Twickenham Stoop
Rugby
Premiership Rugby
London
Score:
43
/ 60
Overview
Sitting – stooping? – in the shadow of the main Twickenham stadium, The Stoop may look diminutive. With a capacity of around 15,000, it’s pretty much average for a Premiership rugby ground. But it’s a gem. It can feel like a bit of pilgrimage getting there from central London, but there are plenty of great pubs in and around Twickenham to break the journey before the walk to the ground. It’s a detour that will increase the trek to the stadium but The White Swan, with its beer garden that goes down to the banks of the Thames (which, at Twickenham, is a charming river populated by ducks and kayakers) is highly recommended and likely to be busy with fellow fans. Whether it’s an afternoon game or one played under lights, The Stoop has a fantastic atmosphere. Harlequins fans are a loud bunch who keep the energy high throughout games. There’s plenty of space around the ground, making it easy to get around, and there are lots of bars and a variety of food options. It’s not perfect (good luck with the queue for the bathrooms at half time), and I’m biased as Harlequins are my Premiership team from my years living in London, but The Stoop is my favourite club rugby ground.
Score Summaries
Atmosphere & Experience: 9
Friendly, but rowdy. Quins fans are always in full voice, whether they’re singing the club’s take on Bob Dylan’s The Mighty Quinn, or chanting ‘Come on you Quins!’ Sadly, following his retirement, you’ll no longer hear them singing Danny Care’s name to the tune of Daddy Cool, but all good things must come to an end. If you sit in the large stand at the south end, you’re likely to be deafened by enthusiastic fans sat in the back row drumming on the corrugated iron wall. You may also, perhaps not unreasonably, fear that they’ll eventually bang it so hard that the whole structure will collapse. But at least everyone will be in good spirits when it happens.
Seats: 8
It’s pricy. There’s no denying it. The cheapest seat down the sideline, pretty much on the try line, will run you £60. Between either 10-meter line and halfway, you’re talking £86. I’ve paid less for internationals. The cheapest ticket I could find for an upcoming game, in the far corner of the south stand, was £43. However, views from around the ground (with the exception of the north stand, where you should be aware that there are pillars holding up the roof which may slightly impede your view) are exceptionally good.
Catering: 8
There are lots of bars, although queues can still take a while. The beer selection is pretty good. There are plenty of food options, most of which are the typical fare you’d expect to find in a stadium, burgers, fries, etc..
Facilities: 6
My only real gripe with The Stoop is that queues for the bathrooms, particularly at half-time, are insane. Go with a friend with an iron bladder who you can send to the bar for you because you’re unlikely to have time to queue to empty yours and then for beer to refill it before the second half kicks off.
Getting There: 7
If you’re in the city, a 26-minute train ride from Waterloo will get you to Twickenham. From there, it’s a roughly 20-minute walk to the ground. Trains can get crowded, but usually not to the same extent as they are on match days at big Twickenham.
Getting Away: 5
A bit of a different proposition. You’re likely to have to queue for a while at Twickenham station. Alternative, you can either walk to Richmond (which will take the best part of an hour) or get a bus there from around Twickenham station to catch the tube or the Overground back into town. The journey might be longer than the train, but depending on the queue situation, it still might get you home earlier.