The All Blacks weren't the only winners from the Rugby World Cup , with some businesses in Hounslow reportedly seeing takings soar by up to 60% during the tournament.
New Zealand lifted the trophy for a record third time at Twickenham on Saturday, and while the tournament may have been an unmitigated disaster for the England team it appears businesses in Hounslow made the most of having the sporting extravaganza on their doorstep.
Stephen Fry, chief executive of Hounslow Chamber of Commerce, said most pubs, hotels and restaurants appeared to have cashed in on the competition.
He told getwestlondon any hotels in the area which didn't see a 50-60% upturn in business compared to last year "have to ask themselves why".
"The hospitality industry in Hounslow has done very well out of the Rugby World Cup," he added.
"I think when we look back in three months we will see there was a surge in takings across Hounslow and west London during the tournament."
However, Mr Fry claimed tournament organisers had been "overly restrictive" when it came to sponsorship arrangements.
Hounslow was awarded 'Proud Host' status for the competition and the council staged a warm-up party featuring Billy Ocean, but the official 'Fan Zone' was in Old Deer Park, in neighbouring Richmond.
Mr Fry said the only beers available at that venue were from tournament sponsors Heineken and Guinness, despite an abundance of good breweries in the area, including Fuller's in Chiswick and Twickenham Fine Ales.
"I think they were a bit over-restrictive. It would have been nice if they had some decent, local beer on sale in the Fan Zone," he said.
"The world cup finals day was our busiest ever"
Simon Mead, landlord of The Royal Oak pub, in Worton Road, Isleworth, said takings over the course of the tournament had been 50-60% up on the same period last year.
"Business has been incredibly good even after England were knocked out, and we had our best day ever on Saturday. The atmosphere for all the games has been brilliant and we haven't had one incident," he told getwestlondon .
"Being in Hounslow and not Twickenham, we've had to do a lot on social media to get the Australia, South Africa and New Zealand fans. But we've managed to attract quite a few people who didn't know about the pub before, and we're already half booked for the Six Nations next year."
"Road closure cost us trade"
At The Woodlands Tavern, in St John's Road, Isleworth, manager Damon Wood reported less of an upturn in business during the competition.
He said trade had improved slightly but the pub was counting the cost of organisers shutting the A316 on match days in a bid to ease congestion around Twickenham Stadium.
"Closing the A316 cost us a lot of trade, with many spectators making a beeline for the fan zone, so we didn't get many people stopping on the way to the ground," he said.
"We had a few fans watching the games here but obviously it would have been better if England hadn't gone out so early.
"We're always very busy for the Six Nations, so I hope they don't repeat the road closure for that."
Profits from park-and-ride scheme will be used to help get more young people enjoying sports and other exercise
Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran told getwestlondon he felt the benefits from the tournament had definitely outweighed any drawbacks for the borough.
He said residents appeared to have got into the spirit of the tournament, lots of young people had enjoyed their first taste of playing rugby at various events and the competition had been a boon for local businesses.
He also said he hoped for a lasting legacy, both in terms of more young people playing rugby and other sports, and in promoting Hounslow as a great base for tourists.
"We've got seven more sets of rugby posts up in our parks, we're hosting our first ever wheelchair rugby tournament and lots of schoolchildren have had the chance to play rugby, which is great," he said.
"The official travel agency was based in the borough and most of the hotels here were fully booked for the tournament. We also distributed 20,000 copies of our guide to Hounslow and 2,500 welcome letters to guests staying at hotels in the borough during the tournament.
"Hopefully if people are coming to London in future they will realise they don't have to stay in the centre and they will come to Hounslow instead, having seen what it has to offer."
Mr Curran acknowledged there had been a few problems during the tournament, including issues with people urinating in local gardens and poor stewarding of minicabs, but he said these issues had been addressed quickly.
He also praised the success of the park-and-ride scheme run from Hounslow Civic Centre and promised to plough any profits from that into getting more young people involved in sports and other healthy activities.
The council says it is considering letting out the Civic Centre car park so similar park-and-ride schemes can be run for future events at Twickenham Stadium.
A council spokesman said it was unable to say how much income the scheme had generated as this was commercially sensitive information which could affect any future deals.
