: Mon May 04, 2009 8:13 pm  

I prefer Murrayfield as a stadium. It was good to sit in the sunshine rather than the dark and freezing cold of a closed Millennium stadium.

I'm still not convinced it's a good idea overall though. It's too expensive for a lot of fans and we were very lucky with the weather. That pitch would not have stood 7 games in the rain and the crowds would not have been anything like.

That just leaves you Wembley or Cardiff as the covered options and as I said the covered stadium was cold and dark.

Ok it's a good media opportunity but mid season internationals could surely do that.

: Mon May 04, 2009 8:24 pm  

Having never been to Cardiff I can't compare, but I thought the magic weekend was absolutely superb and I will definitely be going again, wherever it is.

: Mon May 04, 2009 8:25 pm  

Mission wrote:

Having never been to Cardiff I can't compare, but I thought the magic weekend was absolutely superb and I will definitely be going again, wherever it is.

I second that, had a cracking weekend, hopefully get a few more going next year but I'll definately be there.

: Mon May 04, 2009 8:27 pm  

AndreaB wrote:

I prefer Murrayfield as a stadium. It was good to sit in the sunshine rather than the dark and freezing cold of a closed Millennium stadium.

I'm still not convinced it's a good idea overall though. It's too expensive for a lot of fans and we were very lucky with the weather. That pitch would not have stood 7 games in the rain and the crowds would not have been anything like.

That just leaves you Wembley or Cardiff as the covered options and as I said the covered stadium was cold and dark.

Ok it's a good media opportunity but mid season internationals could surely do that.

.

: Mon May 04, 2009 9:42 pm  

bulls20042002 wrote: the official figures speak for themselves! A total of 30,122 watched Sunday's four matches at Murrayfield and, with 29,627 in attendance on the opening day, the combined total is down on last year's aggregate of 63,144 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff taken from sky sports and if you include the rest of the statement from the RFL its not such a gloomy picture - in fact attendance was approximately the same as the first year it was held in Cardiff and as others have mentionned, financial constraints are likely to have impacted more severely on the crowds this year. http://www.superleague.co.uk/article.php?id=13928

bulls20042002 wrote: the official figures speak for themselves! A total of 30,122 watched Sunday's four matches at Murrayfield and, with 29,627 in attendance on the opening day, the combined total is down on last year's aggregate of 63,144 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff taken from sky sports and if you include the rest of the statement from the RFL its not such a gloomy picture - in fact attendance was approximately the same as the first year it was held in Cardiff and as others have mentionned, financial constraints are likely to have impacted more severely on the crowds this year. http://www.superleague.co.uk/article.php?id=13928

[Bulliac]

: Mon May 04, 2009 10:07 pm  

To be honest I reckon that the Millennium is the best stadium I`ve watched rugby at in respect of the atmosphere, but the downside was the slipping and sliding around, apparently caused by condensation,which none of the teams seemed to overcome. Against that Edinburgh is easily the better city in terms of being a visitor attraction, both for accommodation and for things to do in general, so for me, on balance, Murrayfield wins.

As for the food etc being up or down a few steps , unless you`re in a wheel chair or on crutches so what? I went down both at halftimes and between games; queues were minimal and the choice was way above normal, if only it were so easy at normal league matches.

: Mon May 04, 2009 10:58 pm  

We had a wonderful experience, it held an awesome atmosphere.

The stadium guys really pulled off a great job. There were that many food and drinks bars we never queued for more than a couple of minutes. The Scots playing their bagpipes as each club bus came around the ground was fantastic.

Drinking in and around Edinburgh with like minded supporters just made the whole experience unique. How many other sports can create a weekend like this ? With different supporters all enjoying drinking, chatting and even some good old singing.


I know it's not every-one's cup of tea, but I didn't find a fan all weekend that wished they hadn't turned up

: Tue May 05, 2009 7:12 am  

I have some great pics that I will put up later on after me and the legend that is Odsal Oddball went on a stalking spree.

I only made the Saturday and had a great time. Boo shucks to the idiot Wakefield fan who thought it would be a good idea to launch a full pint at us when Bradford scored a try. Bloody idiot.

: Tue May 05, 2009 8:01 am  

Another highlight was the food, much better than normal. I lived on chips & curry sauce, it was so cold out of the sun that by the time you got back to your seat it had congealed into a strange gelatinous mass with stone cold chips underneath. Tasted great though.

: Tue May 05, 2009 10:38 am  

bobsmyuncle wrote:

Yes it was lower by 5.4% which I think is at least representative of current financial constraints on supporters.We too have been to all 3 weekends and would happily go back to either venue, the preference is subjective as both were top notch carnival affairs.

I think Dublin in 2011 would be a logistical nightmare for travelling and to my recent knowledge hotel prices are astronomical.
Never thought about Newcastle previously...that would be interesting but the limited accomodation might be as bad as Cardiff.

But there were two extra sets of supporters attending this year. 14 teams as opposed to 12.