Struggling businesses were in danger of folding if Wales home games hadn’t returned
PUBS have been thrown a lifeline by the Six Nations, with one predicting it would have lost up to £80,000 in revenue if the tournament hadn’t returned to the city.
Before the tournament, there was a possibility that Wales home matches could have been played in England due to Covid restrictions on crowds in stadiums.
“Without the Six Nations games in Cardiff, we would have lost about £70-80,000 in revenue,” said Andrew Bassett, barman at the Rummer Tavern pub in the city centre.
“The pub would no longer exist if games were not played in the city, in the last match here we had over 1,300 people through the door.”
As Covid cases fell, the decision was taken to allow crowds at the Principality Stadium, which has been a huge boost to businesses.
The match day experience is not quite the same, however, as the Wales Rugby Union has restricted beer to weaker brands in the stadium to deter misbehaviour from crowds.
During the Autumn Nations series in 2021, anti-social behaviour left one young fan covered in beer, and another was vomited on during a match.
Although Cardiff’s pubs are busy for away matches, such as tomorrow’s England v Wales fixture at Twickenham, it’s the trade the home matches bring that has kept some going.
“If there were no games in Cardiff, I would have had to hand the keys back,” said Brian Free, owner of the Cambrian Tap pub near the Principality Stadium.
The money does not just come from game day, but across the whole weekend.
“When we get the away fans like the French or the Scottish, they stay here for the weekend, so we get a lot of business from them,” said Mr Free.
The Campaign for Real Ale, which supports pubs and promotes ales and ciders, has urged people to visit local pubs during the Six Nations.
It has a filter on the home page of its online pub directory, WhatPub, to allow people to search easily for local pubs with sports TV.
It has also collated a list of beers to enjoy during the rugby featuring beers from across the Six Nations including Dark Side of the Moose, from Purple Moose brewery in Wales.
To find out more about where to see sports in pubs, click here.
The list of beers CAMRA recommends to rugby can be found here.
