View from The Pack

By Bill Hadgkiss

What a weekend for Brighton & Hove which was witness to one of the greatest upsets in Rugby World Cup history when Japan beat South Africa on Saturday 19 September.

The sun shone from a clear blue sky throughout the weekend and the Brighton Community Stadium was full on both days with supporters wearing their country's colours and waving thousands of national flags distributed by members of The Pack.

Pack members were ready at the stadium to help match goers
Photo credit: www.snapitnow.co.uk

The role myself and other Pack members were responsible for was to give our visiting spectators a memorable experience from the time they arrived in the city until their departure. 

Fans in the stadium
Photo credit: www.snapitnow.co.uk

I was fortunate in being based at the Stadium on both days and undertook a variety of functions including meet and greet fans arriving on the shuttle buses from the Fanzone and Park and Rides, distributing flags, duties at stadium entrance gates regarding bag checks and separating tickets for scanning, marshalling queues post-match into channels for the various Park and Ride departure points and helping spectators with restricted movement from arrival points to the stadium entrance.

There were several memorable moments. Two elderly gentlemen with walking sticks arrived on a Park and Ride bus because their lift to the Stadium had not turned up. They were quite anxious by they time they arrived. I was able to collect two wheelchairs from our information point and, with a colleague, take them to their seating area. I then arranged their return journey to the P & R after the match. 

Fans waved homemade banners and flags handed out by the Pack
Photo credit: www.snapitnow.co.uk

One Samoan spectator gave me a match ticket since his friend was unable to come and asked me to find a good home for it. I took it to the ticket office where it was passed to a very happy fan who was ticketless! 

Bill in the stadium gallery

As we were not needed during the match, we all watched from a gallery near to the Workforce Centre. During the final 15 minutes of the South Africa v Japan game and the scenes at the final whistle were incredible. Every neutral in the stadium were willing the Japanese to achieve the impossible...and of course they did!

There is no doubt at all the Brighton Community Stadium, their staff, Rugby World Cup 2015 and members of The Pack made this event truly memorable, this being acknowledged by many, many spectators that I spoke to after the match. I thoroughly enjoyed every single minute and the memories will last a long time!

Celebrating Rugby in the sunshine

Brighton & Hove celebrated in the sunshine as the long anticipated first weekend of Rugby World Cup 2015 arrived. 

As the Tournament began, the two matches played at the Brighton Community Stadium were played out to enthusiastic crowds watching from the stands and thousands more watching on a big screen on the beach. 

The seafront Fanzone proved popular throughout the weekend as fans enjoyed the action while relaxing on Brighton's famous pebbles. The Pack, some of the 6,000 volunteers selected to assist visitors, were on duty and on form.

There was also plenty to do and see on the main road running alongside the beach, with free activities to try all day. 

At one point, there was even a military horse parade. 

Only a short walk away from the Fanzone, two days of dance and music was performed in the heart of the city's theatre district on New Road, adding to the carnival feel. The Pitch Perfect festival was set up on the walking route from the train station to the Fanzone. 

Hundreds of artists shared their skills, entertaining spectators and passers by in twelve hours of performance organised especially for the Tournament weekend.

After the dramatic events of Saturday's match, which saw Japan beat the Springboks in an unexpected victory, everyone was eager to see what Sunday's match would yield. By the time the final whistle blew, the Samoans had claimed their first win of the Tournament beating USA with the result 24 -16. 

With Samoa's victory following on from Japan's triumph, both the teams who stayed as well as played in Brighton & Hove won their matches. A proud moment for the host city.  

By the end of the weekend Brighton & Hove had claimed a place in Rugby history thanks to the Brave Blossoms mighty match and the warm welcome given to Rugby World Cup 2015 by all in the city. 

The Tournament got off to a splendid start. Now all that remains is to enjoy the drama of the remaining matches as the teams battle it out to the final on Halloween.  

Photo credit: www.snapitnow.co.uk

Funzone!

The sun shone on Brighton & Hove as fans prepared for the first ever Rugby World Cup match to be played in the city on Saturday 19 September 2015.

Photo: www.snapitnow.co.uk

The Fanzone began to attract crowds from the opening hour of 11am. Throughout the day people strolled along Madiera Drive to have a go at games such as a bucking Rugby ball, a bungee run and a speed reaction test as well as being given Rugby goodies from the stalls stretched along the road. 

