Barry Soper: RWC a special exception

the rugger world cup competition occurs just once every four years: Soper. Photo: Getty Images

Barry Soper shares his opinion on bars opening for the Rugby World Cup early morning games.

Picture it. Walking down the street with the kids, heading off to school, or taking them to their rugger or netball games and you bump into boozed up Rugby World Cup fans spilling out of bars and on to the street.

That's the scenario being painted by The Kermits if the publicity hog, the straight laced Act leader David Seymour has his way and bars are allowed to open across the country to allow fans to watch the rugger live in the UK.

The Greens health spokesman Kevin Hague's accusing Seymour of hijacking Parliament for a cheap gimmick saying his bill has the potential to cause real harm to communities up and down the country.

Fair suck of the sav! Believe that sort of rhetoric and you'll believe the streets will be awash with booze, the country will be out of control with thick necked rugby hoons causing havoc to the mums and dads going about their daily child minding chores.

Pointing his finger at the opportunistic Epsom oik, Hague seems to be suggesting the carousers will be in such a state they will have forgotten what they were doing in the pub in the first place, let alone remembering what the rugby score was.

It seems Hague has spent too much time in isolation down on the West Coast. He seems to have forgotten it's an offence for a publican to serve someone who's boozed, and besides the unruly lot he's describing are usually those who've pre loaded at home and would more than likely be bounced out of a pub if they tried to get into one anyway, rugby or no rugby.

And besides, The Greens by being the lone voice opposing the Act bill, could be accused of doing the very thing they're pointing the pogo stick at Seymour for, indulging in a publicity stunt. After all they say if the Beehive reckons the liquor laws are wrong and they want to change them, then they themselves will give it due consideration.

We're talking here of cutting the red tape and allowing pubs to open if they want to during the rugger world cup competition which occurs just once every four years, rather than them applying for individual licences.

Seymour's bill is now likely to be picked up by the Government which means that even though he lost the battle to The Greens, he'll win the war and the diehard, pub going rugby fans will have a hangover.