What a difference four years makes. Back in 2007 The Stag was the focal point of our support for England's bid to retain the Rugby World Cup. Our passion for the game was heightened by the fact that the Raging Bull - Mr Phil Vickery - was a resident in the village at that time. Phil was a frequent visitor to The Stag and liked nothing more than a pint or two and a game of darts. Having our resident hero leading England only served to bring the tournament closer to Hambleden and made games viewed in the Public Bar even more tense. For those of us who witnessed South Africa lift the cup in Paris that year, our disappointment was certainly pretty intense as we felt for Phil as well as for the whole England team. But overall, The Stag was for those four or five weeks, the focal point of our support for England and once again brought everyone together.
So here we are in 2011. And this weekend as England scraped past Argentina with a sole try from Ben Youngs, we watched in isolation away from the banter and spirit of The Stag. We have to ask why the Culden Faw Estate chose to close the pub just at the start of the Rugby World Cup. Surely the next four weeks would have been highly profitable if they had been sensible and put on breakfasts and screenings (as Andy Stokes did during a memorable Lions Tour back in 2001). But then I guess they don't breed die hard rugby fans in Switzerland where Estate owner Mr Schwarzenbach comes from.
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