Irish drink Adelaide dry as World Cup leaves its mark
And, after the Irish scraped a 16-15 win, the supporters quite literally drank the city dry.
The Stag Hotel ran completely out of draught just prior to the game on Sunday evening after experiencing up to six times its usual trade of between 10 and 15 kegs a weekend.
“What do you expect when a bunch of Paddies come to town,” said Irish fan Eddie Shanley, who had travelled down from Sydney. “We have a reputation to maintain. But you can’t just blame the Irish, I’ve noticed the Aussies and the Argentinians like to drink too.”
“We were flat out for the weekend, totally chockers,” said Michael O’Shaughnessy of the Rosemount Hotel, also drained dry. Revellers in the hotel’s pub, where the downing of 20 kegs a week is the norm, drained more than 35 over the weekend and an additional 15 had to be ordered in.
The previous day Australia had defeated Namibia 142-0 at the Adelaide Oval and many Wallaby fans were still in evidence on Sunday. Accommodation was hard to come by with hostels in particular bursting at the seams.
Irish backpackers Adrian Sheerin, 29, and Muireann O’Toole, 25, were offered space on a floor, or a tent on the hostel roof but opted to fork out $400 of their savings for a room in the Hilton Hotel.
Their companion Fergie Gallagher, 29, admitted he had stayed in his car, “The Hotel Mitsubishi”, but said it had not detracted from a great weekend.
The arrival of big-time rugby union in this AFL and cricket-dominated city has been labelled an unqualified success.
Australian Rugby Union boss John O’Neill said Adelaide has been the success story of the World Cup. “The city has truly embraced the World Cup,” he said. “When you think we’ve never played a Test here before and there are only 800-1000 rugby players in the state, [the reception] is unbelievable.”
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