club in some way.

I obviously don't have a stake in this, but I'm leaning towards ring-fencing the GP. I know the argument for keeping the trap door open and allowing promotion etc, but top flight professional rugby needs a hell of a lot of investment and where is it coming from? The clubs that are already there are not exactly rolling around in vats of cash. Why bring another club up to go bust?

It always amazed me how much money was available for practically all sports in France, but no other country seems to have that, not for rugby

[Kawazaki]

I wish a city investment type could explain to me what CVC's angle in all this is. They paid £200m for 27% of something they are just watching go down the shitter.

Seems bizarre to me.

[el capitan]

Surprised that they seemingly even considered any application, I'd have just pissed myself laughing at Ealing even mentioning joining the Prem.

They are an example of the relative ill-health of the second tier/English rugby in general. They effectively play at a local sports club ffs. More than one other Championship team play on actual park pitches. I know the game is not flush with cash, I'm not expecting all-seater sizeable capacity stadiums, but for the second tier of rugby in this country a bit more should be expected.

Yeah beggars can't be choosers, but someone throwing a bit of money at the playing squad in order to propel a club up the pyramid, at all levels, usually achieves nothing beyond the short term. It in no way makes you a professional rugby team, or anywhere near it.

Prem. should absolutely be ring-fenced, with stringent licensing criteria governing those both in and wanting to join. Facilities, academy, business plan, proof of long term funding, etc etc etc. If the reality is 6-8 pro teams in this country, we cut cloth accordingly, re-shape the pyramid, and go from there. If Wasps/Irish/Worcester/Leeds, or "expansions" from other geographical areas, can satisfy the criteria then yeah add teams to the league as and when that happens.

[Paddington Bear]

Bill Sweeney threatening to move the RFU to Birmingham or MK unless the licensing conditions at Twickenham are loosened. Says (probably correctly) that the £600m redevelopment is not viable without it.

Said before but regardless of licence the RFU will not be able to successfully able to project manage this refurbishment and could well go insolvent trying. Spend the money on a 50% share of Wembley whilst we have some negotiating room.

It does though remain my quixotic ‘if I was dictator’ vision to build a national rugby stadium just north of Euston as the area needs to be largely bulldozed as part of any HS2/mainline station refurb/Crossrail 2 anyway. A man can dream

[Yeeb]

Bill Sweeney threatening to move the RFU to Birmingham or MK unless the licensing conditions at Twickenham are loosened. Says (probably correctly) that the £600m redevelopment is not viable without it.

Said before but regardless of licence the RFU will not be able to successfully able to project manage this refurbishment and could well go insolvent trying. Spend the money on a 50% share of Wembley whilst we have some negotiating room.

It does though remain my quixotic ‘if I was dictator’ vision to build a national rugby stadium just north of Euston as the area needs to be largely bulldozed as part of any HS2/mainline station refurb/Crossrail 2 anyway. A man can dream

A better location would be where Vauxhall plant was in Luton:
Shithole town that could do with the jobs
Next to airport
On a main line rail route
On the m1 and near to Home Counties and m25

[Kawazaki]

Bill Sweeney threatening to move the RFU to Birmingham or MK unless the licensing conditions at Twickenham are loosened. Says (probably correctly) that the £600m redevelopment is not viable without it.

Said before but regardless of licence the RFU will not be able to successfully able to project manage this refurbishment and could well go insolvent trying. Spend the money on a 50% share of Wembley whilst we have some negotiating room.

It does though remain my quixotic ‘if I was dictator’ vision to build a national rugby stadium just north of Euston as the area needs to be largely bulldozed as part of any HS2/mainline station refurb/Crossrail 2 anyway. A man can dream

A better location would be where Vauxhall plant was in Luton:
Shithole town that could do with the jobs
Next to airport
On a main line rail route
On the m1 and near to Home Counties and m25

Luton.

FFS.

[Yeeb]

Bill Sweeney threatening to move the RFU to Birmingham or MK unless the licensing conditions at Twickenham are loosened. Says (probably correctly) that the £600m redevelopment is not viable without it.

Said before but regardless of licence the RFU will not be able to successfully able to project manage this refurbishment and could well go insolvent trying. Spend the money on a 50% share of Wembley whilst we have some negotiating room.

It does though remain my quixotic ‘if I was dictator’ vision to build a national rugby stadium just north of Euston as the area needs to be largely bulldozed as part of any HS2/mainline station refurb/Crossrail 2 anyway. A man can dream

A better location would be where Vauxhall plant was in Luton:
Shithole town that could do with the jobs
Next to airport
On a main line rail route
On the m1 and near to Home Counties and m25

Luton.

