Tum should easily keep fans happy at Eden Park
Let us be there, joyous, in full voice, celebrating the women that play our national game . . . let this be the moment that women’s rugby finally takes the spotlight.
Alice Soper
with restricted access to all the things we like to pour down the throat or fill the belly.
Getting there should be a cinch — travel on trains and regular buses to and from Eden Park is included in match tickets.
Bus stops along New North and Sandringham Rds will be closed during the event, and buses will replace trains between 7pm and 10.15pm between Britomart and Morningside.
Motorists won’t be able to drive on part of Walters Rd and Sandringham Rd between 12.45pm and 10.45pm.
Tickets were just $10 for adults and $5 for kids, to encourage a full stadium. The affordable day out leaves punters with more in the pocket for food and drinks, with burgers, hot chips, sushi, salads, alcohol and fizzy drinks among options available inside the stadium.
But fans can also keep the savings going by bringing their own food and water. Small amounts of noncommercially produced food (ie no drive-thru meals) can be brought into the stadium, along with sealed water containers or empty drink bottles, both up to one litre in size. There are 18 water stations in the stadium for filling drink bottles.
Soft chilly bags are also allowed but must be small enough to fit under a stadium seat.
Guide dogs and assistance animals are also allowed, as are umbrellas — as long as the view of other fans isn’t impeded.
But while a brolly is usually advisable in Auckland’s changeable spring weather, it’s probably safe to leave at home today. MetService says it’ll be fine, with breezy northeasterlies developing late morning.
It’s been an unusually chilly late week, which may tempt some to pack their jackets just in case, but fans are unlikely to need to rug up.
A forecast high of 17C may see that jacket put to use combating numb bum from hours on plastic seats.
Another option is to get to your feet every chance you can.
As Herald columnist Alice Soper, a former player and commentator who is also a member of the Strategic Advisory Group for Women in Rugby Aotearoa, wrote yesterday, today’s event is “not your regular footy match”.
And that’s not just because games will be accompanied by live music from an international headliner.
“If you have ever stumbled into a rancid online debate, been frustrated at the inequitable treatment of w¯ahine athletes or faced your barriers to participation in your chosen passion, now is the time to show up.
“Let us be there, joyous, in full voice, celebrating the women that play our national game . . . let this be the moment that women’s rugby finally takes the spotlight.”