A total 1,008 people from around the country took part in the record-breaking attempt, including Rugby World Cup winners Piri Weepu, Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Greenwood, Wales' head coach Warren Gatland, and other former and ex-players.

The majority of the scrum then consisted of England Rugby 2015 staff, commercial partners and volunteers who have applied to be part of "The Pack".

"This is a fantastic achievement and a fitting way to kick off the public sale of tickets to rugby's showcase event," said England Rugby 2015 chief executive Debbie Jevans.

"This event brought together 1,008 people from organisations involved in Rugby World 2015 and I want to thank them all for their support.

"Everyone who took part is now a World Record Holder!

"Tickets are now on general sale at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com.

"Fans have until September 29, 2014 to apply, so there is no rush.

"With prices starting at £15 ($24/€19) for adults and £7 ($11/€9) for children, it's a great opportunity to watch world class rugby in venues across England and Cardiff."

A total 1,008 people took part in the scrum, beating the previous record of 946
©England 2015



In order to be recognised as a world record the scrum had to comprise of players in three rows on either side in proportion to a normal rugby scrum, 3:2:3 proportions for the front, second row and back row.

A ball also had to be successfully fed in from the side and hooked through the back of the scrum with an International Rugby Board referee officiating proceedings, a duty undertaken by Waynes Barnes.

Talking of the world record achievement, 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Phil Vickery said: "Being part of the world's largest scrum today, alongside over 1,000 people, was a fantastic experience and it was nice to run out on the Twickenham pitch again.

"Over the next year I'm sure Rugby World Cup 2015 will set plenty more records.

"Now is the time for fans to get involved in the build-up and with tickets going on sale today fans can really start to get excited and gear up to next year."



Up to one million tickets across 48 matches have gone on general sale for the Rugby World Cup 2015 with fans given until September 29 to apply.

Tickets are priced in four categories for all matches and are available for 41 matches.

Tickets are not being sold on a first-serve-first-come basis meaning fans can apply anytime between now and the deadline date with any oversubscribed matches going to a ballot in order to ensure fair allocation.

To help guide people whilst making their choices, there will be a 'traffic light' indicator system on the website to show which matches are receiving a lot of applications and are likely to go to ballot.

Tickets can be bought here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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