Photo: www.snapitnow.co.uk

Photo: BHCC Comms

The Webb Ellis Cup was on display for the first hour of the Fanzone day before heading up to the stadium to be present at the match. South Africa's John Smit, who led the Springboks to victory in Rugby World Cup 2007, was a guest at the Fanzone along with the prestigious trophy.  

Photo: BHCC Comms

Down on the pebbles, people settled in to watch the four matches taking place on the first full day of Rugby World Cup 2015. 

Photo: www.snapitnow.co.uk

Photo: www.snapitnow.co.uk

As time drew close for the South Africa v Japan match, on screen announcements advised ticketholders still watching the Ireland v Canada match to head up Madeira Drive for the shuttlebus service. The buses swiftly took the fans the 20 minute journey to the north of the city to get to the stadium on time. 

Photo: BHCC Comms

The city was a buzz with celebration and festivals. Project Zulu impressed everyone with their skills as they danced their way through the Fanzone after performing at Pitch Perfect on New Road. 

Photo: www.snapitnow.co.uk

Meanwhile the fun continued on a very warm September afternoon as crowds gathered to see the action from the stadium up the road broadcast live on the beach. Caught up in the drama of the match and the intense closing minutes of the game, the crowd in the Fanzone was transfixed by the action on screen. 

Photo: www.snapitnow.co.uk

As the sun set, the fourth and final match of the day was played out on the big screen. After Rugby history was made in Brighton & Hove with Japan's stunning win, there is still another day to enjoy in the Fanzone before the Tournament continues elsewhere.

Photo: BH Comms

Brighton & Hove's Fanzone will be open today, Sunday 20 September, from 11am to 8pm. Don't miss out! Come down to the beach today!

Welcome Japan!

The Japan team were welcomed to Brighton & Hove on Friday. 

The Welcome Ceremony which took place the Brighton Dome Theatre one week before the start of the Tournament.  The 51 players and also the management staff were presented with the official caps and participation medals. 

The Japanese team also presented the Mayor of Brighton & Hove with an unusual Japanese ornament, a large bright figurine.

The Mayor of Brighton & Hove with a gift from Japan
Photo credit: Getty Images for ER2015

Westdene Primary School boys’ choir, from Brighton, performed the RWC 2015 song “World in Union”. 

Westdene Primary School Boys' Choir from Brighton
Photo credit: Getty Images for ER2015

Afterwards the team gathered for photos in the Royal Pavilion Music Room.  The Japanese team play South Africa at 4.45pm on Saturday September 19 at the Brighton Community Stadium.  

The Japanese team in the Music Room at The Royal Pavilion
Photo credit: Getty Images for ER2015

Watch highlights from Japan's official Welcome Ceremony at the Brighton Dome.

Welcome Samoa!

The Samoan team were welcomed to Brighton & Hove on Friday. 

The Welcome Ceremony which took place the Brighton Dome Theatre one week before the start of the Tournament. The 31 players and 15 management staff were presented with the official caps and participation medals. 

The Samoan manager took to the podium to say: “Brighton reminds us so much of Samoa! You have the sun, you have the sea and you have beautiful smiling people.” The team then took to the stage to give a rousing demonstration of Samoan dance and song.  

Samaon team on stage
Photo credit: Getty Images for ER2015

Afterwards the team stopped for photos in front of the Royal Pavilion and met fans waiting to wish them well. The Samoan team play USA at 12 noon on Sunday September 20 at the Brighton Community Stadium.  

Samoan team at the Royal Pavilion
Photo credit: Getty Images for ER2015

Watch highlights from the Samoan Welcome Ceremony at the Dome.

See the Samoan team on stage as captured on a phone by one of the audience.

100 days to go!

Today marks 100 days to go until the start of the Tournament on 18 September.

To celebrate Westdene Primary School’s Boys Choir shared their enthusiasm for Rugby World Cup 2015 in song! They also took time out at the start of the school day to throw about a couple of Rugby balls on the school field.

The school's boys’ choir is one of 20 from schools in England and Wales selected to be part of the ceremonies that will officially welcome the teams to Rugby World Cup 2015.

Westdene Primary School Boys Choir
(Photo credit: www.snapitnow.co.uk)

Emma Bright, Music Co-ordinator for Westdene Primary School in Brighton, said: “We are thrilled Westdene Boys Choir has been chosen to perform at the welcome ceremony for Japan for Rugby World Cup 2015. This is probably the most prestigious performance we have ever given & the boys are already working incredibly hard to be sure they give their best performance possible!”

