Ireland Welcomed To RWC 2015 At Burton Town Hall

The ceremony marked the arrival of Joe Schmidt’s men following the start of their Rugby World Cup campaign at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday. A seven-try display saw them beat Canada 50-7.

IN PICS: IRELAND’S RUGBY WORLD CUP WELCOME CEREMONY

The ceremony saw the Ireland squad arrive at Burton Town Hall to be greeted by a choir from Alderman’s Green Primary School from Coventry, performing ‘World In Union’ in front of an audience including figures from World Rugby, England Rugby 2015 and the RFU, as well as the players’ families and the local community.

Following welcome speeches from World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper and RFU Chairman Bill Beaumont, each member of the Ireland squad was presented with a tournament cap and Rugby World Cup 2015 participation medal. There were four cap and medal bearers who were selected from local clubs and educational institutions, representing the legacy of Rugby World Cup 2015.

Speaking during the ceremony, Ireland captain Paul O’Connell said: “Ladies and gentleman, distinguished guests, thank you to Burton for a fantastic welcome. Since arriving we’ve been incredibly well looked after and we’re really looking forward to using all the facilities at St. George’s Park.

“We have been blown away by the pitch, the gym, the staff, the pool recovery centre and everything else. It’s been top class and we really appreciate that we get to spend a few days here.

“We’re very excited to be here and we got off to a great start. We were blown away with the incredible support at the Millennium Stadium and I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone so far on behalf of the Ireland team.”

With the tournament underway, fans still have the opportunity to get their hands on tickets to see Ireland at the third largest sports event in the world. Tickets for the following matches can still be purchased at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com:

Sunday, September 27, 4.45pm: Ireland v Romania, Wembley Stadium
Sunday, October 4, 4.45pm: Ireland v Italy, The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Tickets for a number of other matches across the tournament are available at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com.