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
Manchester’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raises a whopping £50k for ‘A Bed Every Night’
Danny Jones
This city can stand up and pat itself firmly on the back after this year’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raised a whopping £50,000 for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
Manchester, you truly are incredible.
Returning for the sixth time last week, the 2024 edition of Manchester’s annual fundraising 24-hour relay event was a bumper year and then some, as not only did they cruise past their initial target of £25k but there were records all over the place for distances covered and attendance.
With well over 1,000 runners from all over the region descending upon host venue Freight Island and the city centre route at various different points during the 24 hours, we can well and truly say us Mancs ran our absolute socks off for a crucial cause.
Starting from 12pm on Wednesday, 13 November and running until noon the next day, those involved completed a total of 40 consecutive laps with some of those taking part barely stopping for even a moment’s rest in between each one, no matter how dark, cold or painful it got.
Translating to the equivalent of 1,666 beds for those in the Greater Manchester homeless community and counting, the team – comprised of 86 volunteers, hugely supportive overnight security staff and countless runners – managed to generate nearly double the amount of donations raked in last year.
If you want more context, prior to the 2024 event, The 24 Hour MCR Run had raised approximately £52,807.99 over the course of its entire first five years, meaning they’ve basically just matched that overall tally in just one day – albeit a very long one.
The frankly ridiculous tally couldn’t have been reached without help from donation-boosting sponsors AutoTrader and Together Co. (as well as help from Accenture and Mistral), but even without those additions, it was still by far and away the most successful year in the event’s history.
Countless runners booked time off or got laps done on their lunch hours, with many even coming after work on the Wednesday to then return and put in even more graft the following morning before their shift. Simply inspirational stuff.
Volunteers and run leaders like Marv Lucas, Shomak Chakrabarti, Jay Orris, Molly Glenister-Doyle and many others each smashed 100km or more; even The Manc managed to rack up 110k between us.
The Manc doing their bitRunners doing their 5k laps of Manchester city centreStill hundreds there come nightfallBurnham gave a rousing and emotional speech(Credit: The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness)
One Chorlton Runner, 55-year-old Ian Sharpe, set the men’s record with a simply staggering 150k, while Natasha Barclay smashed the women’s record with an unbelievable 117k just 10 days after running almost the same distance at The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness‘ debut event in Birmingham.
Joining for the busy 7pm, when hundreds of people from Greater Manchester-based run clubs, local businesses and more lined the steps of Freight Island, Mayor Andy Burnham was in attendance and admitted that the immense turnout brought “a tear to the eye.”
Labelling the ever-growing initiative a prime example of “Greater Manchester in action” and community engagement at its finest, it was visible to see how taken aback he was not only by the sheer number of runners but by how much the event has grown since its inception.
Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (GMMC) CEO, Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock – who also put in some laps herself along with members of her team – was equally blown away by the 2024 event.
Talking to The Manc, she said: “The 24 Hour Run raises vital funds to support our flagship scheme, ‘A Bed Every Night’ (ABEN), providing far more than just a bed for the night but vital wrap-around support to help get people back on their feet.
“No one should have to spend a night on the streets, particularly as we head into the colder, harsher months. Raising funds for ABEN helps to get us closer to a point when we can say we have truly eradicated the need for rough sleeping.” Safe to say a big dint was put in the problem this month.
Speaking on an overwhelmingly successful 24 hours, co-founder Tom Lewis said: “I’m genuinely overwhelmed with the support we received for this year’s event and the Manchester running community and local companies coming together to help make a real impact in the region.
“As for the future, we plan to come back bigger than ever each year. We’ve set an ambitious precedent by doubling our fundraising total for the last few years, which could mean we’re looking at £100,000 next year. At the moment that seems like a dream, but I said the same about £50,000 and here we are.
It goes without saying that raising this much money for such a vitally important problem in the space of 24 hours is phenomenal and we couldn’t possibly be any prouder of all those who took part.
The supplementary JustGiving page is actually still active for 2024, so you can still donate if you want to add to that already huge sum but, for now, well done to everyone and we’ll see you next year.
Featured Images — The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness
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Manchester City reveal trailer for upcoming Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary
Danny Jones
Man City have revealed the first trailer for their new Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary, charting the course of their record-breaking four consecutive Premier League titles.
The follow-up to the Together: Treble Winners series, City‘s highly-anticipated documentary dropped earlier this year following their historic 2023/23 season, the movie will follow the same concept and relive the Manchester club’s latest unprecedented feat from 20/21 onwards.
While the previous TV outing was picked up by Netflix, the latest instalment is set to arrive at the end of this month exclusively on CITY+.
You can see the trailer for Together: 4-In-A-Row down below:
The new Man City documentary will feature exclusive interviews with manager extraordinaire, Pep Guardiola, Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League-winning goalscorer Rodri, club captain Kyle Walker and many more.
There will also be footage including soon-to-depart Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, as well as the City Football Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferran Soriano.
Swapping the series format for a feature-length film this time, this is arguably CITY+‘s biggest release to date, with the content subscription service typically offering full match replays, youth academy coverage, as well as smaller documentaries and podcasts.
The streaming service (accessible via the website, Man City app and smart TVs) was only started back in 2024 but now four years later, rather fittingly, it’s set to document the most important years in the club’s history.
We’ve seen multiple Man City docs in recent years – their 2018 All Or Nothing Amazon Prime Video mini-series being the first – but the launch of the Together franchise back in April has helped put City Studios, on the map.
The in-house entertainment arm, first set up in 2022, has even more ambitious plans for the coming years, with a huge deal to create multiple big-budget productions in collaboration with Sony.
Fans are getting even more behind-the-scenes content soon.
Gavin Johnson, Media Director at CFG, said of the trailer reveal: “We’re delighted to announce the release of our latest offering in the ‘Together’ collection.
“Produced once again by our award-winning in-house production and creative hub, City Studios, the documentary film offers our fans a true insight into the team and how they achieved the historic four-in-a-row success.”
Set to be released at 6pm UK time on 20 November, Together: 4-In-A-Row will only be able to watch via the CITY+ platform.
So, if you’re a Blue who wants to relive the last four years of non-stop silverware, you can enjoy a 30-day free trial, after which CITY+ is just £4.99 a month. An annual subscription can be purchased for £34.99 a year or for £30 with an Official Cityzens membership/season ticket.
Danny Jones -
13th September 2023 
