The 2023 Rugby World Cup finally kicked off over the weekend and we’re once again delivering a public service by telling you where to watch it right here in Manchester.
England started the group stages off in style by beating Argentina 27-10 and two out of the three other home nations all won their first fixtures — Scotland couldn’t muster a strong enough showing against South Africa — in what turned out to be a thrilling opening round.
Although it’s always frustrating to see some of the international games taking place during work hours (we know you’ll be sneakily watching them anyway, don’t worry, we won’t tell), the tournament is running right up until 28 October, with plenty matches in the evening and on the weekends.
With that in mind, you should have plenty of opportunity to watch this year’s Rugby World Cup and here are some of the best places to do it.
10 best places to watch the Rugby World Cup in Manchester
In no particular order, here are just a handful of the places showing the 2023 Rugby World Cup in and around Manchester.
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1. Brickhouse Social – Oxford Road Corridor
We’ve picked 10 places where to watch this year’s Rugby World Cup. In at number one… (Credit: Brickhouse Social via Instagram)
First off, we’re starting with what is fast becoming one of our favourite places to watch live sport in Manchester city centre: Brickhouse Social over on New Wakefield Street. That specially designed sound system certainly adds to the atmosphere on a matchday.
Showing every single game across their three-floor venue, we’re talking uninterrupted coverage across seven mega screens alongside music, loads of free pool, as well as tonnes of late-night pizza slices and drinks. Sold. You can get booked in HERE.
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2. Escape to Freight Island – Mayfield
Credit: Escape to Freight Island
Next up is Escape to Freight Island, who are showing all the games scheduled on Fridays and Sundays on the huge HD screen in the sports bar section of the massive warehouse space. Tables are available to book right HERE.
With the mezzanine now kitted out with over 200 retro arcade games, pool tables and access to all 15 food vendors within this massive trading hall — we’re talking Burgerism, Lazy Tony’s, Voodoo Rays, Oh My Cheesecake and more — you won’t need to go anywhere else once you’ve settled in here.
Third on our list is an old faithful that simply can’t be ignored when it comes to the ‘where to watch’ guides, and it’s The Director’s Box just off St Peter’s Square in the middle of the city centre, who will be showing as many as Rugby World Cup games as they can this year.
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With an ever-solid food menu, plenty of beer and other booze to get stuck into, not to mention a pool table and screens all offer the gaff, you can never go wrong with this place. They’ve even got bottomless brunch on the go throughout the competition. Book online or over the phone on 0161 870 6283.
Probably one of the most underrated places to watch sport in Manchester, Pie and Ale always achieves the perfect blend of a sound but not too rowdy atmosphere, good service, plenty of booze and some of the best selections of homemade pies in the area.
They show everything from the footy, cricket and F1 to, yep, the rugby in here and, well, who doesn’t love a proper pie on matchday? You can call up to reserve your table on 0161 236 8334 or try your luck with a walk-in — it never gets crazy busy with fans in here (that’s why we love it), so you should be fine.
You know the drill with this place; Bierkeller and the attached Shooters Sports Bar inside the Printworks will always be a solid option when it comes to finding somewhere to watch the game and it’s no different for this particular tournament.
Big steins of beer, giant pretzels, live music and Bavarian oompah bands in Bierkeller; pool tables, arcade machines and massive tellies in Shooters. You can’t go wrong. Get you and your party booked in now to make sure you secure the best seats.
We might as well wander round the corner to another Printworks institution and chuck Walkabout on here while we’re at it — we’ve watched many a match in here, be it football, cricket, rugby or otherwise, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. Always a good place for a boogie afterwards too.
The perfect place to go if you’re an Aussie or any international fan, for that matter, this place is all about celebrating the world of sport. Walk-ins are welcome, booking is nice and easy and you can even score yourself a free pint by simply signing up for the newsletter.
7. BOX – Deansgate
BOX on Deansgate is probably the biggest and busiest sports bar in Manchester at the moment and with TVs on virtually every wall — including a giant NBA-style jumbotron screen — massive pitchers of beer and porn star martinis, shuffleboard and seriously top scran, it’s no wonder.
You’ll be able to watch every try from this Manc weekend hotspot situated across the road from Spinningfields and just down from Lincoln Square. With live music and even more room upstairs, you should be able to squeeze in even when it gets busy. We’d still recommend booking though.
