OCTOBER | THE COMMENTATOR
Time for the Rugby World Cup
Martin Fullard
worries about
time
T
he common Englishman
thought he’d peaked
last year when, in the
fifth minute of the FIFA World
Cup semi-final, Kieran Trippier
smashed into the top right
corner from a direct free kick.
Scenes.
Every England football fan
across the land thought that
we’d do it, that we’d make the
final. But this being England, we
bottled it at the worst possible
moment and Croatia sailed
through to the final.
Reprieve for the English
sports fan came in 2019. The
England Cricket Team won the
Cricket World Cup in the most
dramatic fashion, with the last
ball of the last superover giving
the world one of the sport’s most
dramatic moments in its history.
Two major sporting events
in two years, and England has
done well in both, so it stands to
reason that we should be bullish
ahead of the Rugby World Cup
which starts 20 September in
Tokyo.
However, the problem with
global physics, and where the
Flatearthers have the measure of
us, is that time differences cause
havoc with people’s viewing
habits and, subsequently, event
organisers looking to mark the
occasion.
The opening match, Japan vs
Russia, (I wasn’t aware either
of these two nations had rugby
teams) kicks off at 11.45am
Brisish Summer Time (BST),
which in our office is the same
time the DHL man normally
arrives.
England’s first match, against
Tonga, kicks off at 11.15am BST,
albeit on a Sunday, but some
matches kick off as early as
5.45am BST.
As anyone running a bar
or fan zone will know, a lot
of people, especially England
fans, like to quaff an ale or two
while cheering on their teams,
but this is very difficult when
you’re supposed to be giving a
presentation on the last quarter
at the same time.
During a World Cup which
airs during the evenings, it’s
great to see bars all decked out
in national flags and with astro
turf on the floor and maybe
some foam balls wedged on to
the beer taps, and who doesn’t
love a good fan zone, with its
massive screen, deck chairs,
and outrageously overpriced
Corona?
Making an event of a
tournament is more popular
than ever, and the UK events
industry does it well. But how
are we going to manage the
Rugby World Cup and provide
an immersive experience for
people who will be at work while
it’s happening?
Let us know what you’re doing
(going to Japan to watch it live
doesn’t count).
“Making an event
of a tournament
is more popular
than ever, and the
UK events industry
does it well”
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