RWC 2015 declared biggest and best tournament to date

Tournament owners World Rugby and tournament organisers England Rugby 2015, have hailed the success of the biggest Rugby World Cup ever which saw records broken on and off the pitch. This included tickets sales of over 2.47 million, an official fanzone attendance of over one million, Wembley Stadium recording two consecutive Rugby World Cup attendance records and Bryan Habana equalling Jonah Lomu’s Rugby World Cup try scoring record with three tries against the USA during six weeks of competitive and compelling rugby.

The pool stage saw fans pack into the venues to witness some of the most competitive matches of any Rugby World Cup. Highlights included Japan claiming one of the greatest upsets in sporting history by beating South Africa and Romania staging the biggest-ever comeback with their win over Canada. The knock-out stages saw some thrilling rugby which included Argentina’s pulsating win over Ireland in the quarter-finals and New Zealand’s narrow two point win over South Africa in the semi-finals.

Team Effort

As the curtain came down on a spectacular tournament, World Rugby and England Rugby 2015 paid tribute to the 20 teams, 19 match officials, 6,000 volunteers, 11 host cities, 13 match venues, 42 team bases, 15 fanzones and millions of fans who have played a crucial part in delivering a successful and exciting Rugby World Cup 2015.

Over 2.47 million tickets were sold across all 48 matches, including over 100,000 child tickets, through official channels with an average of 98 per cent of tickets sold across all venues. This included 120,000 tickets that were purchased through the tournament’s official resale service, a safe and secure platform through which fans could sell their unwanted tickets to other fans at face value. The final ticket breakdown for the tournament was as follows:

• 85 per cent sold to fans through public sale
• 6 per cent sold to fans through supporter tour packages
• 3 per cent sold to fans through hospitality packages
• 6 per cent sold through commercial programme

England Rugby 2015 has generated over £250 million in ticket revenues, delivering an £80 million surplus to World Rugby and a £15 million surplus to the RFU to be invested into the development of rugby.

Biggest & Best

World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “Rugby World Cup 2015 will be remembered as the biggest tournament to date, but I also believe that it will be remembered as the best. England 2015 has been the most competitive, best-attended, most-watched, most socially-engaged, most commercially-successful Rugby World Cup. But this special Rugby World Cup has been about much more than numbers, it has been about the amazing atmosphere in full and vibrant stadia, the excitement around the host nation and in Cardiff, the unforgettable moments played out by the world’s best players and the friendships that have been created along the way – the very best of our sport has been on display.

“I am a believer that great people make great events and I would like to thank the organisers England Rugby 2015, the host union the Rugby Football Union, Rugby World Cup Limited, the host cities and venues for delivering a special tournament that has had the teams and fans at heart, but above all, I would like to pay tribute to the volunteers and fans who got behind all 20 teams and who have made this such a special event, the best to date.”