Largest scrum record set at Twickenham ahead of Rugby World Cup 2015

By Kevin Lynch
Published

Preparations for Rugby World Cup 2015 kicked off in record-breaking style last month with a successful attempt to create the world’s largest rugby scrum.

Organised by England Rugby 2015 to coincide with tickets going on general sale for next year’s tournament, a total of 1,008 participants huddled together to set the new record at Twickenham, the iconic stadium set to host Rugby World Cup 2015 Final.

Perfectly illustrating the campaign’s slogan "Too Big To Miss", participants in the attempt spanned from all over the country and included members of the armed forces, members of the RFU and IRB and volunteers for the Tournament. Also on hand to make a piece of sporting history were Rugby World Cup winners Piri Weepu (New Zealand), Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Greenwood (England Rugby 2015 ambassadors), as well as Wales head coach Warren Gatland.

Officiated by IRB referee Wayne Barnes, in order for a record to be set, the huge 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) with the ball needing to be successfully fed in from the side and hooked through the back.

Speaking after the successful attempt, Chief Executive of England Rugby 2015, Debbie Jevans, said: "Breaking the world record for the world’s largest scrum is a fantastic achievement and a fitting way to kick off the public sale of tickets to rugby's showcase event. This event brought together 1,008 people from organisations involved in Rugby World Cup 2015, and rugby fans from across the country, and I want to thank them all for their support. Everyone who took part is now a World Record Holder!“

Used to restart play in both Ruby Union and Rugby League matches, a scrum sees the forwards of a team form up with arms interlocked and heads down, and push forward against a similar group from the opposing side. The ball is thrown into the scrum with both sets of players trying to gain possession of it by kicking it backwards towards their own side.

England Rugby 2015's attempt beat the previous record of 946 participants set by Blackrock College and the Irish Youth Foundation in Dublin, Ireland, last year.

The attempt gathered widespread press coverage, with 179 articles published internationally around the news of the world record bid, while a video of the attempt gained 35,000 views on YouTube and over 300,000 views on Facebook in just six weeks.

As a result of the England Rugby 2015 ticketing campaign, which ran from Sept 12–29, all 48 matches for Rugby World Cup 2015 are expected to go to ballot in at least one of the four price categories.