Twickenham’s pubs are to shut early tomorrow following the Army v Navy rugby match at Twickenham Stadium.
Richmond Council and Richmond police confirmed a voluntary arrangement was in place for pubs around the town to close at around 8pm, the same time the bars inside the stadium shut, to enable spectators and visitors to leave the area in good time.
The annual match, which kicks off at 3pm, is expected to see around 50,000 come into the town and Stuart Green - manager of the Cabbage Patch, on the corner of London Road and Railway Approach - said it was not a new idea.
He added: “We shut earlier than normal trading hours for every major match at Twickenham because of the problems with getting people away from here.
“Our travelling infrastructure isn’t really good enough for the amount of people in town - although everything else is.
“We shut early so people start making their way out of town, and it takes us a good few hours to clear up as well.
“We have a good arrangement with other publicans and we have a structured methodical shut down, it works well and people do not move from one pub to the next.
“For the Army and Navy match we shut a little bit earlier than normal because it is the only match where rugby is secondary to the day.
“It’s a reunion day first and foremost and some people do not go to the game.
“They tend to let their hair down a little more than other visitors.”
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