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The much toted rematch of Ireland vs the New Zealand All Blacks did not dissappoint. Soldier Field is a great stadium to hold a tiop level rugby match. Great time was had by all. Cheers
The event organization was a shambles: -The pitch was in very poor condition and looked like a patchwork quilt -The match commentator was just bad, using cringe-worthy Football terms, and was not sufficiently knowledgeable about rugby -The stadium DJ needs to be fired. Blaring out music at the most inappropriate times, including drowning-out the fans cheering-on their teams. It completely killed any prospect of creating some atmosphere -Refer to my prior point, there was zero atmosphere in the stadium -The "Yellow/Red"card debacle was made significantly worse by the TV Producer not able to put the replays for the referee onto the stadium screen. This really was amateur -The referee microphone was not piped to the stadium speakers so the crowd was left relying on the terrible match commentator to understand what was going on - which he inevitably got wrong -The lines for the merchandise outlets were terrible. It took ~15 minutes of standing in line just to buy a match program. As said by the representative at the outlet "we were not expecting the high demand for match programs., we can't even give them away at Football games" -The referee was very poor. He seemed to think that the game was all about him. The TV Match Official & Off-Field Review Official should not be permitted to officiate at this level again - the upgrade of a Yellow Card to Red was an egregious decision that completely impacted the game
While Soldier Field, the concessions and the the staff all excellent, the game experience was poor. There was no communication from ref mike for multiple controversial calls from ref and TMO. No replays on the big screen. The initial yellow card, after 3 minutes, incident took 5 minutes to resolve which killed the atmosphere in the stadium with none of us there having a clue what was going on. I was texting friends back in Ireland to get explanations on what was happening as a live spectator of the game. (they also said the tv production and angle of the cameras was poor) Considering the NFL/Bears do all of the above very well,, in the same stadium, whomever was in charge of the overall production did a terrible job. The average ticket price was well north of $200 face value it was unacceptable for what was given to us fans.
Great stadium but stop trying to make rugby into American football with the constant music during the game, very annoying. Pre match was fantastic, the performers for the anthems were spectacular and the pipe band at half time was a great. The commentator during the game was horrific however, "kick no good", this isnt American football.
The quality of the rugby, venue and game day fan experience was not worth the $471 face-value admission cost paid. Past music and soccer events at Solider Field have been more fairly priced, and have provided more memorable experiences.
Soldier Field amenities for this game were atrocious. I understand why a new stadium is being proposed. Food options awful. Bathroom access a joke. Long lines everywhere. Will never return to Soldier Field unless in Club or Suite.
The experience was very good. There was an ease getting in and out considering there were nearly 62000 people there. Food and drinks were always available. And the Stadium is nice. The one issue is the need for music between every stoppage.
Had the best time with my mates. However, soliders could have done better to make the in ground broadcasting better. Refs mic was not connected, replays werent shown on time and commentry was scatchy. Since rugby is a two half game, there were long queues to the washroom during half time. Since Ireland was playing, could have stocked more or Guinness, it was sold out before kickoff. Overrall, good game and great atmosphere.
Having a red card be issued without any explanation to the crowd or any replays shown is crazy. We had to text people 3000 miles away in Ireland trying to understand what decisions the ref was making. The technology clears exists even in soldier field. The NFL uses it regularly. Some calls were unclear to us and it really affected the crowds involvement in my opinion. As an aside, the drinks in the stadium were quite expensive and they ran out of Guinness!
The stadium is great however they have no idea how to host a rugby match - music wrong , commentator didn’t know what was going on . Beers V expensive $18 a can ?
Fantastic stadium and venue, great tailgates, and overall great day. Crowd was friendly and everyone was out just to have a good time. 10/10 recommend.
Pitch was in poor shape, ref too fixated on his performance, the guy on PA was obviously watching his first rugby game, TMO didn't function, long lines for the bathroom, out of Guinness before half time. If World Rugby wants to make their mark in the U.S. market, this wasn't the way to go about it.