Emma and the choir
(Photo credit: www.snapitnow.co.uk)

The Boys Choir is one of three choirs at the school. It has been running for just under six years and currently consists of 22 boys aged eight to ten years old. As part of the application process, Emma submitted a short clip of the boys performing at the school’s Spring Concert.

During the ceremonies, the successful choirs will sing the official Rugby World Cup anthem “World in Union”. The boys have so far learned one verse of the song. They will be working hard to be pitch and word perfect by the time the Japanese team arrive. 

The ceremonies will also include the formal presentation of official Tournament caps and Rugby World Cup 2015 participation medals.

100 days to go

Managing Director of England Rugby 2015, Stephen Brown, said: “Congratulations to Westdene Primary School on being selected to be involved in the Welcome Ceremonies for Rugby World Cup 2015. We were really pleased with the response that we got from schools wanting to be involved. The standard of the applications was very high and I would like to thank all schools that took the time to apply.”

Below is the test piece Emma sent as part of the application to be one of the choirs to perform at RWC2015 welcome ceremonies in September. The film was taken at the school's Spring concert.

Proud to be in The Pack

Rugby World Cup 2015 has recruited thousands of volunteers to welcome match-goers to the Tournament and help with essential tasks. More than 20,000 people applied to be part of “The Pack”. Only 6,000 spaces were available.

Two local Rugby followers found out recently they have been selected to be part of The Pack. Claire and Bill are passionate about Rugby and keen to be a part of the Brighton & Hove matches in September.

Claire

“My name is Claire, I work at the University of Brighton as the Sport Participation and Experience Manager and sport plays a pivotal role in my life.

“Rugby is a sport that I took up to fulfil a dare over 13 years ago and I was quickly captivated in my first training session. Rugby is a game like no other; it evokes a spirit of teamwork and fair play at all levels. Rugby clubs create a community for its members where players and supporters look out for each other on and off the pitch.

“Learning that the Rugby World Cup was coming to England and specifically to Brighton & Hove meant putting my name in the hat with 1000’s of other Rugby fans to try and secure a role volunteering for the sport I love. An application form was filled in, an interview was attended and then the wait was on to see if I was lucky enough to be chosen.

“I’ve been offered the role of Sports Presentation Field of Play Assistant. This means I will be working in a floor management capacity, supporting the operational production team in the match venue tunnel and around the perimeter of the pitch. I can’t wait!

“The only drawback to my role is that I will no longer be able to watch the games from the stands and my tickets will be donated to Rugby friends that weren’t lucky enough to get tickets in the initial ballot.”

Bill

“I am excited and delighted to be offered a place in The Pack, only one of 1250 volunteers nationwide to be recruited from the general public.

“The next part of my journey will be two one-day training sessions where I will meet with other volunteers from all over the south of England where I can look forward to sharing our expectations and challenges for the roles we have been appointed to.

Photo credit: www.snapitnow.co.uk

“Then to the event itself in September, when, as a member of the Spectator Services Team I will be meeting, greeting and guiding fans and supporters from the competing teams by providing them with the warmest of Brighton welcomes.

“Looking forward so much to the next few months and being part of a unique experience for our city.”

Findout more about how The Pack was selected in our previous blog entry

Balfour bloggers

Pupils from Balfour Primary Tag Rugby team were invited to Brighton Community Stadium recently to learn about how the venue will be transformed for Rugby in the months ahead.

Seven pupils took a tour of the ground and met with the Executive Director of Brighton & Hove Football Club to find out more.

In this home changing room

The trip was organised by Albion in the Community (AITC) and also involved the pupils working with the AITC team to create blog content on a set of iPads.

Their finished blog entries will be posted here soon.  

In the stands

Inspiring young players

Balfour Primary School’s Tag Rugby Team was invited to be the “Guard of Honour” at an England vs Australia match played at Twickenham.

The trip included a tour of the RFU Museum, visiting the changing rooms and a chance to play on the pitch.

The experience was a reward for the school’s 2013 – 2014 Tag Rugby Team placing second in the 2014 National Schools Final.

The RFU gave two extra tickets. These were given in a random draw to two of the current Year 6 Tag Rugby Team – Fred and Esmee. 

Our trip to Twickenham by Esmee and Fred

Esmee and Fred

Esmee, Balfour Year 6 Tag Rugby Squad 2014 - 2015

Going to Twickenham, watching a live rugby match and performing the Guard of Honour was brilliant. The whole experience was amazing but my favourite part would be standing in front of 82,031 people performing the Guard of Honour – just surreal! 

