Why London Is 2015’s Rugby Capital

Image Credit: Wikipediac

The actual home of rugby union may well be at Rugby School in Warwickshire, where the game was first played, but for the rest of this year and the near future London will be the place to catch the game at its finest.

As current world champions, New Zealand may claim differently. While their rugby mad neighbours Australia along with the other nations making up the British Isles will also dispute that boast. However, they’d all do well to rival the amount of top quality games set to be played in the UK capital.

World Cup

The pinnacle of the rugby union calendar and the prize every player wants to get their hands on, the rugby World Cup is being held in venues all across England (and the Millennium stadium in Cardiff) in 2015. Most of the big games are being played at Twickenham, the home of English rugby.

From the opening fixture of England versus Fiji to the final (via England against Wales, Australia, a couple of quarter and semi-finals) all these matches are to be in London. This will bring thousands of fans from across the world to the city in one big celebration of the sport, creating a fantastic party atmosphere, even when England get knocked out!

Premiership Rugby

London based club Saracens, who are sponsored by wealth management firm Sanlam, recently won the rugby union premiership with an exciting final victory over Bath. This brought the trophy back to the capital after two years away, when Harlequins last won it in 2012. Currently these are the only teams playing in London, although London Irish are now based in Reading and many lower league teams exist.

Due to the World Cup taking place the premiership’s new season won’t get underway until the competition’s knockout stages during mid-October. From then on there’ll be a game in the city almost every week, with visits from other international teams when the European Champions Cup kicks off.

Rugby League

During the lull between summer and the World Cup there’s rugby league to watch for the most avid fans. London Broncos may have dropped out of the Super League but there’s still fierce competition in the Championship as they fight for promotion and aim to restore some pride.

It may not be the most glamorous sport, but it’s a fast paced and an exciting watch. Plus, when any rugby match is over you’ll still have time to go out, celebrate/commiserate and explore all the delights London has to offer.

Tags: rugby

Category: Student Sport