World Rugby anticipating compelling, competitive and record-breaking Rugby World Cup

With one month to go until Rugby World Cup 2015 kicks off, tournament owners World Rugby are anticipating a compelling, competitive and record-breaking celebration of rugby that has teams and fans at heart.

With global excitement building and teams well into their final preparations, more than 2.2 million tickets have been sold, including 185,000 official supporter tour packages, representing 90 per cent of the entire programme for what will be the largest and most-accessible tournament to date.

The excitement is also reflected by a largest-ever broadcast, digital and social media programme with 20,000 hours of broadcast coverage in 207 territories, including a record free-to-air offering in key emerging markets such as the USA, Brazil, Germany and China.

The Rugby World Cup experience will cater for fans of all levels of rugby knowledge and experience with presenter-led in-stadia entertainment, ‘School of Rugby’ educational videos and innovative, geo-targeted and personalised experiences through the official Rugby World Cup App (available via www.rugbyworldcup.com/mobile) and Blippar augmented reality, meaning from the stadia to the armchair, England 2015 will be the most engaged Rugby World Cup ever.

World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “With one month to go, Rugby World Cup 2015 is set to be a very special event that the host nation and rugby can be proud of and a game-changer for a sport that continues to experience record growth around the world.

“We know that England 2015 will be the biggest tournament to date and a record-breaker on many levels, but we also want it to be the best, delivering unforgettable experiences that will inspire and new audiences and participants to get into rugby.”

Rugby World Cup 2015 by numbers

• 6 official Worldwide Partners with programme locked down in record time and with record value
  
• 13 iconic match venues
  
• 20 participating teams
  
• 42 team bases across England and Wales providing world-class training facilities for participating teams
  
• 83 nations participated in the largest Rugby World Cup qualification programme
  
• 207+ broadcast territories to screen more than 20,000 hours of coverage
  
• 620 players
  
• 6,000 volunteers in ‘The Pack’
  
• 70,000 official hospitality covers sold to people in 80 nations in largest-ever programme
  
• 185,000 tickets sold through official supporter tour programme, surpassing France 2007 to be largest-ever programme
  
• 500,000 overseas fans anticipated to visit England and Wales during the six-week, 48-match festival
  
• 2.4 million tickets available with record demand from the public
  
• £340 million being invested by World Rugby in development of global rugby between 2009 and 2016 owing to commercial success of RWC
• Up to £1 billion of added value into the UK economy (£2 billion indirect)World Rugby is also hoping that England 2015 will be the most competitive tournament to date, following an extensive and targeted programme of preparation and support for Tier 2 teams since 2011. With Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and Japan all having achieved top 10 positions in the World Rugby Rankings over the past 12 months, the stage is set for a compelling event.

  World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper said: “World Rugby is committed to building a competitive, compelling sustainable international game and our objective for Rugby World Cup was to ensure a platform which enables the teams to perform to their full potential.

  “We have learned from a very competitive Rugby World Cup 2011 and believe that the advances that we have made will enhance the player and team experience, player welfare support structures, match official decision-making and overall competitiveness.

  “That process is underpinned by our commitment to develop a match schedule that delivers equity across teams in terms of rest days between matches, particularly tier two, while we have also invested £53 million across the four-year cycle to assist these unions with competitions, coaching, technical resource and administration, all geared towards closing the competition gap.”

  As tournament preparations enter their final month, tournament organisers England Rugby 2015 are well into the detailed testing and readiness phase and with the 100-day UK and Ireland Trophy Tour proving a hit, fans are urged to visit the official tournament website at www.rugbyworldcup.com/tickets to book their tickets to be a part of the largest-ever celebration of rugby before it is too late.

  England Rugby 2015 Managing Director Stephen Brown said: “With one month to go until Rugby World Cup 2015 starts there is still time for fans to be part of it. Tickets are on sale now with some great matches available. We hope that fans will enjoy the match day experience on offer at all 13 venues which keeps rugby at heart and is a true celebration of the tournament.

  “There is an opportunity for people right across the country to join in and be part of this very special six weeks of rugby and we are delighted to see excitement building in each city on the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour. All our planning is on track and our recent testing opportunities continue to provide us with invaluable learnings and insight. We look forward to delivering what we hope will be a fantastic tournament in a month’s time. ”