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Cape Town - With global excitement building ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, tournament organisers have unveiled the official design that will feature on the tickets for the 48 matches.
One of the five variations revealed features South African’s 1995 Rugby World Cup winning captain, Francois Pienaar.
The unique design celebrates rugby and the rich history of the tournament, featuring the Webb Ellis Cup at its centre, alongside three other Rugby World Cup winning captains: John Eales (Australia), Martin Johnson (England) and Richie McCaw (New Zealand) representing the nations who have been victorious at previous Rugby World Cups.
The ticket blends the striking tournament look and feel with two rugby images representing the heritage of the game in England.
Across the lower half the ticket is a representation of the fans, who are at the heart of the tournament.
The four designs, developed in three colours, will be issued for all matches throughout the pool phase, quarter and semi-finals as well as the bronze final.
The tickets for the eight matches that will be played at the Millennium Stadium will also feature information in Welsh.
A special gold design has also been developed for the final and features one of the host nation's most celebrated sporting moments, Jonny Wilkinson's dramatic drop goal in the final of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Tickets will be issued next month and once received fans will have the opportunity to bring the 2015 Rugby World Cup to life through the use of Blippar's Augmented Reality technology, with unique activations developed as part of the ticket design.
In a first for a major sporting event, the technology will allow fans to create a 3D interactive experience through their smart-phones.
By scanning any Rugby World Cup 2015 match ticket with the Blippar app, fans will be able to unlock exclusive content with England 2015 ambassadors and Rugby World Cup 2003 winners Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Greenwood previewing the match fans are attending, a 360 degree view of the stadium they are going to, and from August a view from their seat and navigational tools to help them get to the match, complimenting the fan-first, location-sensitive experience delivered by the official Rugby World Cup 2015 app.
On being featured on the ticket design, Pienaar, commented: "Our victory in 1995 was a significant moment in South African history and it is an honour that 20 years on it has been captured on the tickets for Rugby World Cup 2015. Having played and lived in England during my career, I have no doubt it will be a great tournament and our fans are set to be part of a celebration of rugby.”
Managing Director of England Rugby 2015, Stephen Brown, added: "We are pleased to reveal the Rugby World Cup 2015 ticket design which aims to celebrate Rugby and the history of Rugby World Cups. By featuring these iconic Rugby World Cup winning captains we are commemorating the four countries that have lifted the iconic Webb Ellis Cup and of course as host nation celebrating one of the games most celebrated moments through Jonny Wilkinson's famous drop goal on the final ticket.
"We are delighted to introduce a Rugby World Cup first, using augmented reality technology as part of the ticket design to enable fans to engage with the tournament through interactive content, which is a really exciting piece of activation. With another day of high ticket demand, excitement for the tournament continues to grow and with ticket distribution about to start, it will start to become very real for fans.”
World Rugby chairperson, Bernard Lapasset, commented: "Rugby World Cup is all about the fans, the shared experiences and unforgettable moments and the ticket design reveal represents another exciting milestone for fans around the world as they plan their Rugby World Cup experience. With excitement building and teams well into their detailed preparations, we are looking forward to what promises to be a very special Rugby World Cup that is great for the host nation and great for Rugby worldwide.”
Tickets for the pool phase, quarter-final, semi-final and the bronze final matches feature photos, supplied by Getty Images.
The image of Pienaar was taken after the Springboks beat New Zealand 15-12 at Ellis Park to win Rugby World 1995 for what was a significant moment in the country's history.
Australia is represented by an image of John Eales taken during the semi-final of Rugby World Cup 1999 at Twickenham, where they beat South Africa 27-21 before going on to win the tournament for the second time by beating France in the final.
England is represented by an image of Martin Johnson taken during the final of Rugby World Cup 2003 in Sydney, where they beat Australia 20-17 to win the tournament for the first time.
New Zealand is represented by an image of Richie McCaw taken during their match against France in the pool stages of Rugby World Cup 2011 which they went on to win, claiming the title for the second time.
South Africa will be in pool B alongside Japan, Samoa, USA and Scotland.
Their fixtures will be as follows:
- South Africa v Japan at Brighton Community Stadium on Saturday, September 19
- South Africa v Samoa at Villa Park, Birmingham on Saturday, September 26
- South Africa v Scotland at St James' Park, Newcastle on Saturday, October 3
- South Africa v USA at The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London on Wednesday, October 7
