Whacky Location for a test match

Last week it was Eden Park's centenary match. You'd be hard pressed to find a stadium that has had so many matches and has been more of a touring graveyard. The French were the last team to beat us there with the magical end of the world try. Australia last beat us there something like 26 years ago and SA in 1934 or around there. If you want to have your stadium as an extra man, having Eden Park is a huge advantage.

But if it were possible for a match to be televised (no crowd tickets sold) where would you like to see a match played. The rules are it must allow for a normal game of rugby to be played in terms of an even playing surface. I'd like to see a game of rugby in Times Square for example but you must have a natural surface. Not man made. Similarly you can't have a venue that is swamp land or a natural body of water. It must be feasible to play. That said if Ben Nevis had enough flat surface at the peak you could play it there.

Personally I'd like to see a game in remote Canterbury where they built the Rohan set in LOTR. I think there's enough flat space now on the hill to put a rugby field. We could light the Southern Alps beacons and play it at dawn and by the full time whistle enough natural light would be there to light up the surrounding landscape. Seeing how the teams cope with the roaring wind that blow through there would be intriguing. Where would you choose?

You might think Eden Park is wacky but it isnt as wacky as Fiji's first test ground where they played their first test match v Samoa. It was a pitch with a tree on the halfway line:

http://www.fijirugby.com/pages.cfm/about-union/history/

Bizarre.

I'd want the ABs to play in the biggest stadium in the world-that 150000 seat behemoth in Pyongyang. Maybe we could schedule a Bledisloe Cup game there on the way to Euope.

The winner? Of course-it's a no contest. North Korea. They'll get so excited about writing that Kim Jong-Un scored the winning try from 100 out beating every member of the opposition that they'll forget that it was NZ and Australia that was actually playing and that they were meerely the hosts.

disneychilly wrote:I'd want the ABs to play in the biggest stadium in the world-that 15000 seat behemoth in Pyongyang. Maybe we could schedule a Bledisloe Cup game there on the way to Euope.

The winner? Of course-it's a no contest. North Korea. They'll get so excited about writing that Kim Jong-Un scored the winning try from 100 out beating every member of the opposition that they'll forget that it was NZ and Australia that was actually playing and that they were meerely the hosts.

Wow just looked it up. Its 150,000 not 15,000. Awesome!! What a class stadium and in Pyongyang of all places.

The top of Table Mountain would be a really iconic place. Gives a new meaning to playing at altitude.

No crowd though. Only the players and refs. The coaches are not even allowed but medical staff and trainers yes.

150 000 is incredible though. That'd be great for a capacity crowd. The African savannah is possible though and big game interference is just down to who runs the slowest.

Can you tell I don't feel like work today with 34 degrees?

red_stag wrote:The top of Table Mountain would be a really iconic place. Gives a new meaning to playing at altitude.

Howabout Macchu Pichu, no touchlines, you just fall off. And of course the Colisseum, bad play, you dont get subbed, you get fed to the lions.....

Norway's a wacky place to play rugby,  games start at mid night.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:No crowd though. Only the players and refs. The coaches are not even allowed but medical staff and trainers yes.

150 000 is incredible though. That'd be great for a capacity crowd. The African savannah is possible though and big game interference is just down to who runs the slowest.

Can you tell I don't feel like work today with 34 degrees?

Nice! Off to Spain in July for the Bilbao BBK festival, surfing and maybe feria de San Fermin. Cant wait!!

Have you ever been to Bilbao BBK?

Nice one! Never been to BBK though been to Bilbao. Surfing can be good there. The festival is always an awkward time of year for me to get time off. That goes for any European festival.

Mont St Michel at low tide. Any undue stoppage times for injury or extra time run the risk of the field being flooded by the incoming tide.

A deck hovering over the Grand Canyon with only about five feet of extra ground after the trylines and then the mile drop!

That'll cut out the extravagant scoring displays

oh Andy Powell's minder has already alluded to no-touchlines

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Nice one! Never been to BBK though been to Bilbao. Surfing can be good there. The festival is always an awkward time of year for me to get time off. That goes for any European festival.

Mont St Michel at low tide. Any undue stoppage times for injury or extra time run the risk of the field being flooded by the incoming tide.

Had thought of Le Mont San Michel too. Cool place.

There's always the ice runway at McMurdo sound - home to the annual (or mostly annual) ice rugby match between Scott Base (NZ) and Mt Terror RFC of McMurdo Station (USA). Despite the US having 10 times as many base staff to select from they're yet to score a point in nearly 30 matches

(2010 match pics here http://dave--kelly.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/annual-mcmurdo-vs-scott-base-rugby.html )


After further research it appears that the match hasn't happened since 2010 . There's some decent pics on here though https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mount-Terror-Rugby-Football-Club/120503771924

Nice one Pete. Those are handy beer sales for that kind of location and climate.

The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah would offer a good hard ground where speed would be at a premium but tackling could peel off your skin.