I couldn’t believe how massive they were! Standing on the real Twickenham grass and scoring tries, standing in exactly the same place as professional rugby players was incredible.

Next year the RWC are taking the players to Brighton. I am desperate to go and see them with my sisters!

Fred, Team Captain, Balfour Year 6 Tag Rugby Squad 2014 - 2015

The experience was amazing, playing on the pitch and walking out to do the Guard of Honour to 82,000 people at Twickenham. The Australian and English players were so close to me, as they sung ‘God Save the Queen.’

After we played on the pitch, before the game, we walked backed through the tunnel, Chris Robshaw was inches away from me! Then when we finished the Guard of Honour we did a minute of applause for Philip Hughes. 

After that we went back to the changing rooms before the match began, just before that, when we were on our way back, we brushed past Jonny Wilkinson who was commentating on the match!!

I will never forget it!

Balfour pupils at Twickenham

People Power!

Rugby World Cup 2015 is recruiting 6,000 volunteers to welcome the world to the Tournament next year. More than 20,000 people applied and 10,000 were shortlisted for interviews for the chance to join “The Pack”. 

Selection events, called Try Outs, have been taking place across the country since June and will run until December 2014. The local Try Out took place at the University of Brighton in July. The Try Outs include an exhibition area showing the history of Rugby World Cup and the relevant host city. 

At the Try outs

All applicants were able to browse the exhibition before a 20 minute one to one interview about why they should join The Pack.

Interview time

Bill Hadgkiss hopes to be part of The Pack, he was among the shortlisted applicants and is now waiting to hear if he will be chosen to join The Pack. 

Bill explained why he decided to apply: “I was inspired by the way the volunteers contributed so much to the success of the London Olympics. I also have a love of the sport of Rugby, a game I played in my younger days and that my son still plays for Uckfield RFC. I thoroughly enjoyed the invitation to the local One Year to Go event when the Webb Ellis Cup visited Brighton & Hove. And I am pleased to be able to contribute to this blog at this stage, and hopefully into next year if my application is successful.”

Pack applicant: Bill Hadgkiss

The majority of ‘The Pack’ consists of volunteers from rugby clubs in England and Wales, recognising those who support the game week-in week-out. There are 1,500 places being allocated to members of the public who have previously applied for the roles through the official volunteer selection process. The aim is to make sure everyone has had the chance to be part of one of the biggest sporting events in the world. 

Applicants will find out in early 2015 if they will be in The Pack and training will take place later in the year. 

Meet more of our bloggers

Passionate about Rugby - Alice and Hannah

Local players: Hannah and Alice are on the right of the Webb Ellis Cup

Introducing Alice

"I originally returned to Rugby, having played 7’s at college, when I came back to Brighton after graduating from university. I have always found that joining a sports team is a great way to meet like-minded, friendly people and having heard good things about Hove WRFC, I decided I wanted to try and play championship level Rugby. 

"Rugby has always been one of my favourite sports to play as it is both challenging and physically demanding, whilst requiring the utmost level of teamwork from one to 15.  It is these attributes of Rugby that motivated me to return to the sport having undergone shoulder surgery to ensure I would keep playing from years to come! 

"I love the fact that you can learn something new at every training session, overcome different challenges during every game, and having recently moved from playing Centres to Fly-half, the learning-curve never ends.
  


"Hosting part of the Rugby World Cup 2015 in Brighton & Hove, not only means the chance for the local Rugby community to be able to advertise the sport and its popularity within the area, but also for the players to feel a part of the largest and most prestigious celebration of Rugby. Personally, having never been to the Brighton Community Stadium before, it is going to be amazing to see international Rugby played within my home town." 

Introducing Hannah

"My initial introduction to Rugby was through my big sister who has been a keen Rugby player for most of her life. From a young age I was all about football, right up until my early twenties when my sister finally persuaded me to attend a training session for her beloved team Hove RFC. Since then I haven’t looked back, I’ve played two seasons with Hove, numerous Rugby tournaments and also attended London & South East Academy. 

"Having RWC2015 come to Brighton & Hove is really exciting. Having been to the Brighton Community Stadium quite a few times to watch Brighton & Hove Albion play, it will be even better going to watch the sport that I now play and love. This is a great opportunity for rugby in Brighton & Hove and also gives people that may not already follow or play Rugby the opportunity to learn about Rugby altogether!

"Bring on RWC2015 in B&H!"