Villa park chosen to host Rugby World Cup matches

[Dave Cooper please]

Christ, we have a major sporting event at our great stadium, huge exposure. Can't we be happy at this rather than turning it into a rant how sh*t you think Rugby is?

No, because it's shit.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Christ, we have a major sporting event at our great stadium, huge exposure. Can't we be happy at this rather than turning it into a rant how sh*t you think Rugby is?

I was happier when Take That played at Villa Park

[paul_e]

I don't mind cities like Leeds and Leicester, which have a rugby history, getting more games than The Home of World Football. But what the fuck has Milton Keynes done to warrant more games, apart from being closer to London?

That's mainly due to it's proximity to Northampton.  Franklin's Gardens (northampton saints ground) is only 13k so not really big enough for the world cup but Northampton is one of biggest rugby support areas in the country so they needed somewhere fairly near.

[E I Adio]

Not a great fan of rugby generally, partly because I was forced to play it at school for several years, where any mention of that working class game "soccer" was not tolerated. The headmaster used to read out the "football" results at assembly on Monday mornings. Stuck up twat.

Most of the people I know who are "fans" of rugby have never even played the game.

[MoetVillan]

im happy with this if a), they dont shag up our pitch, and b) decent beer is shipped in for it, found to be successful, and then left for us to enjoy

[paul_e]

im happy with this if a), they dont shag up our pitch, and b) decent beer is shipped in for it, found to be successful, and then left for us to enjoy

If the weather is ok the pitch will be fine.

If the weather is shit in september the pitch will take a beating regardless.

We have an excellent groundsman who I'd trust to keep the pitch in good condition.

The only thing that really damages the pitch anyway is the scrum which won't play much part in the aussie game (it'll be too one-sided I suspect) so really only samoa vs the saffers is a 'threat'.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Christ, we have a major sporting event at our great stadium, huge exposure. Can't we be happy at this rather than turning it into a rant how sh*t you think Rugby is?

You could have 10 Rugby World Cup Finals at VP and I would trade every single one them for staging just one more FA Cup semi final like we used to. Football is great, Rugby is sh*t. 

[Pat McMahon]

Football is easily the greatest game in the world but that doesn't mean you can't appreciate other sports too, including rugby. However,  I think the rules are just too complicated for it ever to reach a global audience and develop beyond being basically an Anglo Saxon sport ( plus France and recently Argentina & Italy).

 As people have mentioned above, rugby is like cricket in that both sports are geared towards the national team rather than clubs, which in my experience makes the game less tribal. I have only ever been to 4or 5 rugby games and enjoyed them all ( drinking in your seat in the stands makes for a pleasant experience) but despite seeing a Heineken cup semi final and the Premiership final I never felt that the result was the most important thing in the world for the fans involved. It is possibly the healthier for it but for me it definitely lacks the intensity of football.

If we can cope with the wear and tear on the pitch I am happy with a couple of games at Villa Park.

[DeKuip]

If it was Rugby League I'd be there but the 15-a-side game really is boring by comparison.
Still it's good for the club to be part of it all.
The staff that serve the beer down there are going to have to speed up their act a bit though!

[steamer]

Boks  playing Samoa.
Trying to get my mind around SA playing at Villa Park, need to work out  Nkosi Sikelel Afrika   to the tune of Holte enders in the sky.

[cheltenhamlion]

I am liable to take in a game.