FFS.

Don’t be a snob, it would be cheap, easier to get to for far more people , and probably self funding as that land in Twickenham must be very valuable for development. Ireland could play their home games there as well as the town still had collection tins going round ‘for the boys’ well into the 90’s

[sockwithaticket]

They don't want to come up, it's that simple. If they were serious about it, they'd have sorted out their ground. Doncaster have. Exeter did. It's a known factor, a requirement tied to an act of parliament.

It's long been rumoured that the current owner's kids have zero interest in continuing to funnel money into the club, so when he carks it (and he's not young), Ealing's taps are turned off unless they can woo another rich benefactor. They're certainly not going to be sustained by gate money.

Yeah. I know Mike reasonably well and one of his kids, Tristan, well, it is definitely dads plaything and no way the kids will keep pumping money into it. In saying that, Mike is not a sentimental chap towards his family and I wouldn't be surprised if a fair bit of his wealth is earmarked for the club in some way.

I obviously don't have a stake in this, but I'm leaning towards ring-fencing the GP. I know the argument for keeping the trap door open and allowing promotion etc, but top flight professional rugby needs a hell of a lot of investment and where is it coming from? The clubs that are already there are not exactly rolling around in vats of cash. Why bring another club up to go bust?

It always amazed me how much money was available for practically all sports in France, but no other country seems to have that, not for rugby

We did have a brief spell of actual ring-fencing and the sky didn't fall despite the outcry of the promotion/relegation fetishists. We only nominally have it now anyway and you can see how liberated the clubs are both in how they play and the opportunities they're willing to give to youngsters. Despite the financial woes, the on field product of the Premiership is consistently high quality.

I'm a full believer in ring-fencing. Rugby isn't a big enough sport in England to support the vibrant second tier that's required for promotion/relegation to be worth it. Some point to France as an example of how to do things, but whether it's the municipal stadiums, the number of big money owners or relative lack of competition from football it's just a completely different landscape across the Channel and not particularly replicable over here. We can certainly try and develop things more in line with how the game is in France, but that's a decades long project with no guarantee.

[Kawazaki]

A better location would be where Vauxhall plant was in Luton:
Shithole town that could do with the jobs
Next to airport
On a main line rail route
On the m1 and near to Home Counties and m25

Luton.

FFS.

Don’t be a snob, it would be cheap, easier to get to for far more people , and probably self funding as that land in Twickenham must be very valuable for development. Ireland could play their home games there as well as the town still had collection tins going round ‘for the boys’ well into the 90’s

Twickenham is a nightmare for me to get to. I'm up near Saffron Walden. But Luton?!

[Paddington Bear]

Bill Sweeney threatening to move the RFU to Birmingham or MK unless the licensing conditions at Twickenham are loosened. Says (probably correctly) that the £600m redevelopment is not viable without it.

Said before but regardless of licence the RFU will not be able to successfully able to project manage this refurbishment and could well go insolvent trying. Spend the money on a 50% share of Wembley whilst we have some negotiating room.

It does though remain my quixotic ‘if I was dictator’ vision to build a national rugby stadium just north of Euston as the area needs to be largely bulldozed as part of any HS2/mainline station refurb/Crossrail 2 anyway. A man can dream

A better location would be where Vauxhall plant was in Luton:
Shithole town that could do with the jobs
Next to airport
On a main line rail route
On the m1 and near to Home Counties and m25

Stadiums should be walkable from city centres and the associated pubs/bars/restaurants/public transport

[Brazil]

Bill Sweeney threatening to move the RFU to Birmingham or MK unless the licensing conditions at Twickenham are loosened. Says (probably correctly) that the £600m redevelopment is not viable without it.

Said before but regardless of licence the RFU will not be able to successfully able to project manage this refurbishment and could well go insolvent trying. Spend the money on a 50% share of Wembley whilst we have some negotiating room.

It does though remain my quixotic ‘if I was dictator’ vision to build a national rugby stadium just north of Euston as the area needs to be largely bulldozed as part of any HS2/mainline station refurb/Crossrail 2 anyway. A man can dream

A better location would be where Vauxhall plant was in Luton:
Shithole town that could do with the jobs
Next to airport
On a main line rail route
On the m1 and near to Home Counties and m25

Stadiums should be walkable from city centres and the associated pubs/bars/restaurants/public transport

Shame the stadium would be built on the ruins of the Bree Louise, but it'd be better than the waste ground that's currently there.

