Webb Ellis Cup in the city!

The Webb Ellis Cup visited Brighton & Hove today to mark one year to go until Rugby World Cup 2015 and the launch of this blog.  The coveted Trophy will be awarded to the winners of Rugby World Cup 2015.

The Trophy was started the day at the Community Stadium and then went to the Royal Pavilion and along the seafront, from the Pier to the Peace Statue. There was also a visit to a Hove beach hut. People stopped to see and crowds gathered wherever the Trophy appeared.

The Webb Ellis Cup started the day at the Community Stadium where two of the 48 Rugby World Cup matches will take place in September 2015.

Next stop was Brighton's Royal Pavilion. The Webb Ellis Cup was the guest of honour at a gathering of local Rugby enthusiasts who will be contributing to these pages (find out more http://ow.ly/BGVGd). 

Outside on the Royal Pavilion lawn

Inside the Royal Pavilion's beautiful Music Room

The Webb Ellis Cup then went for a trip along the seafront of Brighton & Hove. 

The sight of the trophy drew crowds stopping for photos, including the Warner family, near the pier. 

Mandy Warner has already applied for tickets for the Brighton and Milton Keynes matches, she said: "It's very exciting that the original cup is here in Brighton. It's not something I ever thought I'd see! We are looking forward to the Tournament next year". 

The Warner family

Brighton Bandstand

Hove beach huts, on the Prom

And inside one of the Hove beach huts

In the blazing sunshine, the final stop for the Webb Ellis Cup was at the border of Brighton & Hove at the Peace Statue. Players from teams at the Team Bases of Brighton College and the University of Brighton met for Rugby practice on Hove Lawns before the arrival of the famous Trophy.

(Photos copyright www.snapitnow.co.uk)

What is the Webb Ellis Cup? 

• The Webb Ellis Cup is the Trophy awarded to Rugby World Cup winners.  New Zealand's David Kirk was the first captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup after his All Blacks defeated France 29-9 in the RWC 1987 Final.
• The Webb Ellis Cup is made from gilded silver and stands 472mm tall. It measures 319mm at its widest point handle to handle and weighs 4.5kgs.
• It was made by the Garrards silversmiths in 1906 and is based on the design of a cup believed to have been made around 1740 by English silversmith Paul de Lamerie.
• The Trophy was bought from an antique shop prior to the first Rugby World Cup and engraved with the words "The International Rugby Football Board" and "The Webb Ellis Cup".
• William Webb Ellis, after whom the Cup is named, was an Anglican clergyman born in Salford, Lancashire. Legend has it that in 1823, while he was a pupil at Rugby School, Webb Ellis picked up the ball during a game of football and ran with it, thus inventing the game of rugby.

For more information about Rugby’s greatest prize visit: http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/news/newsid=2061379.html