1,008 people from around the country took part in the world’s largest rugby scrum on Friday at Twickenham Stadium to mark the day that tickets go on public sale for Rugby World Cup 2015.
Among the participants, who beat the previous record of 946, were Rugby World Cup winners Piri Weepu, Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Greenwood, Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland, and other former and ex-players. There were also representatives from those across the country helping to plan and deliver Rugby World Cup 2015 including; England Rugby 2015 staff, host cities and venues, RFU, IRB, Rugby World Cup commercial partners and volunteers who have applied to be part of ‘The Pack’.
Chief Executive of England Rugby 2015, Debbie Jevans, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and a fitting way to kick off the public sale of tickets to rugby’s showcase event. This event brought together 1,008 people from organisations involved in Rugby World 2015 and I want to thank them all for their support. Everyone who took part is now a World Record Holder!
“Tickets are now on general sale at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com. Fans have until September 29, 2014 to apply, so there is no rush. With prices starting at £15 for adults and £7 for children, it’s a great opportunity to watch world class rugby in venues across England and Cardiff.”
In order to be recognised as a new world record the scrum had to follow a number of rules:
· The scrum comprised players in three rows on either side in proportion to a normal rugby scrum (3:2:3 proportions for the front, second row and back row)
· The ball was successfully fed in from the side and hooked through the back of the scrum
· The scrum was officiated by IRB referee Wayne Barnes
· Organisers undertook a full risk assessment to ensure the safety of all participants
Rugby World Cup 2011 winner, Piri Weepu, said: “I’ve put the ball into a few scrums in my time but this was a fun new experience. Playing in a Rugby World Cup it is always good to have strong support so I hope large numbers of Kiwi supporters will take the opportunity to travel over next year. “
Rugby World Cup 2003 winner, Phil Vickery, said: “Being part of the world’s largest scrum today, alongside over 1000 people, was a fantastic experience and it was nice to run out on the Twickenham pitch again. Over the next year I’m sure Rugby World Cup 2015 will set plenty more records. Now is the time for fans to get involved in the build-up and with tickets going on sale today fans can really start to get excited and gear up to next year.”
Up to one million tickets across 48 matches of Rugby World Cup 2015 are on general sale until September 29, 2014. Tickets are priced in four categories for all matches, starting at £15 for adults. Child tickets, priced from £7, are available for 41 matches. People can apply for tickets at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com. Fans will need to create an account on the website in order to apply, and can apply for up to four tickets per match. For 15 of the 48 fixtures each individual can apply for up to 15 tickets.
Tickets will not be sold on a first come, first served basis. Fans can apply for tickets at any point between September 12 and 29, 2014. The application window closes at 1800 BST on Monday September 29, 2014. Oversubscribed matches and price categories will go to ballot to ensure fair allocation and fans will be advised of the tickets they have successfully been allocated in October, 2014.
The easy-to-use ticketing platform incorporates a number of tools to help fans. The new ‘Match Manager’ tool allows fans to limit their spend by submitting an application for several matches but capping the number of matches they can be allocated. Fans can also opt to be allocated tickets at the next highest price category in the event that tickets at their selected category are oversubscribed or unavailable. Use of both tools is optional.
To help guide people whilst making their choices, there will be a ‘traffic light’ indicator system on the website to show which matches are receiving a lot of applications and are likely to go to ballot.
Some of the participants in the world’s largest scrum at Twickenham Stadium were:
• England Rugby 2015 CEO, Debbie Jevans
• Rugby Football Union CEO, Ian Ritchie
• International Rugby Board CEO, Brett Gosper
• Wales Head Coach, Warren Gatland
• Rugby World Cup 2003 winners (Eng) Phil Vickery, Lawrence Dallaglio, Will Greenwood
• Rugby World Cup 2011 winner (NZ) Piri Weepu
• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 winner (Eng) Maggie Alphonsi
• England players Dylan Hartley, Alex Corbisiero
• Italy international, Marco Bortolami
• Former Scotland International, Rory Lawson
• Former France International, Serge Betsen
• Former Ireland International, David Wallace
• Argentina International Gonzalo Camacho
