Coventry celebrates arrival of Webb Ellis Cup as part of Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour

Coventry celebrated the arrival of Rugby’s greatest prize, the Webb Ellis Cup, on Sunday, August 16 as part of the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour with over 5,000 people attending during the day’s activities across the City.

The Trophy arrived at Broadgate on Sunday, August 16, where the city’s Rugby community joined together for a celebration event with each local club representing one of the 20 countries that will be taking part in the RWC 2015 tournament.

The Trophy then went on to visit War Memorial Park which played host to Coventry’s Festival of Rugby, where mini, junior, women and senior teams from across Coventry and Warwickshire showcased a variety of Rugby skills and members of the public were given the opportunity to ‘try’ out their Rugby techniques during masterclasses, inflatable games and skill challenges held by Wasps, Warwickshire RFU and Coventry Rugby Club.

Tom Clift, programme manager of Engage! which helped to co-ordinate activities, said:

We are proud to host the world-famous Webb Ellis Cup in Coventry. The Trophy has brought people of all ages together in our community to celebrate this important occasion. Coventry has been buzzing with activity with the arrival of the Trophy as part of the nationwide celebration of Rugby and we are all counting down with excitement to Rugby World Cup 2015.

The Trophy Tour, which launched on June 10 marking exactly 100 days-to-go to the opening match, will take part in a number of events and activities to help give fans the unique opportunity to build unforgettable memories as part of their own Rugby World Cup 2015 story.

Councillor Abdul Khan, Cabinet Member for Sport said,

We were delighted to welcome the Webb Ellis Cup to Coventry. There was a great turn out and a great atmosphere in the park and in Broadgate. There are lots of rugby clubs in Coventry, the sport is thriving here and I was especially pleased to see such a lot of youngsters enjoying the have a go sessions.

Rugby is at the heart of the Trophy Tour, visiting more than 100 rugby clubs, organisations and rugby festivals, from grassroots to elite level. In addition to this, Host Cities, Match Venues, community and legacy programmes, sports events, stakeholder visits, Worldwide Partner activations and iconic landmarks will feature as part of the Trophy Tour with over 300 events programmed across the 100 day continuous tour.

The Trophy Tour has travelled through Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Wales and England before arriving at Twickenham Stadium on September 18 ahead of Opening Ceremony of Rugby World Cup 2015.

Tickets for Rugby World Cup 2015 are still available and are on sale at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com. Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour information can be viewed at rugbyworldcup.com/trophy-tour.