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Twickenham snubbed in favour of soccer stadium for 2021 euro finals

Twickenham Stadium (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will stage European rugby’s showpiece finals in 2021.

Tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) announced the Heineken Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup finals will take place there on May 21 and 22.

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The recently opened 62,000-capacity ground will follow the likes of Newcastle’s St James’ Park – venue for this weekend’s finals – Bilbao and Lyon in staging the showpiece occasions.

Next year’s hosts will be Marseille.

Tottenham’s successful bid followed a detailed tender process, EPCR said.

It will be the seventh European Cup final to be played in England, and the first to held in London other than at Twickenham.

“We are excited to have been selected to host this prestigious weekend, the pinnacle of European club rugby, in 2021, and to have this opportunity to welcome EPCR and rugby fans from around the world to Tottenham to experience our new home,” Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said.

“These games will add to the portfolio of world-class sporting and entertainment events our multi-use venue will stage in this new leisure destination for London.”

The stadium features a fully-retractable grass pitch, with an artificial surface underneath which will be used when it hosts NFL games.

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Press Association Sport understands that the rugby finals will be played on grass.

It also has a 17,500-seat single tier stand – the largest in the United Kingdom.

EPCR chairman Simon Halliday said: “We are very excited to be taking the best club rugby in the world to such an innovative and exciting stadium.

“There is already a real buzz about the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and it will continue the theme of new experiences for our fans in dynamic stadiums that can generate the kind of exceptional atmosphere that has become the hallmark of the Heineken Champions Cup.”

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S
SK 34 minutes ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Set pieces are important and the way teams use them is a great indication of how they play the game. No team is showcasing their revolution more than the Springboks. This year they have mauled less and primarily in the attacking third. Otherwise they have tended to set like they are going to maul and then play around the corner or shove the ball out the back. They arent also hitting the crash ball carrier constantly but instead they are choosing to use their width or a big carrying forward in wider areas. While their maul is varied the scrum is still a blunt instrument winning penalties before the backs have a go. Some teams have chosen to blunt their set piece game for more control. The All Blacks are kicking more penalties and are using their powerful scrum as an attacking tool choosing that set piece as an attacking weapon. Their willingness to maul more and in different positions is also becoming more prominent. The French continue to play conservative rugby off the set piece using their big bruisers frequently. The set piece is used differently by different teams. Different teams play different ways and can be successful regardless. They can win games with little territory and possession or smash teams with plenty of both. The game of rugby is for all types and sizes and thats true in the modern era. I hope that administrators keep it that way and dont go further towards a Rugby League style situation. Some administrators are of the opinion that rugby is too slow and needs to be sped up. Why not rather empower teams to choose how they want to play and create a framework that favours neither size nor agility. That favours neither slow tempo play or rock n roll rugby. Create a game that favour both and challenge teams to execute their plans. If World Rugby can create a game like that then it will be the ultimate winner.

34 Go to comments
J
JW 5 hours ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

Yep, no one knows what will happen. Thing is I think (this is me arguing a point here not a random debate with this one) they're better off trialing it now in a controlled environment than waiting to open it up in a knee jerk style reaction to a crumbling organtization and team. They can always stop it again.


The principle idea is that why would players leave just because the door is ajar?


BBBR decides to go but is not good enough to retain the jersey after doing it. NZ no longer need to do what I suggest by paying him to get back upto speed. That is solely a concept of a body that needs to do what I call pick and stick wth players. NZR can't hold onto everyone so they have to choose their BBBRs and if that player comes back from a sabbatical under par it's a priority to get him upto speed as fast as possible because half of his competition has been let go overseas because they can't hold onto them all. Changing eligibility removes that dilemma, if a BBBR isn't playing well you can be assured that someone else is (well the idea is that you can be more assured than if you only selected from domestic players).


So if someone decides they want to go overseas, they better do it with an org than is going to help improve them, otherwise theyre still basically as ineligible as if they would have been scorning a NZ Super side that would have given them the best chance to be an All Black.

147 Go to comments
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