Like many other locations we’ve mentioned already, no list of Manchester sports bars is complete without the ever-reliable Brotherhood of Pastimes and Pursuits. Beer, darts, pool, table tennis, big screens and big portions. Say no more.
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Better still, with it being such a popular post-work spot already, we imagine this place will see plenty of faces piling in during the mid-day matches and bringing plenty of atmosphere both upstairs and down. Reserve your table now for England’s next game against Japan on Sunday.
The penultimate stop on our list of the best places showing the world’s biggest and most exciting rugby union competition is another NQ classic and a favourite of sports fans in Manchester, the one and only Tib St Tavern — i.e. one of the best and most beloved sports bars going.
Always packed to the rafters, we don’t need to wax lyrical about how good this place is; you’ll be able to tell that for yourselves when you’re trying to book and realise every Tom, Dick and Harry is trying to get in here as well. Book as early as you can on 0161 834 1600. You won’t be disappointed.
10. The Wishing Well – Didsbury
The last place on our list of places where to watch the rugby in Manchester (Credit: The Wishing Well via Instagram)
And, finally, we’re heading out of the city centre to one of Didsbury‘s newest and already popular additions, The Wishing Well. Popping up in the old Botanist site you might remember from ‘Dids Dozen‘ routes gone by, this modern country-style pub has lots of big TV screens to make sure locals don’t miss a second of the action.
Serving a freshly prepared menu alongside a fully stocked bar including a selection of cocktails, wine and plenty of beers, of course, this is the place to take a break from the bustle of town whilst enjoying the Rugby World Cup in the heart of the Didsbury Village. Sorted.
So, if you were still trying to figure out where to watch the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Manchester, that should do you for now.
You can see the full list of fixtures and kick-off times HERE and it goes without saying there are plenty more great places to catch the games all around Greater Manchester.
The summer might seem like it’s nearly over but, thankfully, sport has other ideas.
Featured Image — Walkabout/England Rugby/Escape to Freight Island (via Instagram)
Sport
The independent Manchester gym that’s spent eight years getting the city’s office workers stronger
Daisy Jackson
In a city centre that has changed almost beyond recognition over the past eight years, one Manchester gym has stuck to a simple idea – getting people stronger shouldn’t have to take over their lives.
Tucked away on Kennedy Street, opposite Manchester Town Hall and just a short walk from St Peter’s Square tram stop, P1 Fitness Studio is celebrating its eighth year in business.
This local success story has been built by husband-and-wife team Peter and Abby, who wanted to build the kind of gym they actually wanted to train in themselves, after becoming increasingly frustrated with what they saw as the ‘normal gym scene’.
Their answer was to create something different: a smaller, calmer space where people could be coached properly, recognised when they walked through the door and actually enjoy coming to train.
Eight years later, Peter and Abby are still hands-on in the independently owned business, working alongside a coaching team of five.
Welcome to P1 Fitness, in Manchester city centre / Credit: The Manc Group
There is no franchise model or corporate head office. Just the same basic philosophy they started with in 2018, which seems to have resonated with a particular part of Manchester.
P1’s members are predominantly busy professionals – lawyers, architects, creatives, teachers, business owners and office workers – many of them in their 30s, 40s and beyond.
For people spending much of their working lives behind a desk, the proposition is deliberately straightforward – you don’t need to live in the gym to become stronger and healthier.
P1 believes two properly coached strength sessions a week can make a meaningful difference.
Sessions last 50 minutes and run throughout the working day, meaning members can train before work, at lunchtime or after work. There are showers, changing facilities, towels and toiletries too, making it possible to fit training around a working day rather than the other way round.
More recently, the studio has added an infrared sauna, giving members somewhere to recover and switch off before heading back to the office or home.
The independent Manchester gym that’s spent eight years getting the city’s office workers stronger / Credit: The Manc Group
P1 specialises in small group personal training, with a maximum of six people per coach.
Everyone follows a structured strength programme, but the coaching is adapted to the individual. Exercises, weights, and progressions can all be changed depending on someone’s ability, goals, injuries or simply how they’re feeling that day.
So someone picking up a barbell for the first time can train alongside somebody who has been lifting for years, without either being pushed through the same generic circuit.
