Rugby World Cup 2015

Tracey Crouch Excerpts

Friday 11th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Mark Pawsey]

Will the Minister pay tribute to the broader rugby community, which is not just players but ex-players and kids, and to the great nature that exists between rugby supporters from all clubs and towns? When I take my friends to Twickenham stadium in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Dr Mathias) people ask, “Why are there so few police here? Are we at the England end or the other team’s end?” We do not need that segregation because the rugby community is so warm-hearted.

[Tracey Crouch]

I agree with my hon. Friend. The rugby community, whether at big games or local rugby clubs, is incredibly friendly. That is why volunteers have been recruited from the entire community and those who deliver the game week in, week out, which includes many volunteers from local clubs. We saw the impact of games makers at London 2012 on the enjoyment of spectators, and I am sure that the Pack will have a similar impact. That is an additional aspect of the legacy of big events such as this tournament and the Olympics.

Before I turn to more general comments about the wider legacy of the rugby world cup, I know that legitimate concerns have been raised by constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham about match-day events at Twickenham stadium. I am also reassured that tournament organisers have held a series of community engagement events to listen to local residents and businesses.

I appreciate that Twickenham residents, while used to rugby, may not have previously experienced this number of matches over a short period of time. This once-in-a-lifetime event will bring significant benefits to the local economy. I hope that the local council and local residents will appreciate that although it might interrupt their lives for a short period, they will get something positive out of it in future.

Turning now to the wider issue, it is vital that, as well as holding a successful tournament, we drive the best possible legacy from the event, both in terms of participation in rugby, and in the wider economic and social benefits. I am delighted that the RFU has put in place detailed plans, and earmarked significant resources for increasing participation in the grassroots of the game. That includes spreading the game in schools, especially state schools that have not traditionally played rugby. This programme has reached 130,000 pupils, one third of whom are girls. As a result 3,000 have joined clubs and are playing the game regularly.

In general, mini and junior sections are extremely strong in rugby clubs. There are 150,000 registered players and 6,000 teams in clubs with players between the ages of six and 13. Tag and touch rugby tournaments aimed at youngsters are becoming incredibly popular—I see that in my own local clubs, as I am sure do many others, where hundreds of children turn up to play rugby. I am sure that I am alone in my neighbourhood, but I find it more of a thrill than an irritation when on the odd day here or there parking is more difficult than usual because of the vast numbers of children playing rugby.

In addition, the legacy will include a programme to train new referees and coaches. Furthermore, building on my comments about little ones playing rugby, the O2 Touch Tour is helping to attract new players to touch rugby, and the Unity Project is building the game across parts of Europe that are at the development stage in rugby terms, linking English counties with European countries, and building relationships as well as the game of rugby.

It is great to see a number of different varieties of rugby being enjoyed—my hon. Friend mentioned wheelchair rugby, which is phenomenal to watch. We are also seeing developments in other areas, such as walking rugby, which can bring an older generation of players into the sport. The tournament is being celebrated at more than 700 events under the Festival of Rugby 2015 banner, which is on target to reach 1 million people. In addition, the Domestic Trophy Tour is taking the trophy around the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and will see 300 events in 100 days by the time it finishes next week—I believe that today is day 93. I feel I have been slightly stalked by the trophy, having seen it on a number of occasions, but it was an incredibly proud moment for my own local club—Aylesford Bulls—to host it last week, enabling the ladies premiership team to run a training session for all the youngsters who had turned up for a picture with the trophy. In turn I hope that that will inspire a future generation of boys and girls to get involved.

In addition to the RFU’s activities, others are using the tournament to promote their own legacy objectives. In one of the host cities, Exeter, all pupils from reception to year 2, across 23 primary schools, are receiving a “My First Rugby Ball” book, promoting rugby’s morals and values while increasing interest in the sport. The city has held an economic business benefits conference, established a cash for communities legacy fund and launched a healthy lifestyle initiative with Devon county council. These may be initiatives my hon. Friend’s own local council might want to pick up with Exeter to see if it can replicate them.

Those of us in government are also keen to drive a strong legacy from the rugby world cup. UK Trade & Investment and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have plans in place to ensure that the many influential visitors we are expecting from important partner nations receive a warm welcome, and that we maximise the economic and political benefits to the UK. This will include a UKTI-led business festival, which will see events across the regions ensuring the positive effects of the tournament reach every corner of the country. The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games showed how legacy plans that are devised well in advance and implemented by a range of partners working together can pay huge dividends, including £14.2 billion in economic benefits through trade and investment.

There has been a large increase in sport participation since 2005, but I am concerned that the Active People survey shows recent falls in participation numbers among those aged 14 and over, including in rugby. I am therefore especially keen to see participation in rugby increase off the back of the rugby world cup.

The wider issue of participation is something that the Department is currently consulting on. This will lead to a new strategy for sport, the first such strategy for 13 years. This is not the time to go into detail about the strategy, but I encourage everyone who cares about sport, including rugby, to take part in the consultation, which closes on 2 October.

I thank my hon. Friend for drawing the House’s attention to this important event. I am sure that everyone here today will join me in wishing those taking part in and organising the event the best possible success over the next few weeks. I am confident we will be celebrating the tournament’s legacy long into the future.

Question put and agreed to.