RFU braced for shockingly low Twickenham crowd for England World Cup warm-up match

England’s World Cup warm-up match against Wales on August 12 is projected to draw a crowd of 70,000 spectators.

However, the turnout for their game against Fiji two weeks later at Twickenham is expected to be just over half-full, with approximately 45,000 attendees.

Over the next month, Steve Borthwick’s national team has four matches scheduled. The first match will be in Cardiff against Wales on Saturday, followed by an away fixture against the world No. 1-ranked Ireland in Dublin on August 19.

The match against Wales has been immensely popular, with tickets selling well for the visit of Warren Gatland’s team. Nevertheless, it falls slightly short in box-office appeal compared to a showdown between two formidable southern teams.

Updated World Rugby Rankings

1️⃣ Ireland
⬆️ New Zealand
⬇️ France
4️⃣ South Africa
5️⃣ Scotland
6️⃣ England
7️⃣ Argentina
8️⃣ Australia
9️⃣ Wales
⬆️ Fiji pic.twitter.com/e5uHb1l92G
— Rugby Bits (@RugbyBits) July 29, 2023

On Friday, August 25, New Zealand will face off against South Africa at Twickenham, and the RFU anticipates a sold-out crowd of 82,000, largely boosted by the presence of Kiwis and Springbok fans in London.

The RFU remains optimistic about a late surge in ticket sales as World Cup fever intensifies, especially with tickets still available at affordable prices of £30 for adults and £10 for children. However, the current forecast for the match against Fiji is a crowd of 45,000.

Steve Borthwick set to drop more stars from England World Cup squad

England then kick-off their Rugby World Cup in Marseille, in a hotly anticipated clash against Argentina on the 9th of September. Here are RUCK’s predictions for the positional hierarchy, for England’s Rugby World Cup squad pecking order.

FIRST CHOICE SQUAD