Vicarage Road
Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Vicarage Road, Watford, England — opened 1922, 2 rugby league games hosted, home of Watford F.C. (football), 1922-present; Wealdstone F.C. ground-shared 1991-1993; Saracens (rugby union) were tenants 1997-2013, making them the resident club at the time of both recorded rugby league fixtures — explaining why the ground was rugby-appropriate for those one-off matches.
Sourcing caveat: Both matches are well corroborated (the 1998 Test independently by both Rugby League Project and Wikipedia, with matching figures); floodlight status and playing-surface type for the relevant era were not found in any source.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1922 (Wikipedia's own article contains an internal inconsistency, citing both 30 August 1921 and, separately, Watford's first match there (against Millwall) as 30 August 1922 — this write-up follows the 1922 first-match date but flags the discrepancy rather than silently picking one.) |
| Home club | Watford F.C. (football), 1922-present; Wealdstone F.C. ground-shared 1991-1993; Saracens (rugby union) were tenants 1997-2013, making them the resident club at the time of both recorded rugby league fixtures — explaining why the ground was rugby-appropriate for those one-off matches |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 2 |
| Top recorded crowd | 13,217 |
| Capacity | 22,200 today (a period-specific 1998/2000 figure was not found) |
| Test matches hosted | 1 |
| Challenge Cup Finals hosted | 1 |
| First rugby league match | 14 November 1998 — Great Britain 23-23 New Zealand, the deciding third Test of the 1998 series (attendance 13,217, our recorded top crowd) |
| Years used | 1998–2000 |
| Location | Watford, Hertfordshire |
Name history
- Vicarage Road — 1922–present, the ground's only name — individual stands have been renamed over time (e.g. the Main Stand became the Sir Elton John Stand in 2014), but the stadium itself has not
Rugby league history
Vicarage Road's two rugby league fixtures came at a time when Saracens Rugby Union were the ground's resident tenant, making it a readily available large, rugby-marked stadium away from the code's northern English heartlands. The 1998 match was the decisive third Test of that year's Great Britain vs New Zealand series; the 2000 match was a Rugby League World Cup quarter-final between Australia and Samoa.
The long-standing home of Watford F.C. (football); also home to Saracens (rugby union) 1997-2013.
Historic Test matches, Cup & Grand Finals hosted
- 11 November 2000 — Australia 66-10 Samoa, 2000 Rugby League World Cup Quarter-Final (5,404)
- 14 November 1998 — Great Britain 23-23 New Zealand (13,217)
Pre-dates the site's structured match-by-match records for these competitions, so listed here as sourced facts rather than linked match pages.
Notable games played here
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter-final, 11 Nov 2000 | 2000 Rugby League World Cup | Australia 66-10 Samoa |
Only matches we have full, sourced records for are listed here — other historic games mentioned above may not have a dedicated match page built yet (World Cup coverage in particular is still expanding tournament by tournament).
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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