Lets assume the final will be the usual Australia v NZ affair.

Twickenham Stoop would be ideal.

Checks all the right boxes for the expat community in London (apart from the lack of VB)

Not many British fans would bother going unless England made the final.


Twickenham (the big place...HQ as its known) would never come close to selling out an RL final sadly

What then happens if England reach the final? You cant just book out a big and a small venue

Lush green grass is growing on there now, or was. Has it changed since Saturday?

Group games at Widnes, Warrington, Leigh, St.Helens, Salford, The Stoop, Wrexham, Catalans, Leeds, Halifax. Semis at Wigan and Hull, Final at Olympic Stadium

Following the successes of past tournaments...
The big gates in 1995/2000 mean Wembley opening fixture (England vs Australia) - one game in london and the advanced sales should help it be the biggest crowd
following 2008 every game must be held at a Rugby League ground (the 10 i went to where anyway) so West Yorkshire, Humberside, Lancashire and thats it (KC, galpharm, headingley, wigan, leigh, HJ, widnes and new grounds at Cas/Wakefield/saints/salford if ready) - if Wrexham is still going well then Wales can play their group games there
Old Trafford for the final - it has to be in the heartlands and this is the best stadium up here
semis at Hull and Huddersfield
I dont think there should be games in france and definitely not in scotland or ireland
no double headers and no more than 2 games per day

France should play their home games in Catalunia. Bigger crowds, more competitive. Wales in Wrexham. Rest of the games in England. I'd go Wembley as an opener, you're right. England v Australia. Then the final at Olympic Stadium or maybe Anfield/Goodison or Elland Road?

Not much for Yorkshire then?

In the 'failed' world cup 2000 NZ played Australia in the final and there were 46000 on if I remember. So why the stoop barry? Because you're wrong....again.

People seem to be suggesting the final is played in London.

There is a very high chance of it being an Aus v NZ final.

London is full of antips.

The Stoop would do the job nicely.


I seriously can't see England making the final. I personally would like it if they did because it would be a real shot in the arm for the international game.... but realistically I think hell will freeze over before that happens.

You havn't been to London recently have you Barry?

Wrong....again.

I live and work in Hammersmith!!

I forgot Huddersfield and Donaster. Which others do you reckon? Will Hull KR be sorted by 2013? And the Cas/Wakey debacle, who knows? Bradfords a dump at the minute.

So you know there arn't that many antipods there anymore, plenty of eastern europeans though.

Fewer stadia with more games on the same day is the way forward, I reckon.

If there are 12 teams in it, then use just two grounds - three games at each, one after the other. It's cheaper to stage, cheaper to broadcast, and gives the fans an experience.

Similarly, why just have the final on World Cup Final day? Why not have a third place playoff as the curtain raiser?

Hammersmith has never really had many antips from what I've gathered, I used to live in a place called Dollis Hill though and that was full of them.

A lot of my friends live in Willesden... another antip 'hotspot'. Same as Acton. Chockers with Aussies and Kiwis. Shepherds Bush is quite popular too.

London on the whole has thousands of Aussies and Kiwis living here. There was a good turn out for the international at the Stoop last year between Australia and NZ.