Merchants Inn, Rugby

Some things in life are best savoured in convivial company. The Merchants Inn is dedicated to two such pleasures – beer and rugby. A drop-kick from the school where the sport was invented, it brands itself “the pub of rugby”.

The pub is only 15 years old – a conversion from a wine-merchant’s premises, whence the name. What it lacks in history, it makes up for in enthusiasm, even changing appearance for significant rugby occasions: during the British Lions 2016 tour to New Zealand, the pub adorned its outside walls with a mural of hungry red lions, poised to devour unsuspecting Kiwis. It’s no surprise that for big matches the pub is packed to the rafters.

At opening time on a Sunday, however, there’s a more tranquil air. The worn flagstoned floors and expanses of polished wood remind me of the reverent atmosphere of an ancient cathedral. Like arrases in a medieval minister, the walls are hung with antique mirrors and enamelled advertising signs promoting countless defunct breweries. Their long-lost names evoke a heraldic flavour of the bygone beverage – Fremlin’s, Ansells, Friary Meux – even if the taste of their beers isn’t quite so fondly remembered.

By contrast, the beckoning bar celebrates the current renaissance of the British brewing industry. There’s an extensive selection of bottled beers and real cider but the main draw is the row of handpumps. The knowledgeable staff encourage me to try a couple of ales. These include local Warwickshire brands, such as Purity’s Pure UBU, plus many sourced from burgeoning small breweries across the country, as the hundreds of pump clips fixed to the ceiling testify

Carrying a pint of excellently kept Goffs Cheltenham Gold, I head towards the pub’s inner sanctum, a windowless ex-barrel store, where oval-ball devotees congregate before the huge TV screen whenever rugby is shown. On my visit, it’s a fine place to contemplate my next pint and reflect that the Merchants Inn has certainly, as it were, picked up the ball and run with it.