It’s also not the kind of gym where you’ll see your own reflection staring back at you at every turn, because the focus is on becoming stronger and moving better, rather than how you look.
The idea is longevity – looking after your joints, maintaining muscle, building strength, and staying capable of doing the things you want to do outside the gym as you get older.
Or, in P1’s own words: “Built stronger to last longer.”
And there’s some impressive evidence that the approach has encouraged people to stay the course.
Based on its current schedule of roughly 75 coached sessions a week, P1 estimates it has delivered more than 31,000 coached sessions across its eight years.
Some of the people attending those sessions have been there since the doors first opened.
Rather than celebrating short-term transformations, P1 marks the less glamorous (but arguably more meaningful) milestones: members receive T-shirts when they reach 100, 250, and 500 training sessions.
That means there are members whose relationship with the studio is measured in hundreds of coached sessions and several years, rather than a six-week challenge.
And over time, the gym has become something more than somewhere to lift weights.
P1 increasingly describes itself as a ‘third space’ for Manchester professionals – somewhere between home and work where people can train, switch off, see familiar faces and feel part of a community.
People train alongside many of the same faces each week, and coaches get to know the people they’re working with.
There are socials, themed workouts, challenges, member celebrations and charity events to really build that P1 community – for example, members raised more than £1000 for Parkinson’s UK through a bake sale last year.
The business has also increasingly taken its philosophy beyond its own four walls, working with Manchester companies and corporate teams on strength training and health education, including sessions around women’s health, men’s health, nutrition and sustainable strength training.
P1 has won Best Strength Training Gym of the North West at the National Fitness Awards in 2023, 2024 and 2025, while also being shortlisted three times for the National Fitness Awards’ Functional Training Gym of the Year UK award.
But perhaps the more remarkable achievement is simply making it through the last eight years as an independent city-centre business.
Since P1 opened, Manchester has had to navigate Covid and lockdowns, the huge shift towards home and hybrid working, and the major redevelopment around Town Hall and St Peter’s Square.
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The city centre around the studio has changed dramatically, but the basic idea inside P1 hasn’t. It’s not just a gym, but a third space with a barbell in the middle of it.
Find out more and book your first sessions with P1 in Manchester HERE.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Sport
Etihad Stadium showcases City Hall, the new beating heart of Manchester City match days
Lonnie Bowes
There’s a particular kind of Manchester buzz you only get pitch-side. If you’re a seasoned Cityzen this one’s for you – one of three major new hospitality options for your next game day at the Etihad Stadium.
Tucked in the heart of the new Pep Guardiola Stand, directly behind the goal, we have the brand-new City Hall.
City Hall is built for people who actually want to watch football in comfort, and with a massive 500 capacity hall a stone’s throw from the pitch, it’s a hard one to pass up.
Doors open a full two hours before the match, and that early access turns the day into an occasion rather than a scramble.
There’s time to properly soak up the atmosphere in what is a genuinely lively, buzzing bar, and I have to say potentially one of the best I’ve come across on a match day.
Food and drink are where the local flavour really comes through. The street food menu leans into Manchester’s own identity with a modern twist.
The catering is relaxed and doesn’t take itself too seriously, let’s just say having a chip barm and chicken madras pie on the run-up to a kick-off is my idea of heaven.
Every guest gets an inclusive drink as part of your booking, too. You get to pick from a selected wine, beer or soft drink which you can claim at any point during your visit.
It’s a setup that suits everyone, whether you’re in it for a proper pre-match pint with your mates or meal with your family before a day of making pitch side memories.
The little touches matter too. A matchday programme is a nice, old-school addition in an era where so much matchday content has gone digital.
And crucially, the experience doesn’t end at the final whistle: with an hour’s access after the match, there’s no need to bolt for the exits the second the referee blows for full-time. You can sit and finish your drink, and let the ground empty out around you instead of fighting through it.
Put it all together and City Hall feels like hospitality done with an actual sense of place.
Manchester street food, a proper buzzing bar, and one of the best seats in the house, all wrapped around a schedule that respects the fact that match day is about more than just the 90 minutes.
For anyone looking to upgrade how they watch City this season, it’s well worth a look.
Have a look and make a booking at City Hall at the Etihad Stadium HERE.
Danny Jones -
13th September 2023 
