With Rugby World Cup fever underway, we thought that we would have a look into the history of the event and what we can expect in 2015.

The Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament was first held in 1987, when the tournament was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. The most recent tournament was held in 2011 in New Zealand, whose national team won the tournament by defeating France in the final.

Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have all won the trophy twice, while England has won the tournament once since the tournament began. England will host the 2015 World Cup and Japan are set to host the event in 2019.

The winners are awarded the William Webb Ellis Cup, named after William Webb Ellis, who allegedly invented Rugby when he picked the ball up during a football match whilst attending school in Rugby, Warwickshire.

The 2015 tournament will involve twenty nations competing over six weeks. There are two stages which consist of a group and a knock-out. Nations are divided into four pools, A through to D, which will consist of five nations each. Nations play four pool games, playing their respective pool members once each.

The winner and runner-up of each pool enter the knock-out stage. The knock-out stage consists of quarter and semi-finals, and then the final. If a match in the knock-out stages ends in a draw, the winner is determined through extra time. If that fails, the match goes into sudden death and the next team to score any points is the winner. As a last resort, a kicking competition is used.

Excitement around the 2015 Rugby World Cup is really building with demand for packages exceeding supply. Tickets for all of the 48 matches will be balloted in at least one of the price categories and all price categories will be balloted for twenty of the 48 matches due to them being oversubscribed.

Sports Hospitality are delighted to have secured packages for this amazing event which will be taking place on home turf in 2015. This is an amazing opportunity for you to delight your clienmts with hospitality packages for one of the most sought after sporting events of the year!

Contact our sales team direct on 01273 66 88 99 or or alternatively email us sales@hospitalitypartnership.co.uk to discuss your requirements or to reserve your places.