Sport News South Africa

Rugby World Cup 2015 ticket design revealed

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

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), Martin Johnson (England) and Richie McCaw (New Zealand) 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.

Interactive design

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 from www.rugbyworldcup.com

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.

Engage through interactive content

"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."

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