[Yeeb]

Bill Sweeney threatening to move the RFU to Birmingham or MK unless the licensing conditions at Twickenham are loosened. Says (probably correctly) that the £600m redevelopment is not viable without it.

Said before but regardless of licence the RFU will not be able to successfully able to project manage this refurbishment and could well go insolvent trying. Spend the money on a 50% share of Wembley whilst we have some negotiating room.

It does though remain my quixotic ‘if I was dictator’ vision to build a national rugby stadium just north of Euston as the area needs to be largely bulldozed as part of any HS2/mainline station refurb/Crossrail 2 anyway. A man can dream

A better location would be where Vauxhall plant was in Luton:
Shithole town that could do with the jobs
Next to airport
On a main line rail route
On the m1 and near to Home Counties and m25

Stadiums should be walkable from city centres and the associated pubs/bars/restaurants/public transport

You mean like Stade de France , homebush , stadio Olympico , kings park , loftus versfeld …

Basically it’s Principality stadium only that fully ticks your wish list , Murrayfield if you redefine what’s walkable & edible nearby, and then lansdowne

[Yeeb]

Luton.

FFS.

Don’t be a snob, it would be cheap, easier to get to for far more people , and probably self funding as that land in Twickenham must be very valuable for development. Ireland could play their home games there as well as the town still had collection tins going round ‘for the boys’ well into the 90’s

Twickenham is a nightmare for me to get to. I'm up near Saffron Walden. But Luton?!

Was the shittest cheapest most easy to access place I could think of , following that vague ‘near Birmingham’ Rfu threat mention earlier

[Sandstorm]

No-one will spend £160 per ticket to park their Range Rover in Luton to watch a Test match.

[SaintK]

Bill Sweeney threatening to move the RFU to Birmingham or MK unless the licensing conditions at Twickenham are loosened. Says (probably correctly) that the £600m redevelopment is not viable without it.

Said before but regardless of licence the RFU will not be able to successfully able to project manage this refurbishment and could well go insolvent trying. Spend the money on a 50% share of Wembley whilst we have some negotiating room.

It does though remain my quixotic ‘if I was dictator’ vision to build a national rugby stadium just north of Euston as the area needs to be largely bulldozed as part of any HS2/mainline station refurb/Crossrail 2 anyway. A man can dream

A better location would be where Vauxhall plant was in Luton:
Shithole town that could do with the jobs
Next to airport
On a main line rail route
On the m1 and near to Home Counties and m25

All very worthy but, you been to Luton lately?
The roads and parking around the Vauxhall plant are already full of Luton Airport traffic. The walk from Luton Parkway would be easy but there are zero pubs or infrastructure etc. The access roads are already very busy and it is on the main A505 east/west access to the M1. Factor in the Luton airport expansion and additional runway and you would have bedlam.
I'm only 20 minutes away but would rather travel into London by train and take a train out to Luton than take my car anywhere near there on a match day. Anyone coming from the North would have to go into LOndon first anyway as Luton is not a true north/south mainline station.
Milton Keynes might differennt.

[SaintK]

No-one will spend £160 per ticket to park their Range Rover in Luton to watch a Test match.

£160?
Premium tickets for the All Blacks match in the Autumn will be £210.
Any Range Rover parked in that part of Luton would likely be gone in 15 minutes!!!

[el capitan]

Just for the thought of seeing the Twickers Brigade meet downtown Luton on a Saturday night.... I vote yes.

[Paddington Bear]

A better location would be where Vauxhall plant was in Luton:
Shithole town that could do with the jobs
Next to airport
On a main line rail route
On the m1 and near to Home Counties and m25

Stadiums should be walkable from city centres and the associated pubs/bars/restaurants/public transport

You mean like Stade de France , homebush , stadio Olympico , kings park , loftus versfeld …

Basically it’s Principality stadium only that fully ticks your wish list , Murrayfield if you redefine what’s walkable & edible nearby, and then lansdowne

Appreciate that a not insubstantial cohort of rugby fans struggle walking to the fridge but Murrayfield, Aviva and pushing it a little Stadio Olimpico are all very much walkable from the centre.

And I said ‘should’, there’s a reason people rave about trips to the Rec and it isn’t for the fantastic facilities inside the ground. Anyway, it’s a completely fanciful pipedream but I maintain it would be instantly one of the world’s great stadiums