So fun. Fans were great and having fun. Happy to explain the rules to us. Lots of passion for their teams. Great event.
The day got off to a bad start by not having any way for fans to buy a beer and enjoy the atmosphere outside the stadium unless you paid $199 for a tailgate package or parked in one of the paid parking lots to tailgate. The audio-visual experience inside the stadium was terrible. The video board only showed the game...no replays and no statistics other than the score. The referee's mike did not broadcast to the crowd so there was no way to know what penalties were being called or other decisions were made, e.g., a yellow card being awarded and then later elevated to a red card. Soldier Field needs to do a much better job of making the game a better experience for fans attending the match. If there's a next time, I'll stay home and watch the match on television.
Game was great. Facilities & communications in the stadium were very poor. TMO review screens not seen in stadium for most critical incidents. Amateur hour!
Despite the extensive knowledge in both Unions, Soldier Field was not prepared for what it was hosting.Filling holes pre game on the pitch with sand, spraying them green,ah sure its only the Irish! The venue is the oldest stadium in the NFL and it’s showing its age, the pitch is not in good condition and the narrow dimensions didn’t help the two teams play the type of rugby that might engage a local audience,it was galling to see the drop-off in production values in the stadium and on the box. The singer hired to perform the New Zealand national anthem had to suffer through an interminable wait before the music played, then got some of the Maori words wrong. After Barry Murphy had nailed our only 'anthem' sung ‘Ireland’s Call’, the All Blacks lined up for the haka to the sound of ‘Another Day in Paradise’ by Phil Collins, which only cut off after they’d settled into their formation. At half-time, there were very long queues at 20 mins minimum, for the bathrooms and before the game they ran out of Guinness. Cans of US beer at $20 were a rip off. But the main issue of course was the five-minute+ wait for a decision on Tadhg Beirne’s high tackle on Beauden Barrett, the lack of available replays for referee Pierre Brousset and the absence of communication with the people who had shelled out for flights and tickets to be there. Surely someone from the IRFU mgmt checked this out after their Business Class flights? The lack of replays on the big screen due to the stadium using a separate feed to show crowd shots during breaks in play, rather than the international broadcast feed would have allowed the referee and the fans see what Beirne had done. After Brousset had reviewed the incident VAR-style, there was no facility for him to relay his decision to the crowd over the tannoy. That’s despite rugby getting the idea of broadcasting the referee to the stadium from American sports. Throw in the cheap looking graphics, poor camera angles and a lack of replays and the folks back home were left frustrated too. But from the early stages you could tell this wasn’t going to be a classic, the long stoppage for the TMO review only exacerbating a stop-start game full of mistakes. Whatever about New Zealand, Ireland were being sent out into a game without being up to match fitness and that’s another element of the event being undermined by the organisers. Many fans said never again and questioned the US as a viable rugby world cup option.
Got to the stadium early but there was no fanzone or entertainment or bars outside the stadium - with the exception of a paid cabana which really summed up the extortionate theme of the day for refreshments. Issues with replays on the screen and the ref not being miked up and instead a ridiculous commentator announcing decisions and often with incorrect terminology. Too many breaks and awful music being played including during conversions. Atmosphere wasn't great but perhaps to be expected given the vast majority of the crowd was Irish but the game did not pan out in Ireland's favour, from the early ridiculous decision of a red card, ultimately leaving the feeling that the result was pre ordained in New Zealand's favour. Even this review is asking me to review New Zealand, not a game between Ireland and New Zealand where Ireland were the 'home' team in Chicago!
The game itself did not live up to the hype but this can happen, but the facility etc played a large part in this, bad field, bad sound, bad TMO, run by amateurs. The usual high prices for a beer etc
As a rugby fan, it was very unfortunate that the stadiums replays weren’t working for the first 20 minutes as the fans couldn’t get involved or under why decisions were being made. New Zealand were deserved winner, Ireland were clumsy with the ball and you have to be perfect to beat AB’s.
Way to go Chicago!! 61800+ people and it was well organized and coordinated and controlled without incident. I was very impressed!!