Rugby World Cup: Bars across Auckland expecting crowds of rugby fans

Paddington Bar on St Georges Bay Rd in Parnell. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Bars right across the city are expecting crowds of rugby fans to flock their doors this weekend, ahead of the women’s Rugby World Cup double-header.

With a 4-30pm kick-off, Canada and France will vie in the bronze final, with the Kiwis and Brits facing off for the main event at 7.30pm in front of a sold-out crowd of over 40,000 fans at Eden Park.

Many bars have been preparing for the sporting event, rostering staff months in advance and catering for a larger number of bookings and walk-ins.

General manager of Paddington, one of Auckland’s premier sports bars located in Parnell, Julie Edwards, says her staff are ready and excited for the hype of this weekend.

“We’ve been really fortunate that we’ve been able to have hired a really good solid team of staff over the past couple of weeks.

“They’ve been really good – a really fun working atmosphere to be here for those games.

“Recently there’s been more female interest in the sport, but also quite a lot of our regular sporting audience have become more interested in women’s rugby,” she said.

This weekend will mark the ninth world cup campaign for women’s rugby union.

The showdown will be bittersweet for the Red Roses, who have been defeated by a prominent New Zealand side in four World Cup finals (2002, 2006, 2010, 2017).

The World Cup was pushed back an extra year after World Rugby cited the ongoing uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now that restrictions have eased, general manager of Morningside Tavern, Dave Gunn, says they will be hosting some fun activities in a bid to rally fans around the game.

“We’re going to put up a bouncy castle before the event with some backyard games around.

“We’ve got a lot of people meeting here before the game ... there’s been a nice family environment around this tournament – some people wearing the black shirts, some with the names of the players on the back.

“We’re the nearest pub to the stadium so it’s really good for us. We’re a nice big warehouse conversion so we tend to get quite a lot of people in, especially during these big events. We love being a part of it,” he said.

It’s expected to be partly cloudy – light showers later in the afternoon with possible thunderstorms - but a little bit of rain has never stopped rugby devotees flooding into Eden Park.

Fans can rest assured about travel plans - Auckland Transport have ensured getting to and from the game will be as smooth as possible.

Travel on AT Metro trains and buses for match days at Eden Park will be included with all match tickets. Buses will be running two hours prior to the gates opening until end of service on the day.

Bike valets are available at Eden Park and the downtown ferry terminal is next to the Britomart transport centre, providing passengers with easy access to other public transport options.