All Pitches Great and Small – Your Super Rugby Preseason Venues

The Super Rugby preseason is a perfect opportunity for teams to get out there and play in some places they wouldn’t during the regular season – like France, or Wagga Wagga, or a paddock on someone’s farm. Calum Henderson looks at the best venues from this year’s preseason schedule.

Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse (Toulouse vs Sharks)

The Super Rugby preseason made it as far as France this year, where the Sharks will play at the recently renovated home ground of European powerhouse Toulouse. Ernest-Wallon has a capacity of 19,500, meaning the club’s bigger games are often played at the larger Stadium Municipal. The South African side have also played – and defeated – European champions Toulon on their quick jaunt to France.

Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground (Racing 92 vs Highlanders)

If Hong Kong’s 12,000 capacity Siu San Wan Sports Ground was built in New Zealand it would have been nicknamed something like ‘The Toilet Seat’ before a game had even been played there. Luckily it’s not, and so defending Super Rugby champions the Highlanders and leading French club Racing 92 were able to play out their entertaining exhibition match with dignity. The SSWSG is primarily used to host soccer matches – the most famous visiting side it has hosted was probably Chelsea, who played South China AA there in 1997.

Farmer Fred Booth’s Back Paddock, Waimumu (Highlanders vs Crusaders)

From an international glamour match in Hong Kong to a local derby on a paddock on someone’s farm in the middle of Southland within the space of a week – the Highlanders have by far the most eclectic Super Rugby preseason schedule. They play the Crusaders on Thursday night for the Farmlands Cup as part of the Southern Field Days expo, held on the property of a farmer called Fred Booth in Waimumu, about halfway between Gore and Mataura. Other events at Southern Field Days include a tractor pull and a digger competition.

National Sports Stadium, Harare (Cheetahs vs Bulls)

Zimbabwe’s very important-sounding National Sports Stadium played host to a Super Rugby preseason match between two South African sides on the 6th, with the Cheetahs scoring an upset 28-10 victory. The 60,000-seat National Sports Stadium is primarily used as the home ground of CAPS (Central African Pharmaceutical Society) United FC, and has previously hosted concerts by Bruce Springsteen and Sting.

McDonald’s Park, Wagga Wagga (Brumbies vs Waratahs)

McDonald’s Park is “Wagga's premier rectangular shaped sporting facility” and the home of rugby league in the inland New South Wales city, where the average temperature for February is above 30 degrees. An oasis of green in the parched summer landscape, the park looked a picture as the Waratahs edge the Brumbies 21-17 in a preseason thriller.

Eketahuna Rugby Grounds, Eketahuna (Hurricanes vs Blues)

The Hurricanes return to Eketahuna (population 441) for the second year running to face the Blues in a popular preseason fixture sponsored by a regional brewery. With temporary seating the ground can host up to 4000 spectators, including corporate hospitality options. Eketahuna’s senior men’s team finished mid-table in the 2015 Wairarapa Bush first division club competition with a record of 5 wins and 8 losses.