Hopes Rugby World Cup will lead to more players in Cumbria

The Rugby Union World Cup kicks off tonight with the opening ceremony followed by hosts England taking on Fiji.

There are then matches almost every day until the grand final at Twickenham on October 31.

Every match is being shown live by ITV. Many matches are already sold out.

Attendances at stadiums for this World Cup are expected to be the biggest ever and more people across the globe are expected to watch it on TV than ever before.

World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper has said that the tournament is the third largest sporting event in the World, behind only the football World Cup and the Olympics.

Rugby chiefs are hoping that the event will draw more fans to the sport and attract more players to take part. Especially young ones.

Rugby is big in Cumbria.

We have the professional league teams of Whitehaven and Workington out in the west, but rugby union rules elsewhere.

And the county has coughed up some big names in the sport: Phil Dowson, Matt Shields, Steve Borthwick and Mark Cueto to name a few.

Carlisle-lad Borthwick is a former England captain.

Teak-tough, he carved out a reputation as a no-nonsense lock and played 57 times for his country.

He represented the nation in the 2007 Rugby World Cup staged in France, Wales and Scotland. England, the reigning world champions, lost 15-6 to South Africa in the final.

Steve Borthwick It was tough to take for Borthwick and his band of brothers: “No team has won back to back tournaments. Unfortunately we fell a bit short.”

The rawness of the memories have been soothed over the years and he is now involved in this tournament – as forwards coach for the Japan side.

He says: “I think it is incredibly exciting.

“Having been out in Japan over the past year and coming back to the UK, I’ve noticed how everyone is so excited by the tournament.

“What would really be helpful is for England to have a good tournament to inspire children to want to play rugby and wear the white shirt and be more enthused about the sport.

“It is an amazing opportunity to do that in a home World Cup with an England team good enough to compete right to the end of the tournament.

“Already some great players have been produced from Cumbria and there is huge potential for more.”

Cumbria is staging a series of mini World Cup tournaments for young players over the coming weeks.

Two have already been held at St Bees and at Penrith.

Chris Connelly can already see the benefits of the World Cup for local clubs.

The director of youth rugby at the Penrith club says: “We have teams right the way from the Under-7’s to Under-18’s and have about 250 youth players on our books.

“Normally there are around 200 or 210. We have seen a higher intake at the lower age groups.

“Some lads previously might have gone to football but have asked their parents if they could go to rugby.

“I think because it is being talked about more because of the World Cup and also events to make it more social for parents.

“It is more than just a sport for their children to play in and they just stand on the touchline and get wet.

“We had an under-16’s tournament on Sunday with eight teams and all the players and their families had a great time.”

Merchandise, including flags, to help create a fun atmosphere for tonight’s opening ceremony and match.

Club chairman John Heywood says: "We are trying to get mums and dads down with their youngsters, rather than older players.

"We want to grow the game in terms of youth and we are hoping the World Cup will help."

Trevor Richardson Wigton Rugby Club youth co-ordinator Trevor Richardson is also the community rugby coach for England rugby in Allerdale.

He says: “The idea of the mini tournaments is to recruit new players, retain current ones and gauge the interest in the game.”

While many schools do not promote the game as much as they used to, he says local clubs have grown in strength and numbers as a result.

Trevor, who has been coaching youngsters for over 30 years, adds: “There are more young players at clubs now.

“Clubs have taken over much of what the schools used to do.

“This World Cup is a massive chance to promote the game and get people interested in the sport.

“But what would help most of all would be if England won it.

“When England won the World Cup in 2003, our youth sections zoomed.”

Local clubs will be showing all the rugby matches live on big TV screens and many are staging social evenings tonight for members and casual fans to watch the England – Fiji clash on a big TV screen.

Penrith is holding an open house and serving up food, the Wigton club is dishing up a pie, peas and a pint for £5 while Aspatria is  

 encouraging youngsters and their families to camp in the grounds following tonight's game.

The club has organised a fun night for players and fans of all ages to watch the opening ceremony and England game.

To attract new players and to get families more involved, some matches have been switched from their traditional 3pm on a Saturday afternoon slot and are being played on a Friday or Wednesday evening.

But Trevor adds: “There will be a lot more interest in the game if England can win it again.”

Apparently, you can celebrate the World Cup with a bottle of perfume called ‘Rugby Fragrance’ which is said to capture the essence of the game.

The only scent that England and Cumbria are interested in over the next six weeks is the sweet smell of and England success.