Photos and word by Bill Hadgkiss
Bill was busy on the first weekend of the Tournament as a volunteer in Brighton & Hove and he continued his Rugby journey through to the Final. During the Tournament 6,000 members of The Pack completed 22,832 volunteer shifts and 238,995 volunteering hours. Bill explains what it is like to be part of the Pack for the biggest Rugby World Cup ever...
After my weekend working as a volunteer at
Brighton & Hove, I was invited to be a involved in the closing stages of
the Tournament at Twickenham. I was offered a volunteering role at the first
quarter final, South Africa v Wales, and the Final!
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| Bill at Twickenham with other Pack volunteers |
An amazing experience, much different in scale
to the Brighton games with 80,000 fans at each match, but very much the same
roles.
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| Fans arriving at Twickenham |
At Twickenham for the Quarter Final I was part of the team welcoming
spectators to the stadium on the shuttle buses from the Richmond Fanzone and
Waterloo with the reverse at the end of the match.
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| Bill at Twickenham |
Yesterday at the Final was special. Apart from
the occasion and atmosphere, I was located right outside the stadium, south
stand, by the iconic ‘Line Out’ Statue where it seemed every spectator wanted
photos taken for them in front of the statue, with their national flags, which
we gave out to everyone.
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| Handing out flags to spectators |
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| Fans arriving at Twickenham |
One personal story from the day was reuniting an All
Black fan who had been separated from her husband and two friends, without her
ticket or mobile phone.
The whole of my experience over the past 12
months as part of The Pack has been something I will always remember, from the
initial application, the Brighton Launch at the Royal Pavilion, the training
sessions at Twickenham, the Brighton & Hove weekend and finally, yesterday,
the Red Arrows overhead just prior to kick off, the roar from the stadium at
full time, and a spectacular firework display immediately after the
presentation of the Trophy.
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| The Final! |
Thank you for allowing me to be part of the experience.
