Twickenham Stadium
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twickenhamstadium.com |
Twickenham Stadium (/ˈtwɪkənəm/) in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The stadium is England's national rugby union stadium and is the venue of the England national rugby union team home matches.
It is the world's largest rugby union stadium, the second largest stadium in the United Kingdom, behind
The Middlesex Sevens, Premiership Rugby fixtures, Anglo-Welsh Cup matches, the Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities and European Rugby Champions Cup games have been played at Twickenham Stadium. It has also been used as the venue for the Rugby Football League's Challenge Cup Final in 2001 and 2006, and the NFL London Games in 2016 and 2017.
Twickenham Stadium has hosted concerts by Rihanna, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Genesis, U2, Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones, the Police, Eagles, R.E.M., Eminem, Lady Gaga, Metallica and Depeche Mode.
Overview
Twickenham is often referred to as "the Home of Rugby".[4] The stadium, owned and operated by the RFU, hosts rugby union fixtures all year round. It is the home of the English rugby union team, who play nearly all their home games at the stadium. Twickenham hosts England's home Six Nations matches, as well as games against touring teams from the Southern Hemisphere, usually annually in November.
Apart from its relationship with the national team, Twickenham is the venue for a number of other domestic and international rugby union matches. It hosts the annual
History
Sold-out Tests against
In 1926, the first Middlesex Sevens took place at the ground. In 1927 the first Varsity Match took place at Twickenham for the first time. On 19 March 1938, BBC Television broadcast the England – Scotland (Calcutta Cup) match from Twickenham, the first time that a rugby match was shown live on television.[6] In 1959, to mark 50 years of the ground, a combined side of England and Wales beat Ireland and Scotland by 26 points to 17.
Coming into the last match of the 1988 season, England had lost 15 of their previous 23 matches in the Five Nations Championship. The Twickenham crowd had only seen one England try in the previous two years, and at half-time the team were 0–3 down against Ireland. During the second half, England started playing an expansive game many had doubted they were capable of producing. A 0–3 deficit was turned into a 35–3 win, with England scoring six tries. This day also saw the origins of the adoption of the traditional spiritual "
.The United Kingdom, Ireland and France shared the hosting of the
Some of the Welsh-hosted
In May 2023, during a match between Sale and Saracens, a group of Just Stop Oil protesters came onto the pitch and started to vandalise the surface. Some of the players helped security staff to remove the protestors, who were later arrested.[11]
Redevelopment
Since the ground's purchase by the RFU in 1907, it has gone through a number of redevelopments. In 1921, a stand was built above the northern terrace, with workshops placed underneath. In 1927, the East Stand was extended, bringing the capacity to 12,000. The south terrace was later extended to enable crowds of 20,000. In 1932, a new West Stand was completed, providing offices for the RFU, who made the ground their home. In 1937, Middlesex County Council approved a scheme submitted by Twickenham Borough Council to widen Rugby Road due to it being inadequate for traffic.
In 1965, the South Terrace was closed due to structural failings. It was found to be cheaper to build a new stand than to repair the existing one; however, planning permission was refused, due to objections from local residents. Permission was eventually granted in 1978. A period of extensive rebuilding took place during the early 1980s, which continued through to the mid-1990s. In 1981, the South Terrace was rebuilt as the South Stand. After being taken down in 1989, an extended North Stand was opened in 1990. Following the 1992 Five Nations, the stadium saw the development of the new East Stand and subsequently the West Stand. In 1995, the stadium redevelopment was completed, the ground now accommodating 75,000 people in an all-seater environment. The North, East and West stands were all built by Mowlem.[12] Planning permission was sought in 2002 and received in December 2004 for a new South Stand to further raise capacity, with building work commencing in June 2005. As well as increasing the stadium's capacity to 82,000, the redevelopment introduced a four-star
The rugby stadium continued to be developed into 2018 with the upgrading of the east stand. The new stand offers match-day hospitality as well as six floors of event spacing.[13] The east stand was over budget due to additional safety measures put in place to make the redeveloped structure capable of withstanding a bomb attack, and to make it fireproof, with work carried out on the cladding in response to the Grenfell Tower fire. Following the upgrade, the roof is now complete.[14][15]
Rugby World Cup
Twickenham Stadium has hosted Rugby World Cup Matches in 1991, 1999 and 2015, including the finals in 1991 and 2015 when England were the host nation. The Stadium also hosted semi-finals in 1999, including France's famous 43–31 victory over New Zealand. In August 2023, the stadium was confirmed as one of eight host venues for the 2025 Rugby World Cup.[16]
1991 Rugby World Cup
Stage of Tournament | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
---|---|---|---|
Pool A | England | 12–18 | New Zealand |
Pool A | England | 36–6 | Italy |
Pool A | England | 37–9 | United States of America |
Final | England | 6–12 | Australia |
1999 Rugby World Cup
Stage of Tournament | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
---|---|---|---|
Pool B | England | 67–7 | Italy |
Pool B | England | 16–30 | New Zealand |
Pool B | England | 101–10 | Tonga |
Quarter Final Play Off | England | 45–24 | Fiji |
Semi Final | Australia | 27–21 | South Africa |
Semi Final | France | 43–31 | New Zealand |
2015 Rugby World Cup
Stage of Tournament | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
---|---|---|---|
Pool A | England | 35–11 | Fiji |
Pool A | England | 25–28 | Wales |
Pool A | England | 13–33 | Australia |
Pool A | Australia | 15–6 | Wales |
Pool D | France | 32–10 | Italy |
Quarter Final | South Africa | 23–19 | Wales |
Quarter Final | Australia | 35–34 | Scotland |
Semi Final | South Africa | 18–20 | New Zealand |
Semi Final | Argentina | 15–29 | Australia |
Final | New Zealand | 34–17 | Australia |
2025 Rugby World Cup
The stadium will be one of eight host venues for the 2025 Rugby World Cup.[16]
Other uses
Though Twickenham usually only hosts rugby union fixtures, it has in the past been the venue for a number of other events. In 2000, the ground hosted its first game of rugby league, in which Australia defeated England in the opening game of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. The Rugby League Challenge Cup Final has also been played at Twickenham twice, in 2001 and 2006, and was won by St. Helens on both occasions.
