Menu
Events and Attractions

RWC Organizers Express Confidence Despite Sprinkler Issue, Other Complaints

Rugby World Cup organizers said that they are "confident that London's Olympic Stadium will be ready to host the first of five scheduled games in the tournament," according to Ian Malin of the London GUARDIAN. Saturday's "high-profile match" between Samoa and the Barbarians, which was watched by 41,039 spectators, highlighted a "number of teething problems." During the first half four sprinklers under the pitch "sprayed jets of water into the air, providing a couple of comic minutes for the crowd but annoying the Samoans." There were a number of complaints from spectators, "from a lack of Wi-Fi, no beer and poor views of the pitch from seats high in the stand." A number of fans "also complained about the length of queues for tickets and some paying spectators were bemused that their seat tickets were occupied by press seats." An RWC spokesperson said, "The stadium is in mid-transformation and unfortunately a minor technical fault with the timer system led to the sprinklers coming on." Carl Hayman, the former All Blacks prop who played for the Barbarians, added, "It's an impressive stadium and it has a great future as a venue. Apart from the sprinklers going off there were no complaints from me" (GUARDIAN, 8/30).

OPPOSITION TO SOUTH AFRICA: TIMES LIVE reported an "urgent court application" to prevent the South African rugby team from participating in the RWC has been launched by Agency for New Agenda‚ a political party formerly known as South Africa First. The basis for the party's application is an "alleged lack of transformation in the sport‚ which it claims is still dominated by whites‚ and that the team does not fully represent the majority of South Africans." The matter is "scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday" (TIMES LIVE, 8/30). In Sydney, Tom Decent reported a rugby league match between Ireland and Serbia "has been abandoned after a Serbian official reportedly punched a player in the head which sparked an all-in brawl." The Rugby League European Federation released a statement on its Facebook page outlining what had occurred. The post said, "Serbia vs Ireland match has been abandoned in the 65th minute. Very sad and unsavoury scenes. Ireland were leading 24-16 at the time" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/30).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2015/08/31/Events-and-Attractions/RWC-Organizers.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2015/08/31/Events-and-Attractions/RWC-Organizers.aspx

CLOSE