The keen rugby fan and vice-patron of the Rugby Football Union will play an important role in welcoming the 20 qualifying nations to the sport's flagship competition, officials claimed. 

"With one year to go to the tournament, we are delighted to announce that Prince Harry has agreed to be our Honorary President," England Rugby 2015 chief executive Debbie Jevans said.

"The Prince is a great rugby fan and recently inspired us all with the Invictus Games.

"We have no doubt that he will help us achieve our aim of staging a tournament that reaches out to new and existing rugby fans."

To celebrate the start of the one-year countdown, England 2015 looked back on some of its biggest achievements in the last 12 months, including the sale of 350,000 tickets to rugby fans through clubs in England and Wales through the Rugby Community Ticketing Programme and the naming of 41 team bases throughout the country for the qualifying squads.

The Organising Committee has also received more than 20,000 applications for the 6,000 places on the official tournament volunteer programme - "The Pack" - and "Try Out" selection centres have interviewed over 5,000 applicants so far.

The World Cup Trophy Tour has already visited five countries, including South Africa
©Getty Images


The World Cup Trophy Tour has already visited five countries on its 15-nation journey and will now travel to Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, Dubai, China, Canada, Italy, Romania, Germany and France, while planning is underway for a 100-day Trophy Tour across England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales from June 10 to September 18 next year.

Meanwhile, tickets are on general sale until September 29 and fans will find out which ones they have successfully applied for next month before any remaining tickets go back on sale in November.

"Our plans are fully on track and we are very pleased with the demand for tickets since they went on general sale on September 12," Jevans said.

"We still have a year of hard work ahead of us but with the team bases announced, the venues and city plans being finalised, excellent support from our stakeholders and tickets on sale we are able to move forward with confidence."

Bernard Lapasset, chairman of the International Rugby Board and Rugby World Cup Limited, said England 2015 is shaping up to be "the best-attended, most viewed and most-engaged" Rugby World Cup to date.

"One year to go is a major milestone on the road to a Rugby World Cup that promises to be a very special and record-breaking global celebration of Rugby and the host nation," he added.

Rugby World Cup 2015 is scheduled to take place from September 18 to October 31 next year.

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