Grainger determined to leave Rugby World Cup legacy

“To all the players, we congratulate you and wish you well for the tournament”.

Which? blew the whistle on GetSporting.com after we found it operating unlawfully and urged rugby fans looking for last-minute tickets to avoid it.

Would the attractive game benefit by copying these practices from the world of Rugby?

An extra 136,000 visitors are expected in the city as a direct result of being a Host City for Rugby World Cup 2015, with 12,000 coming from overseas.

The omens are good so far for audience numbers for the Rugby World Cup, with Ireland’s first two pool games in the tournament raking in viewers for TV3 while, in the United Kingdom, ITV’s coverage of England v Wales on Saturday night destroyed the BBC’s audience for Doctor Who.

The centre has teamed up with Mastercard to host a Match Zone area in The Orient, where rugby fans can watch all of the games on the Big Screen.

“Over four years we’ve invested £10m in helping more than 520 clubs with projects to improve their facilities and this year we’ve helped them to improve their social spaces to encourage greater community use and to help attract new members”.

People in the North-East can also enjoy a specially organised nine-day cultural festival as part of the tournament celebrations on Tyneside.

However, “unless England win or a star domestic player emerges, then the World Cup will not deliver on the promise that its hosting in England would have suggested”, Simon Chadwick, professor of sport business strategy and marketing at Coventry University, told AFP.

“It’s a chance for us to celebrate the visiting teams and the nations they represent”.

England head coach Stuart Lancaster has compared the match to a World Cup final.

Hayley Robson, Emergency Planning Officer for Highways England, said: “We’ve been working hard for several months with local partners and the event organisers to consider the impact of these three events on the local and regional road network”.