Due to the construction delays of
R.E.M. performed at Twickenham in August 2008, while New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi played two gigs at the stadium in June 2008 as part of their Lost Highway Tour, and Iron Maiden played there as part of their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour on 5 July 2008, along with a full supporting bill which included Avenged Sevenfold, Within Temptation and Lauren Harris.
Lady Gaga performed two sold-out shows at the stadium during her Born This Way Ball Tour on the 8th and 9 September 2012 with 101,250 people attending for both shows. The first date broke a record for The Fastest Selling-out Stadium Show in UK history when the 50,625 tickets for the first show sold out in 50 seconds.
Rihanna performed two shows at the stadium during her Diamonds World Tour on 15 and 16 June 2013 for 95,971 people for both nights.
Since the mid-1950s it has also hosted the Jehovah's Witnesses annual convention for the London area. Usually up to 25,000 attend to hear Bible talks.
The TV motoring show
Concerts
American football
It was announced on 3 November 2015 that the RFU and America's National Football League had agreed a three-year deal to host at least three NFL London Games. The deal began in October 2016 and gave the opportunity to host an additional two games over the three-year period of the deal.[20]
On 23 October 2016, the Los Angeles Rams hosted the New York Giants at Twickenham Stadium. This was the second of three London Games in 2016, with the others being played at Wembley.[21] The game was televised live in the UK on BBC Two.
The final two games of the agreement were played in 2017, with matchups announced on 13 December 2016.[22]
List of NFL London Games at Twickenham Stadium | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Date | UK Broadcaster | Designated Home | Score | Designated Away | Attendance |
2016 | 23 October | BBC[23] | Los Angeles Rams | 10–17 | New York Giants | 74,121 |
2017 | 22 October | Sky Sports | Los Angeles Rams | 33–0 | Arizona Cardinals | 73,736[24] |
29 October | BBC | Cleveland Browns | 16–33 | Minnesota Vikings | 74,237 |
World Rugby Museum
The
See also
- Twickenham Streaker (disambiguation)
- Sport in London
- Rugby union in England
- List of rugby union stadiums by capacity
- Lists of stadiums
References
- ^ "The Rugby ground : The Twickenham Museum". twickenham-museum.org.uk. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
- ^ "Rugby Football Union – Contact us". England Rugby. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Twickenham Stadium". England Rugby. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ "Home of Rugby to host cycling charity challenge". RFU press office. 8 September 2006. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007.
- ^ "Cail, William". 20thcenturylondon.org.uk. Renaissance London. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ "TELEVISION – Monday, March 14 to Saturday, March 19" (PDF). Radio Times. 11 March 1938. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
- ^ The Observer (5 February 2006). "Blood, mud and aftershave". The Guardian.
O is for Oti
- ^ "The story behind "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and how it became a rugby anthem". everyhit.com. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
- ^ Geoghegan, Tom (19 October 2007). "All you need to know about rugby: Rugby songs and jokes". BBC News Magazine.
- ^ "1991: Wallabies pip England". BBC Sport. 24 September 2003. Retrieved 19 August 2006.
- ^ Badshah, Nadeem (27 May 2023). "Just Stop Oil protesters invade pitch and stop play at Twickenham rugby final". The Guardian.
- ^ a b "Steel conversion for Twickenham". New Steel Construction. 1 September 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ "TWICKENHAM PREPARES TO UNVEIL NEW EAST STAND TO THE INDUSTRY". twickenhamstadium.com. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "TWICKENHAM REDEVELOPMENT FACING COST INCREASES". 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
- ^ "New East Stand at Twickenham Stadium opens: A look at six floors of hospitality". 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Rugby World Cup 2025: Eight host venues named for tournament in England". BBC Sport. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Stadium delay hits Wembley gigs". BBC. 31 March 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2006.
- ^ "RFU apply for two additional concerts at Twickenham Stadium in 2007". The Twickenham Rugby Stadium. Archived from the original on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
- ^ "Six Nations 2013: Top Gear team play car rugby". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ "NFL action at Twickenham". England Rugby. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015.
- ^ "NFL Announces 2016 International Series Games in London". NFL UK. National Football League. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015.
- NFL. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "New York Giants vs Los Angeles Rams 10/23/16". NFL. National Football League. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ Doyle, Tom (22 October 2017). "NFL London 2017: Los Angeles Rams crush Arizona Cardinals 33–0". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
Further reading
- Harris, Ed, (2005). Twickenham: The History of the Cathedral of Rugby, Sports Books, (ISBN 1899807292)
- Spragg, Iain, (2010). Twickenham – 100 Years of Rugby's HQ, Vision Sports Publishing, (ISBN 9781905326761)