There’s less than 200 days to go until the start of the Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021). The event – which features men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions – kicks off on 15 October when host nation England face Samoa in the opening fixture at St James’ Park in Newcastle.
To commemorate the milestone, the tournament has been undertaking a 48-hour trophies tour of the 18 host towns and cities in celebration of a 48-hour ticket upgrade offer. This means any fans that buy a Category C ticket for the opening fixture of the men’s tournament between England and Samoa at St James’ Park and the first game at Kingston Park between Scotland and Italy, will have their tickets automatically upgraded to Category B, with prices starting from just £15.
The trophies tour, whereby the silverware from the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments will be paraded around the towns and cities getting ready to host the 61 matches of the upcoming World Cup, started on Tuesday 29 March in Newcastle.
With the city hosting the opening game of the men’s tournament at St James’ Park as well as three fixtures at Kingston Park, the three trophies were welcomed in Newcastle by Newcastle Thunder player Jack Johnson, director of rugby Denis Betts and RLWC2021 ambassador Jason Robinson. The guests were challenged to kick a Sully Ball through a giant RLWC2021 logo, which was floating in the River Tyne.
The promotional tour has featured the tournament’s new campaign “This is Real Impact”, to support ticket promotion and provide a platform to tell the many stories of the contribution the tournament is making in communities through its social impact programme and in respect to inclusivity in hosting the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments under one World Cup for the first time in the sport’s history.
Jon Dutton, chief executive of RLWC2021, said: “After an incredibly challenging couple of years for everyone, it is hugely exciting to be able to take our three unique trophies to each host partner as they put on their own celebration and make a ‘real impact’ in their local communities. We’d like to thank our partners in Newcastle for their brilliant event to mark the milestone. The road to RLWC2021 starts now and with this limited ticket offer and exciting new campaign being released, we hope to encourage fans up and down the country to obtain the best seats in the house at the best possible price.”
Pam Smith, chief executive of Newcastle City Council, added: “It’s fantastic for Newcastle to be hosting the opening fixture of the Rugby League World Cup and further fixtures at Kingston Park, and with just 200 days to go until England face Samoa we’re really excited for it to come around. Newcastle has a brilliant relationship with rugby league and its passionate supporters and coupled with the city’s track record of hosting major international sporting events, we know the Rugby League World Cup will be a fantastic occasion for the city.”
Fans can buy tickets for the Rugby League World Cup at rlwc2021.com/tickets