So I got up bright and early yesterday morning at 10.15 a.m. to laze in front of the T.V. watching the mornings Premier League games with an afternoon plan of heading down into Toronto on the subway and watching some six-nations Rugby, or the Ireland v Wales game to be exact. I was a little late setting off but I arrived downtown about 15-minutes after the game had started, walked into the pub I knew to be showing the game and got a big hand in my face with a voice saying, “Sorry, full house, we’re sold out”. Upon finding out there was another bar showing the game also just a few subway stops away I quickly made my way down. Same thing though upon walking inside, “No more room in here, you can’t come in”. I walked away annoyed that I was going to miss Ireland winning the six-nations, the grand slam and the triple crown.

I ended up having a pint in a bar called Irish Embassy which wasn’t actually showing the rugby and so I had to be content with the Newcastle v Arsenal game.

I’ve spent a lot of time in and around the Toronto Sports scene and never ever have I been turned away because a bar was to full, never mind at 2 p.m. in the afternoon during a Rugby game. Getting turned away from a bar in the middle of the afternoon during a sporting event is something you might see in Belfast, maybe at the Bot, but not in Toronto. Maybe if it was game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals and the Toronto Maple Leafs were involved but under no other circumstances. Well at least that is what I thought.

Rugby is not a game you associate with the Canadian people and I did not expect that many people to be in there. Actually, when I looked inside the window I even seen quite a few Ireland tops. The Irish community must have been out on mass and must have arrived earlier than me.

You learn something new every day and at the very least I learned the location of some atmosphere filled pubs in the style of ‘back home’ that I can enjoy British sports in, so long as I arrive early!

On the subject: Pubs and Bars, Six Nations Rugby, Toronto Sports | ALL SUBJECTS |

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