Best places to watch the games

It was probably just the island’s Kiwi population and a few die-hard rugby fans that set their alarms for 5am today and stumbled out of bed.

But the 2011 Rugby World Cup has officially begun.

The tournament favourites New Zealand kicked off their campaign against the hard-hitting Tongans this morning.

And as hosts of the seventh tournament, the All Blacks will carry the hopes of rugby-proud nation desperate for success.

It was 1987 when a New Zealander by the name of David Kirk last laid a finger on the William Webb Ellis trophy. It must be great for the Kiwis to have the World Cup in their back yard again but it’s far from ideal for rugby enthusiasts in Bermuda as most of the matches start in the middle of the night.

So for the next six weeks the streets of Hamilton may be a little busier in the early hours of the morning as South African, Australian, English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish fans try to find venues to watch their teams.

And afternoon coffee intake amongst supporters may also hit new highs.

As for where you’ll be able to watch your team, here is a brief breakdown of the pubs and bars planning to show the rugby.

Robin Hood

The Robin Hood opened its doors at 5am this morning to show the opening game and plans to do the same for at least the next two days.

So England’s first game against Argentina at 5:30am tomorrow will be shown live over an early breakfast.

While on Sunday the South Africa v Wales fixture, which also kicks off at 5:30am, will be on in the Hood.

Manager Arthur Reilly said: “We’ll see what response we get over the weekend and take it from there. At the moment we’ll look to open early for the big games involving South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and England — especially if they are at the weekends.

“If there are a group of more than 10 guys who want to see a game then we’ll see what we can do.”

Docksiders

Docksiders is planning to show the pool games each evening from around 5pm but will be open for the knock-out stages.

Owner Reed Young said: “We will show the big game of the day at 5pm so people can drop by after work.

“Then once we get to the knock out stages we will be open for breakfast so people can watch the games and have some food.”

Outback

Chris Garland, who runs the Outback Bar, said he plans to open early for the knockout stages of the competition, which begin on October 8.

He added: “Whether we show the group-stage games will depend a lot on the demand. If we get calls from groups of between 15-20 saying they want to see a game then we will see what we can do.”

The Beach

While the Beach plans to show replays of the games during the course of the day.

Owner Rick Olsen said: “We have not made any definitive plans yet. At the very worst we will be taping the games and replaying them through the day.

“We’ll definitely show the semi-finals and the finals no matter what time they are. We’ll also have special offers on the beers for the World Cup and will open at the crack of dawn if there is interest in some of the early games.

“To find out what we are doing have a look at our Facebook page.”