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The atmosphere inside a proper rugby pub when everyone is rallying around their team, gripping onto their chairs for dear life as the team edges towards the try line – there aren’t many feelings quite like it. Now, it’s time to gather round pub screens for the the Six Nations, and ahead of the first games kicking off this weekend, Time Out has revealed its pick of the very best rugby pubs in London.
And the capital’s best place to grab a Guinness and watch the games go down is... The Cabbage Patch in Twickenham. Why, you ask? Well, if you can’t be inside the home of English rugby, this is the next best thing.
Found just a pop pass away from Twickenham Stadium itself, it absorbs the exhilarating vibes from across the road and attracts ‘loyal supporters for a pre- or post-match pint, as well as those who've missed out on match-day tickets and fancy soaking up some serious sports atmosphere’.
And if you’re wondering about the name, the Cabbage Patch is christened after the grounds the rugby venue was built on, which were once used to grow cabbages and other veg.
We picked north London’s beloved Irish boozer, the Faltering Fullback as the city’s second best rugby pub. Leonie Cooper, Time Out’s food editor and pub connoisseur, said: ‘Full disclosure, I'm not the biggest rugby fan. But The Faltering Fullback is, undoubtedly, an excellent rugby pub. Surround yourself with pints and grab a spot on the wooden benches in the massive backroom before shout at grown men tackling each other on the big screen.’
At number three is Flat Iron Square in Southwark, ‘a party-focussed hub for drinking, dining and dancing in the shadow of The Shard’. It’s got 16 screens plus one mega 16ft screen, so wherever you’re seated or standing, you won’t miss a minute of the action.
Find the our full pick of London’s very best pubs to watch the rugby here.
Not a pub person? Here are some of the other great places to watch the Six Nations.
Prefer a different sport altogether? These are the best football pubs in London.
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