Richie McCaw to Feature on Ticket Design for Rugby World Cup

Richie McCaw to Feature on Ticket Design for Rugby World Cup 2015

With global excitement building ahead of Rugby World Cup 2015, Tournament Organisers, England Rugby 2015, today unveiled the official design that will feature on the tickets for the 48 matches.

One of the five variations revealed features Rugby World Cup 2011 winning captain, Richie McCaw. The unique design, celebrates Rugby and the rich history of the Tournament, featuring the Webb Ellis Cup at its centre, alongside three other Rugby World Cup winning captains: John Eales (Australia), Francois Pienaar (South Africa) and Martin Johnson (England) representing the nations who have been victorious at previous Rugby World Cups.

The ticket blends the striking Tournament look and feel with two Rugby images representing the heritage of the Game in England. Across the lower half the ticket is a representation of the fans, who are at the heart of the Tournament. The four designs, developed in three colours, will be issued for all matches throughout the pool phase, Quarter and Semi-Finals as well as the Bronze Final. The tickets for the eight matches that will be played at the Millennium Stadium will also feature information in Welsh. A special gold design has also been developed for the Final and features one of the host nation's most celebrated sporting moments, Jonny Wilkinson's dramatic drop goal at the Final of Rugby World Cup 2003.

Click here to view the ticket designs and images from the launch.

Tickets will be issued next month and once received fans will have the opportunity to bring Rugby World Cup 2015 to life through the use of Blippar's Augmented Reality technology, with unique activations developed as part of the ticket design. In a first for a major sporting event, the technology will allow fans to create a 3D interactive experience through their smart phones. By scanning any Rugby World Cup 2015 match ticket with the Blippar app, fans will be able to unlock exclusive content with England 2015 ambassadors and Rugby World Cup 2003 winners Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Greenwood previewing the match fans are attending, a 360 degree view of the stadium they are going to, and from August a view from their seat and navigational tools to help them get to the match, complimenting the fan-first, location-sensitive experience delivered by the official Rugby World Cup 2015 app, which can be downloaded here.

On being featured on the ticket design, Rugby World Cup 2011 winning captain Richie McCaw, said, "Winning Rugby World Cup 2011 was a special moment for Rugby in New Zealand and it is an honour to feature on the tickets for Rugby World Cup 2015. New Zealand will play at some great venues, from the Millennium Stadium to St James' Park, giving our fans the chance to be part of a celebration of Rugby.”

Managing Director of England Rugby 2015, Stephen Brown, added: "We are pleased to reveal the Rugby World Cup 2015 ticket design which aims to celebrate Rugby and the history of Rugby World Cups. By featuring these iconic Rugby World Cup winning captains we are commemorating the four countries that have lifted the iconic Webb Ellis Cup and of course as host nation celebrating one of the Games most celebrated moments through Jonny Wilkinson's famous drop goal on the Final ticket.

"We are delighted to introduce a Rugby World Cup first, using augmented reality technology as part of the ticket design to enable fans to engage with the Tournament through interactive content, which is a really exciting piece of activation. With another day of high ticket demand yesterday, excitement for the Tournament continues to grow and with ticket distribution about to start, it will start to become very real for fans.”

World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "Rugby World Cup is all about the fans, the shared experiences and unforgettable moments and today's ticket design reveal represents another exciting milestone for fans around the world as they plan their Rugby World Cup experience. With excitement building and teams well into their detailed preparations, we are looking forward to what promises to be a very special Rugby World Cup that is great for the host nation and great for Rugby worldwide.”

Tickets for the pool phase, Quarter-Final, Semi-Final and the Bronze Final matches feature photos, supplied by Getty Images. The image of Richie McCaw was taken during their match against France in the pool stages of Rugby World Cup 2011 which they went on to win, claiming the title for the second time. South Africa is represented by an image of Francois Pienaar taken after they beat New Zealand 15-12 at Ellis Park Stadium to win Rugby World 1995 for what was a significant moment in the country's history. Australia is represented by an image of John Eales taken during the Semi-Final of Rugby World Cup 1999 at Twickenham Stadium, where they beat South Africa 27-21 before going on to win the Tournament for the second time. England is represented by an image of Martin Johnson taken during the Final of Rugby World Cup 2003 in Sydney, where they beat Australia 20-17 to win the Tournament for the first time.

New Zealand will be in pool C along with Argentina, Tonga, Georgia and Namibia. Their fixtures will be as follows:
• New Zealand v Argentina at Wembley Stadium, London on Sunday September 20
• New Zealand v Namibia at The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London on Thursday September 24
• New Zealand v Georgia at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on Friday October 2
• New Zealand v Tonga at St James' Park, Newcastle on Friday October 9
Yesterday saw around 30,000 tickets sold as more tickets went on sale via tickets.rugbyworldcup.com. There are currently around 50,000 tickets available to buy for 20 matches including including New Zealand v Tonga at St James' Park, England v Uruguay at Manchester City Stadium, Australia v Fiji at the Millennium Stadium, and South Africa v Samoa at Villa Park. Fans can continue to sell any unwanted tickets through the official resale service via tickets.rugbyworldcup.com. In order to enjoy the best possible spectator experience and not be let down or misled, Rugby World Cup 2015 are urging fans to only buy tickets from official sources. For more information and to check whether a company or certain website is an official RWC2015 channel, fans can see the 'Official Checker' list of agents located atwww.rugbyworldcup.com/buyofficial.

Tickets are also still available via the official travel (domestic and international supporter tours) and hospitality programmes. More details on these programmes can be found at www.rugbyworldcup.com/ticketing.

ENDS

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