Ticket design for Rugby World Cup 2015 revealed

Johnson is one of four winning Rugby World Cup captains featured on the tickets, with images of John Eales,Francois Pienaar and Richie McCaw also part of the England 2015 design.

There will be special design for the Final featuring Jonny Wilkinson.

Augmented reality technology will allow fans to use their ticket for an interactive experience.

Around 30,000 Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets sold yesterday as more tickets went on sale at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com.

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.

The five variations were revealed by Rugby World Cup 2003 winning captain, Martin Johnson, at Twickenham Stadium. The unique design celebrates Rugby and the rich history of the Tournament, featuring the Webb Ellis Cup at its centre, alongside four Rugby World Cup winning captains: John Eales (Australia), Francois Pienaar (South Africa), 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 of 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.

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, complementing the fan-first, location-sensitive experience delivered by the official Rugby World Cup 2015 app, which can be downloaded here.

On unveiling the ticket design, Rugby World Cup 2003 winning captain Martin Johnson said: "It is an honour to feature as part of the ticket design for Rugby World Cup 2015. Winning in 2003 holds some very special memories for me. Everyone can remember where they were when Jonny kicked that drop goal, so it's very apt that one of the host nation's finest sporting moments is marked in the special ticket for the Final. Rugby World Cup 2015 looks set to be a great and global celebration of Rugby and with tickets still available for some great matches, there is still a chance for fans to be there."

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 Game's 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 begin, 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. 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 is represented by an image of Richie McCaw 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.

Yesterday saw around 30,000 tickets sold as more went on sale via tickets.rugbyworldcup.com. There are currently around 50,000 tickets available to buy for 20 matches including England v Uruguay at Manchester City Stadium, Australia v Fiji at the Millennium Stadium, New Zealand v Tonga at St James' Park 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 at www.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

For more information, please contact:

Dominic Rumbles

World Rugby Head of Communications

+353-868-520-826

email dominic.rumbles@worldrugby.org

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