Rugby World Cup 2015

Chris Bryant Excerpts

Friday 11th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Dr Mathias]

I absolutely concur with my hon. Friend. I have been to Milton Keynes on occasion. If it is anything like Twickenham, it will be looking even better as a result of the rugby celebration. All the host cities have already got the bug, which is brilliant.

We have a legacy in Twickenham that I do not believe my hon. Friend has in Milton Keynes, because we have had a Herculean transport project. I commend England Rugby 2015 for what they have been doing. Some residents have already said that their access permits have made the situation even better than it is on an average match day. I know that for every single match the project will be managing the traffic and making things as easy as possible for residents.

Of course, the best, most positive legacy will be if England wins the world cup.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

Wales. [Interruption.] Division!

[Dr Mathias]

I am half Welsh, I must confess.

We will have a great legacy. I have to say that the England team is looking exceptionally good. Having watched them in August in the friendly with France and seen Anthony Watson score those two tries, there is a chance that England could win the world cup. However, as the Minister is well aware, there are no guarantees in competitive sport. That is why we enjoy sport at this level.

[Dr Mathias]

I absolutely agree. I feel for my hon. Friend in not having any matches. Yesterday we had the Webb Ellis cup touring, and that invigorated people. I can assure him that we were thinking of him, with that trophy named in honour of his area.

For the legacy, we have to go beyond the stadium. The Rugby Football Union in Twickenham is an amazing sports business with annual revenues of over £150 million. It is doing great things in England for rugby, especially for schools and clubhouses up and down the country, and for training. Importantly for Twickenham, it has introduced rugby to some of our schools; I wish it was to all of them. It has given free tickets to some matches to residents who live nearby and are affected by the matches taking place. The RFU also has Home Turf, which is funding street festivals in Twickenham. Very commendably, it donates to charities such as the Dallaglio Foundation, which uses rugby to give young people other skills—life skills—showing that rugby goes beyond the stadium. The RFU is also very energy-conscious. That is important in my constituency, where many people are highly environmentally aware.

The RFU has a very good museum that holds exhibitions that are pertinent to locals. I was very proud that their exhibition of world war one heroes who were also rugby players had my grandfather’s medals—his Royal Flying Corps medals and his Military Cross—because he was a world war one hero and also a great rugby player.

We in Twickenham, and the RFU in particular, do look to the stadium. However, my concern, and the reason for this debate, is that some people in Twickenham consider the stadium to be more like a giant UFO that just happens to there. Some residents do not have on repeat on their smartphones iconic tries such as the one by Sir Gareth Edwards in the Barbarians-All Blacks game in 1973. Some residents do not think of those in the line-out statue as giants but more as extraterrestrials who just happen to be there. We have to look out for residents who are not completely in love with the game—we have to go beyond the sport.

This House has already debated the legacy of the Olympics, which led to many people taking up more sports.

[Chris Bryant]

The number’s fallen now.

[Dr Mathias]

I will come on to that. I hope that people in Twickenham and in England generally will take up rugby. In my area, pre-school children are learning the ball skills of rugby through Rugbytots, which is independent and not run by the RFU.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tracey Crouch)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Dr Mathias) on securing this incredibly important and extremely timely debate. She and other hon. Members have made constructive and interesting contributions on an issue that is clearly of great importance to their constituents. As the Minister with responsibility for tourism, I also welcome and am grateful for the positive comments made about the valuable link between tourism and sport. We know that there is such a link, and we would like to make more of it.

I am delighted that the rugby world cup will be held in England and Wales this year. I am hugely looking forward to the action starting next week. I am confident that the tournament will enable us to show again our expertise in putting on successful major events, and that all the home nations’ teams will give their all and make us proud. The rugby world cup is one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar. It lasts six weeks, and is likely to be watched by a global TV audience of about 4 billion and by well over 2 million people in 13 stadiums in 11 cities across England and Wales. All 48 matches will be shown on terrestrial TV, thanks to ITV.

The organisers, England Rugby 2015, have been very successful in selling tickets for the matches. More than 2 million tickets have been sold at a range of prices, starting at £7 for children and £15 for adults at certain matches. Tickets are on sale for a number of matches, and additional tickets will be available on the official ticket site as fans re-sell unwanted tickets at face value. I know that not everyone who wanted a ticket has got one—my ears are as bent as those of a prop forward from pub regulars and colleagues telling me so—but I encourage those not yet fortunate enough to have secured a ticket to keep trying the official site.

[Chris Bryant]

But not illegal sites.

[Tracey Crouch]

No, they should not use illegal sites. There are plenty of legal and official sites, on which tickets are still available.

Spectators attending matches will be helped and directed by the 6,000-strong Pack—the volunteers, whom my hon. Friend mentioned—who have been recruited from the rugby community in England and Wales, recognising those who support and deliver the game week in, week out, and from the general public.