RUGBY: THEY'VE FOUND THE SPOT PUB CROWDS FOR RUGBY TOURNEY.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE 

Staff Writer

Normally, Chris Smaniotto and Jean-Philippe Noinain enjoy the long layovers theyget in Los Angeles as flight attendants for Air Tahiti Nui. Butthis time, they were a bit uncomfortable with the idea.

Their native France was playing in the third-place game of the Rugby World Cup on Friday afternoon, and both assumed it'd be pretty hard to find a spot in Los Angeles to watch the match, only available on pay-per-view.

"I went to the concierge at my hotel and begged her," Smaniotto said. "I said, 'Please, you have to help me find a place to watch the match."'

They were in luck, staying a few miles away from the Springbok, arollicking South African bar and grill in Encino that's become a mecca for area rugby fans.

Owners Peter Walker, Robin McLean, Trevor Nettmann and Graham Taylor opened the place four years ago after realizing that there was no great rugby bars in the area.

"We used to just watch the games at each other's houses or English pubs, but they're more into soccer there, so we thought we should open a place where we can watch rugby and cricket, drink South African beer and make our favorite foods," said Walker, who moved to the U.S. from Cape Town in 1995.

"We're open year 'round, we show Lakers games, college football, NFL. But the rugby is the most popular, by far."

This morning, hundreds of rugby fans will crowd into the dining room, bar and patio for the final between South Africa and England. The game starts at noon, but English fan and Springbok regular Mark Botting is planning on getting there early.

"I'll be here between 8 and 9 in the morning," said Botting, who discovered the bar through its connection with the San Fernando Valley Rugby Club, of which he's the general manager. "It's going to be standing-room only."

England is a heavy underdog in the final, even though it is the defending champion. South Africa beat England 36-0 earlier in the World Cup, although England has improved and knocked off some top teams of late.

"I don't care," New Zealander Mark Wakefield says. "Neither South Africa or England has beaten New Zealand, so we really aren't going to know who the best club is."

Botting and the rest of the table had a good laugh at that. Botting, Wakefield and New Zealander John Leilei are three of the bar's regulars who have watched just about every one of the 47 matches during the six-week tournament.

Wakefield and Leilei are still a bit bummed that New Zealand, which came in ranked No. 1 in the world, got knocked out in the quarterfinals by the host country, France.

"Every four years, I take sixweeks off work to watch the World Cup. I watch every game," Wakefield said. "This was supposed to be the year. South Africa should be playing New Zealand. I've watched every game for the last 20 years waiting for this. But there was some horrible officiating in the game against France."

Still, Wakefield and the legion of die-hard rugby fans in the area have continued to watch the rest of the tournament. The Springbok has shown every game, even the ones that start at 4 a.m.

"There's nothing better than coming to the bar at 4 a.m., grabbing a cup of coffee from the coffee cart, and watching 10 to 12hours of rugby," Botting said.

It's not as easy for Wakefield.

He lives in Newport Beach, so he sleeps outside in his RV on nights when there is a 4 a.m. game rather than brave the 405. Fortunately, he enjoys the Zagat survey-recommended, South African-themed food.

"I've only missed part of one game -- the France-Georgia game, and that's because these guys forgot to come out to the RV and wake me up," Wakefield said.

Zim Gumede's team from Zimbabwe is also done. But the train conductor from Van Nuys plans to be at the Springbok earlythis morning. He'll be rooting for South Africa, because it's a Southern Hemisphere team, even though he and Botting are close friends.

"I love you man, but (today) we are enemies," he joked ... sort of.

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Photo:

(color) Peter Walker and Robin McLean, two of the owners of Encino's Springbok sports bar, enjoy the added business.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News

Box:

WORLD CUP FINAL