Chiefs to feature in Big Game 14

By Mark Stevens
16/12/22

Harlequins have today confirmed that due to the on-going industrial action by the RMT, the London-based club has been left with no option but to move the planned Big Game 14 event at Twickenham Stadium on December 27.

Big Game 14 will now take place in early March and see a change of opposition:

Big Game 14, Saturday, March 4 2023, Twickenham Stadium

• Harlequins Women vs Exeter Chiefs Women, 12:00pm
• Harlequins Men vs Exeter Chiefs, 15:00pm

The Club have been working closely with South Western Railway through the RFU, Premiership Rugby and all key stakeholders to understand the impact of the current RMT industrial action. Despite December 27 not being a designated day for industrial action, the club has been informed this week that mainline train services into Twickenham Station will not operate at all on the event day, alongside severe restrictions across the train and underground network feeding the local area. The Club has been advised on crowd safety concerns that it would not be safe to deliver the much anticipated sold-out Twickenham stadium event.

Harlequins CEO, Laurie Dalrymple explained: “We are devastated to have to move Big Game 14 from its annual festive place in the calendar because of this strike action. We know how special this event is to our local community and this was due to be our biggest and best-ever event. I can assure our supporters that we have worked tirelessly to find any way to stage the event on or even near December 27, reducing capacity, laying on buses or developing a park and ride scheme to name a few.

"Ultimately, we must put the safety of our supporters and those working at the event first and it is clear that without the functioning rail network, we cannot safely deliver a large scale event at Twickenham. The scale of the closures across multiple key train stations, train lines and tube lines is unprecedented and a much bigger impact that other recent smaller strikes on Twickenham match days. It is out of our control and we have sadly been left with no choice to postpone the fixture”.

“Big Game is the biggest annual club rugby event in the world and we know our supporters will be extremely disappointed by the postponement but we are happy to be able to offer a superb alternative plan for Big Game against great opposition as we take on Exeter Chiefs Men’s and Women’s teams at the home of rugby on March 4.

"We will bring back all of the usual Big Game activities that our fans love, with live music, free fun fares, the famous player walkover and a day packed with fun and entertainment. We will also move some of our LGBTQ+ Pride activities that were planned for this weekend into the Big Game event.

"We are effectively moving the entire event from December 27 to March 4. All purchased tickets will be valid and we hope that our supporters will swap their tickets to the new event – we really need your support as Big Game is a critical part of the Club’s DNA and financial performance.”

Harlequins' intended fixtures against Bristol Bears on December 27 will still go ahead, but will now move to the lower capacity Twickenham Stoop stadium:

Tuesday, 27 December 2022, Twickenham Stoop Stadium

• Harlequins Women vs Bristol Bears Women, 13:30pm
• Harlequins Men vs Bristol Bears Men, 16:15pm