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Rugby's greatest stadiums recognised in RugbyPass Hall of Fame
By Sam Smith
The 18th and final wave of inductees into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame has been revealed as rugby’s most hallowed grounds were recognised on Wednesday.
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Home to the greatest rugby icons and venues of all-time, the RugbyPass Hall of Fame acknowledges and recognises the outstanding efforts of the trailblazers from the amateur era through to the global stars who light up the sport to this day.
The amalgamation of rugby’s top players, coaches, referees and stadiums from the amateur and professional eras has been reflected in the RugbyPass Hall of Fame’s final induction announcement, from which 13 of rugby’s best venues have been acknowledged.
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Among the headline stadia inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame include four venues – Eden Park, Twickenham, Ellis Park and Principality Stadium – that have hosted World Cup finals.
Of that quartet, only Eden Park (1987 and 2011) and Twickenham (1991 and 2015) have staged rugby’s greatest fixture on more than one occasion.
Eden Park, located in Auckland, is one of four New Zealand-based stadiums included in the RugbyPass Hall of Fame, with the others being Wellington’s Sky Stadium and Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium.
At 10-years-old, Forsyth Barr Stadium is the newest venue of all the stadiums recognised in the RugbyPass Hall of Fame, while the oldest active ground is Twickenham, based in south-west London, which opened in 1909.
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The other Kiwi stadium is Athletic Park, which was based in Wellington until its closure in 1999. Athletic Park is one of two former stadiums inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame alongside Dublin’s Lansdowne Road, which was demolished in 2007 to make way for Aviva Stadium.
Lansdowne Road is joined by Limerick’s Thomond Park as the two Irish stadiums in the RugbyPass Hall of Fame, while Twickenham and Cardiff’s Principality Stadium are two of three British stadiums inducted, with the other being Edinburgh’s Murrayfield.
Newlands, meanwhile, joined Johannesburg’s Ellis Park as the only South African grounds in the RugbyPass Hall of Fame, but the Cape Town-based venue was scheduled for demolition this year.
Elsewhere, Australia is represented in the RugbyPass Hall of Fame by Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, as is Italy via Rome’s Stadio Flaminio.
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The door remains open for other players to become RugbyPass Hall of Famers, so register now to have your say and vote for your favourite inductee in the Fan 1st XV.
Current RugbyPass Hall of Fame Fan 1st XV
1. Os du Randt (South Africa, 1994-2007)
2. Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand, 1986-1997)
3. Owen Franks (New Zealand, 2009-2019)
4. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa, 2012-present)
5. Victor Matfield (South Africa, 2001-2015)
6. Jerome Kaino (New Zealand, 2004-2017)
7. Richie McCaw (New Zealand, 2001-2015)
8. Mamuka Gorgodze (Georgia, 2003-2019)
9. Aaron Smith (New Zealand, 2012-present)
10. Dan Carter (New Zealand, 2003-2015)
11. Jonah Lomu (New Zealand, 1994-2002)
12. Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand, 2003-2015)
13. Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland, 1999-2014)
14. David Campese (Australia, 1982-1996)
15. Christian Cullen (New Zealand, 1996-2002)
Coach: Rassie Erasmus (South Africa)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Stadium: 22.12.2021
Eden Park is a dog of a stadium-too big for a rugby field, too small for cricket.....but the ABs record there is everything....its like Mike Tyson-was he the best?.....no.......but almost everyone that got in the ring with him gave up before the fight had started