With almost half a million visitors descending on the largest Rugby World Cup ever, Sport360 takes a look at the pressures of extra traffic on public transport on matchday.
CARDIFF — “Hi there, I’m former England rugby international Will Greenwood. Be sure to plan your journey and arrive at your destination in good time during the busy Rugby World Cup.”
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The Rugby World Cup-winning centre’s voice boomed out over the train station speaker in rural Surrey, but little did travellers heading for Cardiff know that this warning was the sort of underestimation that only South Africans in Brighton would understand.
It was 9:30am when the train pulled away and the journey to the magnificent Millennium Stadium began for Australia vs Fiji, a game that kicked-off at 4:30pm.
Major sports tournaments always present transport difficulties and a trip to the Welsh capital was no different for the throngs of rugby fans who experienced as many unscheduled stoppages as the TMO-heavy match that was to follow.
“The train is standing room only,”the station guard informed the legions of Australia fans wearing Crocodile Dundee hats and carrying inflatable kangaroos. Cue two-and-a-half hours of supporters squashed into luggage racks, between a plethora of plastic marsupials.
Australia and Fiji fans pack out Cardiff Fanzone for #RWC2015 http://t.co/n5WzPQKk2e pic.twitter.com/mKCH7cQWII
— WalesOnline (@WalesOnline) September 23, 2015
After arriving in Cardiff, however, the angst quickly dissolved. Anyone who has been to Cardiff on matchday will know the city has a magical atmosphere where rugby rules and the streets are littered with colourful flags and excited fans.
The game, typically it would seem for this World Cup, lasted almost two hours which meant a stampede of people streamed out of the stadium and towards the station to catch the last trains back to London Paddington.
Fans who had struggled with the outward journey had it even worse on the return leg. Not only did the train seem even more packed (this may have just been the effect of rowdy Australians) but it moved at glacial pace, stopping for twenty minutes in all six stations en route back to London.
Reporter @AndrewBinner is LIVE at #AUS v #FIJ and bringing you the latest from packed out Cardiff. #RWC2015 https://t.co/2nUEVUm60Z
— Sport360° (@Sport360) September 23, 2015
Given that the Millennium Stadium is a very experienced concert and rugby venue, regularly hosting crowds well in excess of our 67,000, it is surprsing that the transport system struggled in such a way.
The answer may lie with the ironic choruses of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot that rang out from the stands five minutes before the end of Fiji’s mauling.
The composition of the crowd was actually largely English and authorities had clearly not anticipated the scale of travelling support, given that Six Nations matches attract a far smaller ratio of fans from far away.
Somerset Latest: Western Daily Press published Australia Vs Fiji: Rugby fans could face three hour train delay… http://t.co/fOiFGgw7zv
— Somerset News (@NewsSomerset) September 23, 2015
That said, tournament organisers would have been well aware of the origin of ticket buyers and thus failed to plan accordingly – an unacceptable feat given the Millennium Stadium is hosting five matches.
In another train-related incident, it was well documented on Saturday that due to the late 8pm GMT kick-off between England and Wales, fans heading west of the River Severn would have needed to leave the stadium at half-time in order to make their last train home.
Cardiff is an enchanting away day that encapsulates the magic of a World Cup like no other ground and every fan should take the opportunity to watch a game at the great venue.
However, fans traveling to Ireland vs France and either of the Millennium’s quarter-final games from London should take heed of Mr. Greenwood’s warning and prepare for a very slow maul to Cardiff.
