Booze off menu as fans hit bars

The Thirsty Whale at West Quay.

It may have been the dawn of a new era in Napier's dockside West Quay bar quarter yesterday as over 600 rugby fans packed bars to watch the final, eating bacon, sausages and eggs and drinking mainly coffee, juice or water.

But Saturday night was quieter than usual, bar proprietors conjecturing that rugby fans were having a quiet night before watching the game from 5am.

At least four establishments on West Quay opened for the cup, with bigger venues The Thirsty Whale Bar and Restaurant, Shed 2 on The Quay and The Gintrap Cafe and Bar, all nearly full with cheering fans.

An estimated 340 crowded three bars at The Thirsty Whale, marketing manager and former Hawke's Bay Rugby Union chief executive officer Ian Condon calculated.

The "Thirsty", as it is known to patrons, billed itself as an "official" Rugby World Cup bar, and three months ago upgraded its technology, adding to its range of screens the biggest indoor screen in Hawke's Bay - more than 5m wide and 3m high.

Shed 2 proprietor Dennis Buckley estimated 200 fans were at his establishment, which has six screens, and The Gintrap, which has five screens, was "full up", said owner Rick Lowe.

A range of other bars opened especially for the match, including Rosie O'Grady's in the Napier CBD and the Napier RSA a short distance away, the Westshore Beach Inn, the Duke of Gloucester in Taradale, and Turks Bar in Havelock North.

But smaller towns seem to have preferred the family-breakfast at-home concept, including Waipukurau where proprietors of the Farriers Arms decided against opening, after having limited numbers for a small number of other matches during the tournament. However, two other establishments provided cut breakfasts for those who wanted to watch the footy.

Meanwhile, The Thirsty Whale had closed at 3am and reopened an hour later, with fans quickly pouring through the doors.

"It was chocker by 4.30, it was first-in, best-seat," said Mr Condon.

Mr Buckley's customers had mainly booked tables in advance. "We were booked out on Wednesday," he said, noting most patrons seemed to sing the national anthem before the big game started.

The Gintrap closed about midnight, and had people queuing at the door while Mr Lowe was still cleaning up before reopening at 4.30am.

Mr Condon said the crowd was "deafening" as Beauden Barrett scored the match-sealing try, with customers rising in jubilation as the ABs won 34-17. All except, perhaps, the marketing manager, who would have preferred , the 27-17 scoreline he had selected in a pick-the-score competition at the RSA.

Wallaby supporters also seemed thin on the ground at the Shed 2. Mr Buckley asked one woman at a table as the crowd dispersed: "You'd be happy?

"My two friends were," she said. "I'm Australian."