Rugby World Cup Tickets

It is time for all the biggest international rugby nations to unite in one place as the Rugby World Cup comes to town. The biggest event in the sport will be held in England this year as twenty teams from around the globe vie against each other to lift the most prestigious title in the sport. New Zealand will be heading into the tournament as the favorites after their emphatic victory over France in the final of the last World Cup. It will not be easy for them to retain the crown because there are nineteen other sides that will be looking to reach the summit this year in Twickenham.

Rugby is a very popular sport and is played in different countries across the globe. While the game itself can trace its roots back to England and Ireland to the early part of the nineteenth century, the sport has subsequently spread to all corners of the planet.

The International Rugby Football Board (IRFB), which was later renamed as the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1998, governs the rules and bylaws of the game. Countries and club teams that participate in local and international tournaments register with the IRB. According to the IRB, today rugby is played in more than a hundred countries. The sport’s showpiece event is now too far away now. So here’s your chance to grab Rugby World Cup tickets and catch all the action live at the Twickenham Stadium.

Prior to the World Cup, rugby had only been played sparingly between international teams and there were only a few instances where such games were held. Barring the occasional friendly encounters, international teams used to compete in the Olympics, but that happened only on four occasions before the sport was removed from the Olympics roster. The annually held Home Nations Championship was another tournament where different rugby nations used to face off but it featured only European teams. An international tournament was required in order for the sport to grow and the World Cup filled that void.

The calls for a World Cup styled rugby tournament first began in the 1950’s but it was not until the 1980’s that these calls started gaining any traction. In 1983, Australia put forward a proposal to host the first ever World Cup. Later that year, New Zealand also gave its own proposal and by the end of the year both countries decided to team up in order to host the inaugural tournament together. By 1985, other major rugby playing nations agreed to the idea and the first World Cup was held in 1987. The tournament featured sixteen teams and thirty two games were played before New Zealand was crowned the first rugby world champions.

The World Cup was a huge success and has come a long way since. The first tournament did not have a qualification process as every participant country was invited to play. By the time the next edition of the tournament rolled around, a qualification process was in place with thirty two teams competing for sixteen places. The number has now increased to over ninety sides competing for twenty places as the number of participating sides was increased to twenty for the 1999 edition.  

The maximum number of times a country has won the World Cup is twice and only New Zealand, Australia and South Africa have accomplished this feat to date. England has won the tournament once, in 2003, whereas France has come close on three occasions, finishing as the runners-up thrice over the years.

It is estimated that over a billion people watch the Rugby World Cup and that is a testament to the growing popularity of the sport. With an increasing amount of countries embracing rugby as a sport and the rising number of teams involved in the qualification rounds, it hasn’t taken the Rugby World Cup long to become one of the premier international sports tournaments in the world. Rugby’s biggest event is now rolling into town. The best players from twenty countries will face-off to win the most prestigious title the sport has to offer. Book your Rugby World Cup tickets and make your way to the Twickenham Stadium to watch what promises to be a humdinger of a tournament.