This article is from page 75 of the 2007-09-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 75 JPG
MUNSTER rugby fans in Clare have expressed mixed feelings following confirmation that London Wasps have moved the venue for their Heineken Cup “home” clash with Munster in November to Coventry forcing supporters to change travel and accommodation arrangements at extra expense.
HEC champions Wasps were ex- pected to host 2006 cup winners Munster on November 10 in London however it has now been confirmed that the Round 1, Pool 5 clash will take place in Coventry, 100 miles from the capital. A spokesperson for the Ricoh Stadium has confirmed that the venue has been booked for the game at 5.30pm on November 10 next.
It was always unlikely that the game would be played at Wasps’ home ground at Adam’s Park as the
capacity there is only 10,000. The club had been considering a number of options including Twickenham, the Emirates, Wembley Stadium and other venues outside London, how- ever none of these options material- There
PRO of the Munster Rugby Sup- porters Club, Glenn Flanagan said yesterday, “Whilst initially we were disappointed that Wasps chose to move the game from London to Cov- entry, we do understand that Wasps exhausted every possibility, to stage the game in London. We understand that venues from Southampton, Emirates Stadium, MK Dons Are- na, Stamford Bridge, Wembley and Twickenham were all considered but for one reason or another, these ven- ues were not available.
As soon as the draw for this sea- son’s championship was announced during the summer, hundreds of Munster fans quickly booked flights
to London but will now have to take a two hour train journey from the capital to Coventry’s Ricoh Stadium for the clash or make alternative ar- rangements.
A spokesman for the European Rugby Cup (ERC) has said, “As the tournament continues to grow several Clubs are now moving pool matches to larger venues to cater for demand following a trend that started with quarter-finals like Munster’s last year at Lansdowne Road and Bourgoin who moved their clash with Munster to Geneva.”
“If Wasps stayed at Adams Park, Munster would get less than 1,500 tickets for their fans for what must be one of the biggest and most antici- pated pool games for either club and the tournament. Their move to the State of the art 32,000 Ricoh Arena will mean that thousands more fans will be able to attend the game if they wish.
‘The venues for the Pool stages are decided by the home clubs, and they must confirm the venues at least sev- en weeks before the game to ERC. This is a new deadline introduced this season,” according to the ERC.
MRSC PRO Glenn Flanagan add- ed, “of course, with the game being moved to a bigger venue, it gives the Opportunity to have more Munster Supporters at the game. Although many of our members have booked various flights into London for the game, we will endeavour to help show them the best way to Coventry from all London Airports.” Informa- tion is available from www.munster- rugbysupporters.com.